Daniel Roher Documentary Thriller ‘Navalny’ Is This Year’s Sundance Secret Screening
25.01.2022 - 00:15
/ deadline.com
This year’s Sundance Film Festival may be online, but that doesn’t mean they can’t program a secret screening.
Just added, Daniel Roher’s documentary thriller Navalny will make its world premiere as the tenth and final title in the U.S. Documentary Competition section on Jan. 25, 6PM Mountain time.
Navalny focuses on Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny. In the documentary, Roher had unparalleled access to Navalny and his inner circle.
In August 2020, a plane traveling from Siberia to Moscow made an emergency landing. One of its passengers, Navalny, was deathly ill. After he was taken to a local Siberian hospital and eventually evacuated to Berlin, German authorities confirmed that he had been poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent implicated in attacks on other opponents of the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin immediately cast doubt on the findings and denied any involvement.
While he was recovering, Navalny and his team — already with a large social media following in tow — partnered with the data investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat as well as other international news organizations, including CNN, to investigate his attempted assassination and find proof of the Kremlin’s involvement.
“We are delighted to have Navalny at this year’s Festival,” said Tabitha Jackson, the Festival’s Director. “When we saw this film in the early fall we all immediately knew that we wanted it and would wait for it: riveting cinema in the present tense, incredible access, intrepid investigative journalism, a compelling protagonist speaking truth to power – all beautifully edited, directed and produced into a timely non-fiction thriller that deals with the highest of stakes for freedom of