Anna Shishova-Bogolubova and Dmitry Bogolyubov
Last week, Anna Shishova-Bogolubova’s new documentary The New Greatness won the IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut, an important boost for a project predicted to surface on the festival circuit in early 2022. International sales for the project are handled by Autlook.
The film, which Anna made with her partner and husband, Dmitry Bogolyubov, tells a truly shocking story. In 2018, a Russian teenager called Anya was arrested alongside several other youngsters on a trumped-up charge, accused of extremism and threatened with a long custodial sentence. Her family were desperate to exonerate her.
Shishova-Bogolubova first discovered Anya’s story when she was making a video for the Russian human rights organisation, Memorial.
“When I heard this story, I was so shocked and scared,” the director remembers. “I couldn’t believe how this 17-year-old girl was convicted of things that were impossible, like she planned to overthrow the Russian Federation, which sounds so absurd.”
“I knew about political cases in Russia. We live in Russia. We know how many people are arrested…this is not surprising for us. Me and my husband, we are in this community of human rights activists and journalists. But this case was particularly shocking for me,” Shishova-Bogolubova continues.
It was highly unusual for teenagers to be arrested in this way. Equally scary was the “entrapment” used to snare the teenagers. A shadowy figure called Ruslan D went to extreme lengths to win the confidence of the youngsters. He then betrayed them and vanished.
The filmmakers were introduced to Anya’s parents by the human rights organisation. “That’s why we got their trust, got this access and became their really close friends.”
Vlad Ketkovich, who had also worked with the filmmakers on their 2019 doc Town Of Glory, is the producer. “Vlad is our old friend…Vlad is brave and crazy enough to be involved in this kind of project,” Shishova-Bogolubova says of their collaborator.
The filmmakers themselves face obvious dangers in making the documentary.
“To be honest, it is very hard to predict all risks here,” the director acknowledges. “We co-operate very closely with human rights organisations and with lawyers. We consult them about each point. But some things are unpredictable. Risks exist all the time.”
The filmmakers have been very careful not to break any Russian laws. They’ve also tried to keep the project in the public eye. The more publicity the film has, Shishova-Bogolubova suggests, “the safer we and our characters are. Our government really doesn’t like to deal with big international cases. That is why we do not close information about the project. We publish it on social media and we do it openly.”
Shishova-Bogolubova admits it takes very strong will-power not to become scared and “paranoid” while working on the documentary. “It’s the hardest thing to remain calm.”
There has now been a verdict in the case against Anya and the teenagers. They pleaded guilty. Several have been sent to prison for up to seven years. Anya herself has been put under house arrest for four years. “This means she is very limited in her rights. She cannot study or work. She cannot have a bank account. She cannot leave Moscow or Russia. She cannot participate in any political events.” The filmmakers also follow Anya’s distraught and devastated mother, Julia.
Another strand of the doc deals with an independent investigation into the case by journalist Vasily Polonsky.
The film has already received considerable support from international festivals and producers. It was backed early on by the IDFA Bertha Fund. Several European co-producers are also aboard, among them Finland’s IV Films, Norway’s Piraya Film AS, and Croatia’s Nukleus Film. In the Netherlands, Evangelical Broadcasting (EO) TV is a backer. So are YLE TV and the Finnish Film Foundation. The Creative Europe MEDIA Fund has also provided financing. Veteran Canadian producer Ina Fichman of Intuitive Pictures is aboard as executive producer.
However, there is no funding at all for the doc from Russia.
The filmmakers have participated in various pitching forums, among them Hot Docs and Riga.
They are now very close to picture lock and are frantically trying to get the film finished by the end of the year. They believe that the buzz generated by the IDFA Forum rough cut award will give the project the push it needs to enable the financing finally to be completed.
