Equality is just a given in the twenty-first century, isn’t it? Well, for those of you who thought that, you are so wrong. For members of the LGBTQI+ community in Chechnya, equality is unheard of.  Filmmaker David France shines a devastating light on the horrors faced by those in the community who openly express who they are ranging from torture in prisons to their own families being urged to kill them.  

Viewers are told that 2017 was the catalyst in the violation of the rights of the LGBTQI+ community. On something as simple as a drug raid, I am left unable to understand how finding explicit gay photos on a phone provides justification for the Chechnyan government to violently persecute this community. In addition to this, the fact a staggering two million signed a petition protesting at their treatment but protestors were not allowed to present it- clearly illustrates something incredibly dark going on. Why has this not sparked global outrage? Why is the man overseeing all this allowed to post videos of himself weight lifting on instagram? Where is the justice in this?

The main spark of positivity in this documentary is undoubtedly Lupinov, a refugee from Chechnya. It is unfathomable the amount of pain he went through and mental strength it must have taken to share his story. To put your life in the firing zone is something to be commended. 

If you are looking for a documentary that will question the progressiveness of the twenty-first century and leave you incredibly outraged, Welcome to Chechnya is a must watch. 

Written by Tess Cox