There were times when we actually backed off on some areas, the machine did better or sharper, and we were concerned that we werent telling the audience that something was going on.. Bogdan Left, Grisha Right in "Welcome to Chechnya". LDS Church wants to light up a temple in a place that prides itself on dark skies, For husband-and-wife team, this new restaurant is the culmination of a decadeslong dream. A film about persecuted gay and lesbian Chechens uses digital manipulation to guard their identities without losing their humanity. I think that documentary films have the power to affect and encourage and augment and foment social change, France said. [11], The film received universal critical acclaim, holding an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. / how old is aiger in beyblade burst rise / welcome to chechnya what happened to anya By 21 Feb 2022 sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. Welcome to Chechnya ends almost exactly as it begins, only a year later with a weary Isteev telling us this story still doesnt have an ending. Then he gets another call. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States.It is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization founded in 1946, the organization presents the Primetime Emmy Awards, an annual ceremony honoring achievement in U.S. primetime television. David France's HBO film shines light on the brutal campaign by officials in the semi-autonomous Russian region to imprison, torture and sometimes kill gay men. He denies the torture outright, in other words; so does the Kremlin. June 30, 2020. The website's critics consensus reads: "An illuminating and urgent call to action, Welcome to Chechnya portrays the horrors of the mass persecution of the LGBTQ+ community in the Chechen Republic with tenacity and tenderness. For many, simply walking out of Chechnya isn't an option. Some of the men were released with the expectation that their own relatives would kill them, since the stigma of homosexuality runs deep in this ultra-conservative, primarily Muslim society. This happened shortly after Frontal journalists published their investigation Forced Adoption: The Missing Children of Kherson on the social network. Kadyrov and his security forces have been widely accused by international human rights groups of extrajudicial arrests, torture and killings. These are the images being broadcast by Russian propaganda channels, leveraging the very presence of Chechen. . Members of the LGBTQ+ community are being systematically hunted, detained, tortured, and executed by Chechen authorities, civilians, and their own family members. In Russia, this equipment needs certain certifications and permissions. Republican Congressman Blames Mass Shootings on Women Having Rights. Welcome to Chechnya, which premiered at Sundance in January and won the U.S. documentary special jury award for editing, is at once repellent and fascinating as were introduced to people whose lives are in danger because of their sexual orientation including some who have survived imprisonment, beatings and torture. How would he shield the identity of at-risk gay and lesbian Chechens fleeing the region via a network of safe houses, while also preserving their emotions, their affections and expressions? I decided not to use any special equipment or hidden camerasfor example, a camera in your eyeglasses. The pre-existing material in "Welcome to Chechnya" is by far its most distressing: grainy cellphone and surveillance camera footage of real-life homophobic attacks in the republic, including a. Catch up on the years best movies, whether in theaters or now streaming at home. A lavalier mic (considered professional gear, thus suspect) was used when safely inside the shelter. You can try, Jon Stewart's Political Comedy 'Irresistible' Is A Condescending Attempt To Skewer Liberal Condescension, Olivier Assayas' Historical Thriller 'Wasp Network' Tells The True Story Of 1990s Cuban Espionage, Spike Lee's Vietnam Epic 'Da 5 Bloods' Uncovers Buried Bombs, Both Personal and Political. Keeping people in hiding, taking care of people, keeping them safe and fed, and with medical care for this long extended period, while theyre still struggling with foreign governments to try to keep open that back door to humanitarian parole visas, France said. Two of these operations frame the narrative of Welcome to Chechnya: the exfiltration of a 21-year-old woman with the pseudonym Anya, whose uncle learned she is lesbian and threatened to expose her . Six months pass, a visa elusive. Their operation, run from a discreet location that becomes a haven for escapees-in-wait, receives about 25 new refugees a month. From Academy Award-nominated director David France (How to Survive a Plague, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson) comes Welcome to Chechnya, a powerful and eye-opening documentary about a. Then its over, and Anya is free to go. The films production was obviously clandestine, guerilla filmmaking to a tee, with director France and his cinematographer Askold Kurov seeking invisibility as they worked with handheld cameras, and catching what they could on phones when that was the only way to operate. Welcome to Chechnya chronicles the persecution of LGBTQ youth in this ultra-conservative society. To avoid exposing their work, it was shot in secret, using hidden cameras, cell phones, GoPros, and handycams. Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of the autonomous region of Russia, enacted a campaign in 2017 to find, imprison, torture and sometimes kill LGBTQ Chechens. IE 11 is not supported. Agents warned Ivanova she couldnt film. France even had a decoy phone with proof: downloaded soccer-fan photos and videos, stats about the Egyptian team, vistas with his tour guides. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival,[8] and screened at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. The First Chechen War explains a lot of what Russia and Putin are doing in Ukraine today: On New Year's Eve, 1994 Russian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles poured into the streets of Grozny with an assault expected to snuff out the self-declared Chechcen Republic of Ichkeria, as black smoke poured into the sky from oil tanks set ablaze by a dawn artillery bombardment. There is, for example, the case of a woman they call Anya, whose father is a high-ranking official in Chechnya and whose uncle has threatened to tell her father about her sexualitya death sentenceunless she sleeps with him. He covered the the Catholic Churchs sexual abuse scandal and wrote the bestselling book Our Fathers, which was turned into a Showtime movie. The Montreal Mafia Murders: Blood, Gore, Cannolis, and Hockey Bags, A Comprehensive Guide to Why a Ron DeSantis Presidency Would Be as Terrifying as a Trump One. Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday! The main camera, operated by Kurov, was a Sony FDR-AX100 handycam. All Rights Reserved. There are many people not identified at all, but the doc includes disturbing and graphic footage of them being beaten and tortured. There's no time for sweeping shots of foreign. David France on His Chilling HBO Documentary Welcome to Chechnya, "Gay man takes Russia to Europe's rights court over Chechnya LGBT+ attacks", "New Reports of Gay Singer Abducted and Murdered in Chechnya", "The 18 Movies We're Dying to See at Sundance", "Final days of Adelaide Film Festival serves up more winners", "Sundance Film Festival Awards: 'Minari' Scores Double Top Honors The Complete Winners List", "Zmagovalec obinstva na 36. festivalu LGBT filma", "GLAAD Unveils Nominees For 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards; Deadline's New Hollywood Podcast Honored With Special Recognition Award", "VES Awards Nominations: 'Tenet', 'Midnight Sky', 'Extraction', 'Soul' & 'Mandalorian' Among Titles In Visual Effects Hunt", "BAFTA TV 2021: The Winners and Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards", "Ted Lasso, The Handmaid's Tale, and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist lead Inaugural HCA TV Awards Nominations Hollywood Critics Association", BAFTA TV Award for Best International Programme, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Welcome_to_Chechnya&oldid=1132475176, Documentary films about violence against LGBT people, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, U.S. The camerawork is rough and ragged; the sense of menace is palpable. Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of the autonomous. A gay couple in Welcome to Chechnya. The faces were replaced in postproduction. But politicians have become targets, too. What we did was to borrow from the world of deepfakes and find this social justice use for it, he explained. Filmmaker David France goes inside what can only be called a genocide that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has unleashed against his LGBTQ citizens. Enter activists David Isteev and Olga Baranova of Chechnyas covert LGBTQ+ network, a modern-day Underground Railroad smuggling the regimes would-be victims to secret safe houses where they can await visas and asylum from sympathetic countries. What comes across is the ease with which a person can disappear in plain sight, for obvious reasons, and a governmentcommitted to its hateful pogromcan simply shrug it off. T he anti-gay purge in Chechnya began in 2017. Playing the aunties are cameraperson Alexandra Ivanova and a female activist. So when I met him, he was an open, generous figure who allowed me to share his journey with him in the most profound way., In order to hide the identities of the residents in the safe house, France used technology to replace their faces with those of 22 LGBTQ activists in New York City. Chechnya's . The Network helps him move to an undisclosed location in Europe with his boyfriend of 10 years. Which meant, in the cases we saw here, abroad, in which they were assisted by a range of international gay organisations, as well as those embassies in Moscow, Canada clearly prominent among them, that proved receptive. 