12:39, 10 April 2021

Chechen spectators assess positively film about protests in Ingushetia

A still of the documentary "Border", YouTube channel of the Artdocfest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUVjOvRGS_4

The viewpoint of Chechen people is not presented in the documentary "Border" by Maryana Kalmykova about the protests of Ingush residents against the border agreement with Chechnya. Khava Khazbieva, the film producer, has explained that the authors tried to show the depth of people's experiences and what has changed in their lives. The interviewed residents of Chechnya saw a reflection of the real course of events of those days in the documentary.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in April, the "Artdocfest" Russian festival of documentary films screened a number of films about the events in Southern Russia. At the same time, the festival organizers were forced to cancel the screenings of two films about the Caucasus – the "Quiet Voice" about the fate of a Chechen gay man, and the "Doazuv" ("Border") about protests in Ingushetia.

According to Khava Khazbieva, the producer, the "Border" was conceived to show how protests were perceived by people, and what has changed in their lives since October 2018. According to her story, the film is a chronicle of protests.

"Those who have watched the film reproach us that there is no opinion of the Chechen people in it ... We have not heard the opinion of the Chechen people, because there is no way to hear it yet. Because everyone knows that in this situation this opinion will not be objective. So far, we see a wave of negativity against the Ingush opposition; people resort to outright insults. These are not the Chechens who came to support protesters in Magas. Both Chechens and Ingushes are equally painful about this problem," Ms Khazbieva has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 10, 2021 at 02:00 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.