Welcome to Chechnya

"Inside the Russian Republic's deadly war on gays"

2020 1h 47m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 52

Documentary

Synopsis

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This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.

“Inside the Russian Republic's deadly war on gays”

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Cast

Maxim Lapunov
Self
Olga Baranova
Self
David Isteev
Self
Vladimir Putin
Self
Ramzan Kadyrov
Self
Zelim Bakaev
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David France
Writers: David France, Tyler H. Walk
Languages: Russian, French, English, Chechen
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Russian, French, English, Chechen.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by David France, shot by Askold Kurov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Evgueni Galperine. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tyler H. Walk shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Maxim Lapunov and Olga Baranova and David Isteev carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Inside the Russian Republic's deadly war on gays".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt11394200 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David France directs. Askold Kurov behind the camera. Evgueni Galperine scores. Tyler H. Walk cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Russian, French, English, Chechen.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 6 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Russian, French, English, Chechen.
3Directed by David France, shot by Askold Kurov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Evgueni Galperine. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Tyler H. Walk shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Maxim Lapunov and Olga Baranova and David Isteev carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Inside the Russian Republic's deadly war on gays".
8IMDB entry: tt11394200 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Askold Kurov
Original score: Evgueni Galperine
Editing: Tyler H. Walk
VFX supervisor: Brooke Lyndon-Stanford
Sound: Lora Hirschberg
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Welcome to Chechnya (2020)

Awards

Sundance Special Jury Prize Documentary

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

David France

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Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-09-05
★ 7/10
At times this is quite an harrowing documentary to watch as the intimate style of photography illustrates well the persecution of homosexuality in the breakaway eponymous Russian Republic. With President Putin's administration in Moscow denying any systematic abuse of these people, it's left to the local bully-boy governor Ramzan Kadyrov to deny that there are any gay folks in Chechnya and if there are, then they are diluting the pure bloodlines and out to get out. The methods to which the thugs will go to attack their quarry are quite inventive. They use social media to find a victim then use their own contacts and chats to find others - all with a view to beating them to within an inch of their lives then dumping the traumatised and battered people with stark warnings to leave. The narrative here shows the efforts made by various bodies trying to help, but who are themselves facing at best indifference and at worst downright hostility from the national authorities whose complicity in this "cleansing" is only very thinly disguised. The sense of peril faced by these people is well presented and the fact that many have their faces pixellated does bring home the real dangers faced from a vigilante element of society that cares not remotely for any human rights or liberties. It's one of those irrational hatreds that's been drummed into them and that sums up the archetypal bully perfectly. The fleeing characters involved are fearful and terrified half the time, but that doesn't mean that they are going to give up their fight. Even when faced with brutality, they are still determined to serve for equality and freedom under the law. Thing is, those in power simply alter or blur the law to make it even harder for them to achieve basic safety let alone justice. Not an easy watch, but well worth it.

Production companies