directed by Nina Guseva, Russia, 2021, 76 min., original version with Italian subtitles
 

In the summer of 2019 Moscow was the theatre of unprecedented protests against the Putin government. Three thousand people were arrested, their number including a young but already popular activist named Konstantin Kotov. His lawyer Maria Eismont immediately realised that the charges against him were purely instrumental, designed to instil fear and to set an example to the country’s countless other politically committed youngsters. Despite Maria’s efforts, the interest shown by public opinion and the sheer injustice of it all, the court sentenced Kotov to four years in prison. Before, during and after the trial, we track Maria’s work and her efforts, discovering the merciless way in which the Russian judiciary works and the climate of repression that targets anyone who dares to raise their voice against Putin.

Nina Guseva was born in Moscow in 1988. She graduated as an actress at the Moscow Art Theatre School in 2011 and joined the school’s own company. She has been acting in theatre and film productions ever since. She was admitted to the Marina Razbezhkina School of Documentary Cinema in 2018. She made her first documentary, Rosa, in 2019. The Case, her first full-length feature film, was pre-premiered at the IDFA Festival in Amsterdam in 2021.

Statement from the director

I only knew of Maria Eismont as a journalist for her in-depth report on torture in Russian jails. Later, tracking her on Facebook, I discovered that she had also begun to work as a lawyer. I asked her if I could follow her with a cine-camera and she agreed, but she warned me that nothing interesting would happen. Shortly afterwards, in the summer of 2019, the protests against the government began and many protesters were arrested or detained, the well-known activist Konstantin Kotov being one of them. At that point it came naturally to me to decide to track his legal ordeal through Maria’s experience as his lawyer. Her personality and charisma enabled the case to enjoy the media coverage that it deserved and this, for me as a director, meant a greater commitment but also more surprises during filming. Attention began to focus on the Kotov trial and people’s enthusiasm also appeared to be growing alongside their curiosity – until the introduction of Article 212.1 into the criminal code, the justification for Kotov’s conviction in blatant conflict with the Russian Constitution, made it quite clear that the goal was to suppress and to suffocate any form of civic activism. Today Maria continues to work as a lawyer, defending numerous opponents of the government charged with “spreading lies about the Russian Armed Forces and discrediting the government” on the basis of the new articles in the law – articles expressly devised to target those protesting against or criticising Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Nina Guseva

Informazioni

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Sala Cinema

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