Welcome To Chechnya

State-sponsored, anti-gay purges have occurred since 2007 across Chechnya, a largely Muslim republic in southwest Russia. With the explicit encouragement of Ramzan Kadyrov, Moscow’s puppet leader in the region, a campaign has been waged to detain, torture and execute hundreds of gay men.

This acclaimed film follows LGBTQ+ rights activists risking their lives to help persecuted individuals, their partners, and families escape from Russia. American documentarian David France uses an innovative special effect to disguise faces which allows his camera to capture a close-up view of this on-going atrocity and the dedicated activists fighting against it.

Awards

Berlin International Film Festival 2020 Amnesty International Film Prize & Panorama Audience Award Winner; Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2020 Audience Award Winner; Sundance Film Festival 2020 Grand Jury Prize Nominee.

Director

David France

Languages

English, Russian, Chechen
(English subtitles)

Film Details

2020, 107 min
United States

Content Warning: contains difficult imagery, violence. Language may be offensive to some viewers.

Bastards’ Road

War veteran Jon Hancock wrestles with his demons while walking 5,800 miles across the United States.

Struggling with PTSD, U.S. Marine veteran Jonathan Hancock decides to walk almost 6,000 miles through the United States as a way to confront his own demons and find solace with his fellow 2/4 Marines across the country known as The Magnificent Bastards. Marked by honesty, insight and humor, the film tells a story about conquering trauma and beginning to heal.