Chechen retrospective

Assassination of Russia
Charles Gazelle / Francúzsko / 2002 / 52 min.

In September 1999 a series of explosions in apartment houses in Moscow and Volgodonsk rang out in the night, killing over 300 people. Without any hesitation the bomb attacks were blamed on Chechen terrorists, and incoming president Vladimir Putin immediately had public opinion on his side in the war in Chechnya . Complications began to occur when the police found an unexploded bomb, part of the arsenal of the Russian secret service, in the cellar of another building in a very similar residential apartment block. “It was a charge allocated for practice explosions,” explained the head of the Russian secret service. Opposition newspaper journalists, historians, military experts and a considerable part of the public were not convinced by these words. French director Charles Gazelle in his investigative documentary raises a series of questions about the bombings and what seems to be an official cover-up. He discovers that a member of the human rights group in Ryazan , Viktor Lozinsky, one of those who dared to ask unpleasant questions to authorities was forced to emigrate after receiving death threats. Other journalists were intimidated. To this day, no one has been charged with the attacks. It is still forbidden to screen this documentary in Russia.

Kontakt: y.felshtinsky@verizon.net

Chechen lullaby
Nino Kirtadze / Francúzsko / 2000 / 57 min.

The Chechen-Russian conflict dates back to the early 19th century. Five war correspondents, including Czech journalist Petra Procházková, relate their personal and professional experiences as witnesses of the most recent Chechen war. Their testimonies reveal the absurdity and hopelessness of the current situation and their own frustration as they watch civilians die on a daily basis in a war largely outside the West´s concern.

Kontakt: dtibi@rocheproductions.com

COCA – Die Taube aus Tschetschenien
Eric Bergkraut / Švajčiarsko / 2005 / 86 min.

Her parents called Zainap Gashaeva „Coca“ - the dove. Born in exile in Kasakhstan, she became a business woman and reared four children. Zainap has been documenting daily events since 1994: abductions, torture, murders. What has been declared an „anti-terrorist operation“ by President Putin has taken on features of genocide. Up to thirty percent of the Chechen population may have been killed. The world is looking away; be it out of ignorance, helplessness or opportunism. Together with other women, Zainap has been hiding hundreds of videotapes. She is now bringing the videotapes to Western Europe to serve as evidence so that the guilty - on whichever side - are punished. Is she tilting at windmills?

Kontakt: info@docproductions.ch

Prisoners of Caucasus
Yury Khashchavatski / Poľsko, Bielorusko, Nemecko / 2002 / 52 min.

The title and parts of the narration of this evocative and shocking film come from Leo Tolstoy’s story of Russian war in Chechnya. 150 years later, not much has changed. Masterfully edited from extensive and at times graphic video footage of several cameramen, director Yuri Khashchavatski shows the modern-day carnage in Chechnya from both sides of the conflict. The story is built around a train trip Khashchavatski takes through Russia, with Tolstoy’s book and a young Russian officer as companion. Ten years of footage are woven together in a series of vignettes and reflections – Chechenya just before the war, scenes of battle, death on both sides, unspeakable cruelty, absurd military parades. ”What’s the point of you beeing here?” Tolstoy’s protagonist asks himself. This film asks the same question – and comes up with the same answer. The curiously upbeat soundtrack and occasional black humour narratives only add the film’s impact.

Kontakt: besta@besta.pl

Terror in Moscow
Dan Reed / Veľká Británia, USA, Rusko / 2003 / 60 min.

“These women were almost hostages just like us,” states one of the visitors to the Dubrovka theatre to documentary filmmaker Dan Reed. The theatre was taken over by a group of Chechen terrorists in October 2002, among whom was a group of women referred to as the “black widows.” Through the use of amateur video footage from one of the terrorists, recorded cell phone conversations of the panicked hostages, and the vivid memories from those who survived the ordeal, the filmmakers are able to follow chronologically the dramatic events that took the lives of 129 hostages and all 41 Chechen terrorists. What are the reasons that lead educated Chechen women to accept the most radical Islamic ideology? What were the feelings of those trapped in that Moscow theatre for two and a half days? Were not all of the actors in the tragic events unfortunate victims of the senseless Russian-Chechen war? What led the group of Chechen terrorists to exclaim without reservation: “We desire death more than you desire life?“

Kontakt: danreed@suspectdevice.com