Putin's Witnesses

A few weeks after Navalny's death, the main figure of opposition to Putin, and the unsurprising Russian presidential election, let's take a moment to look back to the turn of the last century. Boris Yeltsin, the first president of the Russian Federation, hands over power to his protege, the young Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who enjoys soaring popularity following a tightening of security measures amidst bombings and war in Chechnya. On January 1, 2000, at midnight, he, the interim president, delivers the traditional New Year's address to the nation. Vitaly Mansky is commissioned to make a film about his campaign over the next few months, leading up to the March 2000 elections. Following him closely for weeks, Mansky films the daily life of the favored candidate, even into Yeltsin's family living room, surrounded by his courtiers who will elevate him to the throne. Mansky, who has been in exile since 2014 and digs into his archives years later, positions himself here as an astute witness to the return of the totalitarian specter, foreshadowing the imperialistic and autocratic drift to come.

Aurélien Marsais
Programmer, producer