Welcome To Chechnya (2020, David France)

Welcome To Chechnya immediately reveals the injustice and the brutality that is subjected to the Chechen LGBTQI+ community. The first-hand accounts of the horrors that the Chechen government inflicted on them and the lack of humanity from the Russian government as a whole is cruel and appalling. 

Emotionally packed, Frank’s film voices truths that I was unable to physically watch at times. The power of this 107-minute documentary brought me to tears. The violence revealed in cell phone footage, CCTV footage and original film broke my heart. These flashes of violence continuously emphasise the danger that the Chechen LGBT community face on a daily basis.

As we follow the efforts of the brave activists who fight to rescue as many individuals as possible the true scope of the horrors are revealed. The face-altering technology used to obscure the faces of the individuals who are being hunted down is a chilling insight into the power of the Chechen government and its monstrous leader. A leader who publicly denies the existence of gay people living in his republic, while he secretly hunts them down. This face-altering technology is a brilliant way to keep the identities hidden while still revealing their own individual truths. 

This film is aimed to show the upsetting reality to ultimately gain immediate awareness and action. 

Written by Hope Rowden