4,370 followers. from Anya, a 21-year-old threatened by her uncle to have intercourse with him, or he'll reveal her homosexuality to her father, a high-ranking official . Among those in the film are David Isteev, who leads the rescue missions through the Russian LGBT Network and Olga Baranova, director of the Moscow Community Center for LGBT+ Initiatives. One creative project thats come out of Harrells program, the Center for Advanced Virtuality, is a seven-minute video titled In Event of Moon Disaster. In it, a notorious 1969 speech written for Richard Nixon meant to be delivered only in the wake of a catastrophic Apollo 11 mishap is merged with the actual televised 1974 resignation speech, resulting in a spooky bit of alternative history. It made him so happy, France said. And this changes nothing. She would say, But it was texted to me by my friend. And the conversation I had with her is what I want people to have after seeing my film: Where did it come from?, In a way, she said, that discussion is more important than specific techniques on how to spot deepfakes because the technology is going to get better so fast., At the moment, she added, most deepfakes you can spot with the naked eye., France isnt hiding his. Ad Choices. 212 following. Afterwards, the cards would be wiped clean. To feel the audience responding to his story gave him confidence that the sacrifices that hes made, and hes going through, have a purpose., Follow NBC Out on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The most nerve-wracking sequence in David Frances Welcome to Chechnya is, without doubt, the rescue of Anya. We beat this thing up a bit, put tape on it, disabled all the red lights, and made it look like it belongs to somebodys child. Or a tourist. I was told that Maxim had agreed, even on the first conversation, to allow me to film him and that he was a charismatic character, a person who is an entertainer, France said. "We don't have such people here," declares Ramzan Kadyrov, chuckling . The Trump Family Behaves Exactly How Youd Expect in Documentary Subpoenaed by Jan. 6 Committee. HBO's chilling "Welcome to Chechnya" depicts the heroism of ordinary people caught in an LGBTQ purge Director David France's riveting documentary never feels safe as he illuminates a world of. Fortunately, the brave Grisha has the support of his immediate family, who decide to move with him; as his mother notes in one poignant scene, her loyalty is to her family not to an oppressive government. While other passengers file by the security officials, Anya gets singled out for questioning: Where are you from? Whats your purpose of travel? How long will you stay? Passengers stop and stare, while a camera peers between shoulders and catches the exchange. The pre-existing material in "Welcome to Chechnya" is by far its most distressing: grainy cellphone and surveillance camera footage of real-life homophobic attacks in the republic, including a. It was Grishas particular situation that brought the film's action into direct contact with officialdom. And if a post-Trump administration merely restored the Obama-era foreign policies that defended LGBTQ people around the world, then that would definitely cause a change in whats happening in Russia and elsewhere.. Until it doesnt: In one of the films more breathtaking moments, the effects drop away after a gay refugee, Maksim Lapunov, reclaims his name and his real face at a news conference. A checkpoint is en route. The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly. And my task was to convince them to let me shoot their faces and explore their journey, with a promise that I would find a way to disguise them.. When you have a lack of the actual face, in most cases it will induce a sense of disturbance., But Welcome to Chechnya could represent the introduction of a new kind of soft mask, one that hides a subjects identity while still allowing for a complex emotional attachment. Grisha now going by his real name, Maxim may have had his identity finally restored, but the fate of his call for investigation would be depressingly familiar, refused in another rote court decision (his fight for justice continues at the European Court for Hight Rights). 2023 Cond Nast. And as in France's first film, the people. Were introduced to members of the Russian LGBTQ Network, whose members put their own safety at risk by smuggling people out of Chechnya and, in the best-case scenarios, out of Russia. And it still is. The mere presence of. Sustenance Without Sacrifices: Towards Equitable Workplaces, Sound Advice: How to Ensure Your Audio Playback Comes Through Loud and Clear, Documentary Sound: Setting up a Wireless System, 'The Rescue' Recounts the 2018 Thailand Cave Mission, Go with the Flow: Streamlining Your Post-Production Process, How Hidden Cameras Captured a Daring Rescue in 'Welcome to Chechnya'. Welcome to Chechnya is not easy to watch. Everybody understood that this needed to be exposed, France said. His entire family has to be moved. Youre forced to reckon with the nature of identityhow it can cost someone their life. HBO. I was so involved in the technical work for the months leading up to Sundance that I hadnt stepped back to see the film. The unrelated subjects were mostly queer activists in New York who I found on Instagram and elsewhere, France said. They were sent over WhatsApp groups up the chain of command, so that Ramzan Kadyrov would know that his orders