Lithuania to make public show of film about Gataevs

On November 5, the Lithuanian city of Kaunas will present the film called "Three Rooms of Melancholia" to broad public; the idea of the film is to draw public attention to the problem of relations between the Chechens, Russians and Europeans.

In 1997, the Gataev spouses founded a non-commercial organization in Grozny named "Kindred Family", aimed to take care of the Chechen children who lost their parents. Later, Malik and Khadizhat Gataev, together with their own children and ten foster orphans, moved to Lithuania, where they were sentenced to deprivation of liberty. Cruel treatment of their children was indicated as one of the reasons. The spouses who now live in Finland assert that they were sentenced on forged charges.

"Tomorrow, Kaunas will hold the first show of the film by Finnish filmmaker Pirjo Khonkasalo "Three Rooms of Melancholia" and public debates about the fate of the family children's home "Kindred Family", founded after the first Chechen War by Khadizhat and Malik Gataev," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Oksana Chelysheva, Deputy Director of the Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship, who noted that the first show would be attended also by Lithuanian politicians.

The upcoming show, according to Ms Chelysheva, has already brought attention of Lithuanian and European mass media.