Welcome To Chechnya Review

             Welcome To Chechnya details the work of the Russian LGBT Network, following the stories of a few people helped by them in their plight to escape the Russian state of Chechnya, where there has been an institutionally supported pogrom against their community. We follow the groups work with a number of different people, seeing them through their individual escape and recovery stories. The bravery shown by the group and the people they help is really extraordinary. The film is so full of despair and tragedy, yet it also shows a whole lot of hope that things will change in Chechnya and so many other places. From what I’ve read, the film has been extremely successful so far, and I’m really hoping it will be shown on television sometime so it can reach as many people as it possibly can. I really think that if it manages to raise enough awareness for the issue, some real change can made.

Obviously with a subject matter like this, it’s an inescapably difficult film to sit through. The filmmakers choose to not include the real footage of some of the acts of torture and violence done to these people. Nobody can be blamed for avoiding it for these reasons. And for those people, I’d recommend visiting the film’s website, which has information on how we can help provide them with support and information. 

https://www.welcometochechnya.com

Written By Ben Matthews