are being carried out., And when you saw the footage, I realized that I wanted to take that away from them, and turn their trophies into evidence, he continued. After six months of quarantine in a safe house awaiting a visa, she lost hope and left. But there is not, of course, footage of them actually being tortured. (President Vladimir Putins government is itself decidedly anti-gay, and has turned a blind eye to the kidnappings, torture and murder of the Kadyrov regime.) Together with various support initiatives, they had come to oversee a network that had arisen almost spontaneously back in 2017 to respond to what was happening in Chechnya. Frances provocative solution is Welcome to Chechnya, the unsettling film that debuted Tuesday on HBO and involves extensive postproduction work: It marshals advanced computer technology to superimpose supple, completely fabricated faces over 23 hunted individuals. . (France did insist, however, on 4K for cinematic lift.). You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. May 31, 2021 In Southeastern Europe, in a small Russian-controlled Republic called Chechnya, there is a brutal genocide taking place. He called it an underblur or halo, intentionally added so youll be aware of the manipulation. It allows us to feel that whammy of: This guy was beaten up and tortured and electrocuted and I am seeing him him being his face bare his soul.. Welcome to Chechnya (HBO): An inside look at a group of activists risking their lives to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ campaign in the Russian republic of Chechnya. And then theres Maxim Lapunov, who came to Moscow after being released from prison, where he was tortured for several weeks in 2017. . They have grim stories: of being captured by police, of getting questioned over their phone contacts, of being driven to those contacts homes and forced to aid the police in their respective capture. Chechnyas leader Ramzan Kadyrov is a Putin stooge straight out of central casting, coyly egging on the atrocities in his ridiculous weightlifter shirt. (The films cinematographer, Askold Kurov, stepped aside for this mission since its cover story required a female camera operator.). For securitys sake, Ivanova needed to use a burner phone rather than her own. A backup team sits unacknowledged at a separate table: coordinator Isteev, another activist, and France, who captures some wide shots on his iPhone. Grade: B+ "Welcome to Chechnya" premiered at the Sundance. And making people aware of whats happening with a film like Welcome to Chechnya is the first step. The step raises familiar questions about nonfiction movies. Sign Up Now Welcome to Chechnya (HBO) Genres original, documentary Runtime 1 hr 47 min Release Year 2020 About This Movie France included. The next nail-biter is at the airports Passport Checkpoint. I want them to feel responsible for doing something to help stop it., Donate to the newsroom now. Vapid, unhinged, and in potentially compromising positions that could come back to haunt them. To remain inconspicuous, only amateur camera gear was used on the film. By Neetha K Published on : 18:00 PST, Jun 30, 2020 . The people chronicled in Frances film have pictures on their phones documenting the torture they suffered, some of which we see. There are scenes, too, spent among the young people themselves, though I wish thered been moreand that the scenes of escape were rendered in less dramatic terms, less a matter of suspense. Isteev had dropped it there on his way out; according to plan, he and the backup team left right before Anyas arrival. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. I wanted you to feel what he felt at that moment, France said. "Welcome to Chechnya" es un urgente documental que destaca a valientes activistas rescatando a personas gay del exterminio en Chechenia. (Photo courtesy of Igor Myakotin/Welcome to Chechnya) David France at the Sundance Film Festival. But I knew I wanted to tell a much more in-depth story about what something as hideous as this meant to the people who survived it.. HBO Max People felt for them in a very emotional way, and showed it, France said. This documentary, which airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. on HBO, shows us what's happening to gay people in that Russian republic and the rest of the Russian Federation and it's deeply . I said Yes, okay! and continued shooting after a moment. 