Sean Penn‘s Superpower is free.
The Oscar winner’s two-hour documentary on Ukraine has entered a one-year contract to stream free of charge beginning today — in the United States and its territories including Bermuda — on the Paramount+ YouTube channel.
The Paramount+ original doc Superpower chronicles Ukraine’s fight for freedom from invading Russian military forces and is directed by actor, filmmaker and activist Penn, alongside Aaron Kaufman. Penn also took a pivotal role by conducting intimate interviews with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and others during seven trips to Ukraine over two years.
“To make this film available for free has been my dream from the beginning, and I’m incredibly grateful to so many colleagues for their will and grace to make this happen,” Penn said in a statement. “Ukraine’s fight for democracy is our fight too.”
Added Susan Zirinsky, See it Now Studios president: “Rarely do you get to be an eyewitness to history as [Sean] Penn did with President Zelensky in his bunker as Russian bombs exploded over Kyiv. The film is so powerful and immersive because of Penn’s journey meeting families who have lost everything, bombed out apartments, schools and to the front lines where soldiers were putting their lives on the line. Penn understands that the world had changed.”
As Penn has explained, he set out to make a film about Zelensky’s rise from popular comedy actor to president of Ukraine. That all changed on Feb. 24, 2022, as crew members were prepping for the first on-camera interviews with Zelensky, because Russia invaded the capital of Ukraine. Penn and his team pivoted to focus on Zelensky’s response and the ensuing conflict that engulfed the region and continues today.
Fifth Season financed Superpower with Vice Studios, which produced alongside Projected Picture Works and See It Now Studios. Individual producer credits went to Penn, Billy Smith, Sergei Bespalov, Danny Gabai and Lauren Terp. The executive producer team included Kate Ward, Katie Peck, Andrew Freston, Bruce Dixon, Hozefa Lokhandwala, Subrata De, Susan Zirinsky, Terence Wrong, Anthony Gudas, Chad A. Verdi and Sasha Cherniavsky.
