Russia

This powerful documentary short spotlights the life of Russian civil rights activist Anastasia Shevchenko as she faces the brutal repercussions of speaking out against her government. Shevchenko endured house arrest for two years, and became the first person found guilty of “organizing activity of an undesirable organization” by a Russian court for her work with the Open Russia movement. Amnesty International declared her a “prisoner of conscience.”

RED AFRICA

A fascinating and insightful documentary, Red Africa relates the history of the influence exerted by the USSR over many African states between 1960 and 1990. Incorporating extraordinary archival footage filmed by Soviet operators, excerpts from official speeches by Soviet and African leaders and audio recording made by Soviet filmmakers during their African expeditions, Red Africa reveals the hidden agenda of the USSR which, under the cloak of generosity, was aspiring to expand its socialist “paradise."

ATLANTIS

A prize-winner at the Venice Film Festival and Ukraine’s official submission for the 93rd Academy Awards, Atlantis is a gorgeous and visionary sci-fi drama. In 2025, Eastern Ukraine is a desert unsuitable for human habitation, water a dear commodity brought by trucks. Sergiy, a former soldier, meets Katya while she’s on a humanitarian mission. Together, they try to return to some sort of normal life in which they are also allowed to fall in love again.

THE MARK OF CAIN

Sailing ships, angels and executioners, this classic documentary chronicles the vanishing practice and language of Russian criminal tattoos. Recalling the prison writings of Solzhenitsyn or Dostoevsky, Lambert's harrowingly beautiful and penetrating study served as inspiration for Cronenberg's Eastern Promises.

VICTORY DAY

A courageous, essential portrait of what its like to be gay in Russia today, from Alina Rudnitskaya, one of the country's most important filmmakers.

GRUMANT: ISLAND OF COMMUNISM

A fascinating documentary about the men and women who travel to work at an old Soviet settlement in the arctic, where not much has changed in nearly 100 years.

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