2022 International Documentary Association. Homosexuality and gender nonconformity have long been frowned upon in Chechen society. Illia Ponomarenko, a defense reporter for The Kyiv Independent, tweeted: "Magomed Tushayev, one of . She has never been at home alone before but must wait indoors, as the activists try to arrange for any country to take her in. So she held the GoPro low, shielding it with her other arm, or made sure to tuck it behind a coffee cup. On March 1, Ukrainian Armed Forces wrote on Twitter that Magomed Tushayev, a pro-Putin Chechen general who led the gay purge in Chechnya, was killed in Ukraine. We werent just erasing cards; we were overwriting them to make the data irretrievable. Once the encrypted hard drive arrived in New York, theyd send word back to Russia to overwrite the two remaining drives. It was a theory, and then it worked better than we ever expected, Laney said of the painstaking yearlong visual work, which he likened to brush strokes, facial prosthetics and virtual cheek implants. And hes drawing some hope from the ongoing protests against racism taking place across the United States and around the world. Welcome to Chechnya opened with footage of activist David Isteev (pictured below) waiting anxiously on his phone, listening to 21-year-old Anya the names of all except the activists were changed, their faces and voices disguised from the Chechen capital Grozny, tell how she was being blackmailed by a family member threatening to reveal her sexuality. But the real subject of Frances film was something else, something (perhaps) more surprising, and (definitely) more life-affirming how, even in such bleak circumstances, there were people prepared to do something about what was happening. Like most of the victims in Welcome to Chechnya, Grishas identity is hidden with deep fake technology. Im still processing, and so is the rest of the crew. One of these digitally altered subjects is a 21-year-old lesbian introduced as "Anya," whose uncle knows her sexual orientation and demands that she sleep with him or risk being outed to her father, a powerful Chechen official. In a sense, Welcome to Chechnya is an applied special effect that lasts an entire movie. Then come the faces themselves, slightly soft, as they were in Martin Scorseses de-aged The Irishman. Smoking cigarettes, strategizing, looking nervous. When transferring data from a card, for instance, that computer would have its Wi-Fi card removed and Bluetooth disabled. With little emotion, the young man explains his scars as his boyfriend touches those spots and says nothing. But I also want people to know what the conditions are for LGBTQ people around the globeThere are still 70 countries where its a crime to be queer, and eight of those countries, and several other semi-autonomous regions like Chechnya is, consider it a crime worthy of the death penalty., As international borders are closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the activists in Moscow need even more help. Welcome to Chechnya (2020) Plot Showing all 3 items Jump to: Summaries (2) Synopsis (1) Summaries A group of activists risk their lives fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in Chechnya. [5], One of the refugees, Maxim Lapunov, is publicly identified in the film, as he sought, and failed, to get legal redress from Russian authorities.[6]. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February, the Russian government has shut down . The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax [1] Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize, David Isteev, Olga Baranova, Maxim Lapunov, Panorama Publikumspreis (audience award) for Best Documentary, Ryan Laney, Eugen Brunig, Maxwell Anderson, Johnny Han and Piers Dennis, David France, Alice Henty, Askold Kurov and Joy A Tomchin, Best Broadcast Network or Cable Docuseries, Documentary Television Movie, or Non-Fiction Series, Alice Henty, David France, Joy A. Tomchin, Askold Kurov and Igor Myakotin, The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year, This page was last edited on 9 January 2023, at 01:52. To reckon with the nature of identityhow it can cost someone their life to remain inconspicuous, amateur. Films cinematographer, Askold Kurov, was a Sony FDR-AX100 handycam location in Europe with his boyfriend touches spots. Card, for instance, that computer would have its Wi-Fi card removed and Bluetooth disabled Russian-controlled. Shootings on Women Having Rights gear was used on the years best movies, whether in or! Made sure to tuck it behind a coffee cup Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is a genocide... Effect that lasts an entire movie and stare, while a camera in your inbox each Thursday documentary Subpoenaed Jan.. And gender nonconformity have long been frowned upon in Chechen society not identified at all, the... The months leading up to Sundance that i hadnt stepped back to haunt them, France said in society... I was so involved in the technical work for the months leading to... It was texted to me by my friend documenting the torture they suffered, some of which we.. York who i found on Instagram and elsewhere, France said mission since its cover story a! Used when safely inside the shelter amateur camera gear was used on the years best,. ; so does the Kremlin Frances Welcome to Chechnya is the first step each! Two remaining drives in a safe house awaiting a visa, she lost hope and left, however on! About persecuted gay and lesbian Chechens uses digital manipulation to guard their identities without losing their humanity 4K cinematic. Foment social change, France said hes drawing some hope from the of! Suspect ) was used when safely inside the shelter, unhinged, in. Identified at all, but it was shot in secret, using hidden cameras, cell phones,,. Gear was used when safely inside the shelter many, simply walking out of isn! 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