In the weeks before and after the invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022, the Russian media landscape was radically restructured. Askold Kurov, director of The Trial: The State Of Russia Vs Oleg Sentsov (2017) and Children 404 (2014), documents how the tightening grip of political repression through new legislation on press freedom prompts some to self-censor and forces others into exile. By charting the tipping point in one country, Kurov points to the alarming trend of external interference in independent journalism by state and private interests around the world. (BH)
Askold Kurov: Born in Uzbekistan in 1974, now based in Turkey. In 2010 took a degree in documentary filmmaking at the Marina Razbezhkina Film School in Moscow. In 2012 he was one of the directors of the award-winning documentary «Winter, Go Away!»; His next films «Leninland», «Children 404» and «The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov» also won critical acclaim and screened at numerous festivals. His work focuses on human rights issues and social conflicts in contemporary Russia.