The Piano Man on the Front Line

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Ihor, a former law student is fighting as a volunteer on the government side in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Last year, he was taken captive by pro-Russian separatists and spent four months doing forced labour in a former music school, where he found a piano. Ihor is a talented pianist - and persuaded his captors to let him play. After his release, he was contacted by another former volunteer, Oleksandr Tkachuk, who was making a documentary about musicians in the Ukrainian forces. Also, for over 40 years - on paper, TV and cinema screens, even opera stages - American film director and animator Terry Gilliam has been creating strange worlds and absurd situations. He became famous in the early 1970s through his work on the British comedy television series, Monty Python's Flying Circus. He went on to direct many films, starring the likes of Johnny Depp. He has now written a book about his extraordinary life. And, the story of Guy Cotter, a mountaineer who was a key figure in the rescue during the 1996 blizzard that hit Everest, the world's tallest mountain. A film has just been released about the event. (Photo: Ihor. Credit: Oleksandr Tkachuk)