FACETS CINÉMATHÈQUE
July 2008
The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114. To order advance tickets online, visit the TicketWeb website by clicking here.
Chicago Premiere
POISONED BY POLONIUM:
THE LITVINENKO FILE
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WINNER
Cannes & Toronto Film Fests |
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"Extraordinary"
-New York Times
"Political documentary doesn’t get more fascinating — or depressing — than Andrei Nekrasov’s visual essay"
-L.A. Weekly
"Provacative...the film provides a grimly fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of a failing democracy"
-TimeOut Chicago
Director Andrei Nekrasov's film contains a devastating indictment of the current state of Russia recently under Vladimir Putin, and at the same time it is a fascinating portrait of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, fatally poisoned in London last year. Nekrasov had full access to Alexander Litvinenko when the latter fled to London after holding a press conference in Moscow, accusing the Russian secret service of a series of misdeeds. The film is full of other equally revealing testimonies – such as an interview with Anna Politkovskaya, the investigative journalist killed in Moscow in 2006 – as well as clandestine video footage and news broadcasts showing the police and former KGB agents at work. In its urgent, hurried, covert feeling, Nekrasov scratches well beneath the surface of contemporary Russia, accusing Putin of ordering the murders of opposition figures, laundering money, harassing wealthy Russian businessmen who publicly oppose his policies, and generally creating an atmosphere of fear and oppression designed to crush opposition.
Directed by Andrei Nekrasov, Russia, 2007, 35mm, 106 mins. In Russian and English with English subtitles.
Official site
Director interview
The Guardian: Polonium investigation
New York Times
L.A. Weekly
TimeOut Chicago
Showtimes:
Fri., Jul. 11 at 7 & 9 pm
Sat.-Sun., Jul. 12-13 at 3, 5, 7 & 9 pm
Mon.-Thurs., Jul. 14-17 at 7 & 9 pm
Tickets: