Sundance Film Festival 2022 has unveiled Daniel Roher’s documentary thriller about poison attack survivor and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as its mystery film.
Navalny becomes the tenth and final selection in the U.S. Documentary Competition strand and premieres on Tuesday evening (25) at 5pm PT.
Opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Navalny became severely ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow in August 2020. After the plane made an emergency landing he was rushed to hospital in Siberia and then on to Berlin where he was treated for Novichok poisoning. The nerve agent has been implicated in attacks on other opponents of the Russian government although president Vladimir Putin cast doubt on the findings and denied any involvement.
During his convalescence Navalny and his team partnered with data investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat and other international news organisations including CNN to investigate his attempted assassination and find proof of the Kremlin’s involvement. He returned Russia in early 2021 and was promptly arrested and imprisoned on fraud charges that he has claimed are politically motivated. Last year Russia outlawed Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation FBK and his other organisations.
The documentary will air on CNN in North America and HBO Max and CNN+ hold streaming rights. Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris and Odessa Rae served as producers. Roher’s feature directing credits incude Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson And The Band, and Ghosts Of Our Forest.
“When we saw this film in the early fall we all immediately knew that we wanted it and would wait for it,” said Sundance festival director Tabitha Jackson. “Riveting cinema in the present tense, incredible access, intrepid investigative journalism, a compelling protagonist speaking truth to power – all beautifully edited, directed and produced into a timely non-fiction thriller that deals with the highest of stakes for freedom of expression.”
Sundance Film Festival runs through January 30.
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