“Welcome to Chechnya”: the trailer of the HBO documentary about the persecution of gays in the republic was released
Ramzan Kadyrov in the movie "Welcome to Chechnya"
A few hours ago, the American channel HBO presented the first trailer for a documentary called "Welcome to Chechnya" (Welcome To Chechnya), which tells about the persecution of members of the LGBT community in the territory of the Caucasian republic. The documentary, directed by David France, is set to premiere on June 30th.
The film tells the stories of members of the LGBT community who are trying to leave Chechnya to avoid persecution and torture by the authorities. The heroes also became an employee of the "Russian LGBT Network" David Isteev and the director of the Moscow Community Center for LGBT initiatives Olga Baranova, who help the persecuted secretly leave their native republic.
The head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov flashes several times in the trailer. In one of the excerpts, he answers a journalist’s question about rumors about the persecution and torture of representatives of the LGBT community, which are being carried out on the territory of Chechnya.
Kadyrov answers with a smile on his face.
Ramzan Kadyrov in the movie "Welcome to Chechnya"
"Welcome to Chechnya" premiered in January 2020 at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, and in February the documentary won the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival. David France, who directed Welcome to Chechnya, was nominated for an Oscar in 2012 for his other documentary, How to Survive the Plague, which chronicles the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
Recall that for the first time about the mass persecution of gays in Chechnya in April 2017, Novaya Gazeta spoke. At the same time, the head of the republic and local authorities have denied the existence of the problem all this time.
Ramzan Kadyrov in the movie "Welcome to Chechnya"