''Navalny'' is a 2022

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by

Daniel Roher Daniel Roher () is a Canadian documentary film director from Toronto, Ontario. He is most noted for his 2019 film '' Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band'', which was the opening film of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. ...

. The film revolves around

Russian opposition Opposition to the government of President Vladimir Putin in Russia can be divided between the parliamentary opposition parties in the State Duma and the various non-systemic opposition organizations. While the former are largely viewed as bei ...

leader

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolievich Navalny ( rus, links=no, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj; born 4 June 1976) is a Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, Russian opposition ...

and events related to his

poisoning A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not to ...

. It was produced by

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

and

CNN Films CNN Films is a motion picture division of CNN under Warner Bros. Pictures. originally launched in 2012. Its first film, ''Girl Rising'' premiered in spring 2013 in the United States. History On October 8, 2012, CNN announced the creation of CNN F ...

. The film premiered on 25 January 2022 at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

, where it received critical and audience acclaim and won the Audience Award in the US Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award. It also received a nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the

95th Academy Awards The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor films released in 2022, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 12, 2023. Comed ...

, won the award for Best Political Documentary at the 7th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and picked up best documentary at the 76th BAFTA awards ceremony.

Synopsis

The film tells about the events related to the

of Russian opposition leader

and the subsequent investigation into the poisoning. On 20 August 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, falling sick during a flight from

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and was hospitalized in serious condition. Navalny was taken to a hospital in

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

after an emergency landing there, and put in a coma. Two days later, he was evacuated to the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

hospital in Berlin, Germany. The use of the nerve agent was confirmed by five

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member ...

(OPCW) certified laboratories. Navalny blamed Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

for his poisoning, while the Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement. The film shows how

Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014 ...

journalist

Christo Grozev Christo Grozev (; born 20 May 1969) is a Bulgarian investigative journalist and author. He is the lead Russia investigator with Bellingcat, focusing on security threats, extraterritorial clandestine operations, and the weaponization of informatio ...

and Maria Pevchikh, the head investigator for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, reveal the details of a plot that indicates the involvement of Putin. The director described the film as "the story of one man and his struggle with an authoritarian regime".

Production

The project was first announced on 13 January 2022. The film was directed by Canadian documentary filmmaker

, who originally planned to make a film about one of the investigations of

. Filming began shortly after Navalny came out of a coma and went on until his arrest in January 2021: according to the main character of the film, the film crew was next to him even at the border control at the airport. It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films in partnership with Fishbowl Films, RaeFilm Studios and Cottage M. The project was produced by Fishbowl Films' Diane Becker and Melanie Miller, Cottage M's

Shane Boris Shane Boris (born 1981, Denver) is a film producer, and founder and creative producer at Cottage M, an independent production house. He is best known for the 2022 documentary films ''Fire of Love'' and '' Navalny'', both of which were nominate ...

, RaeFilm Studios Odessa Rae, CNN Films' Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton, and Maria Pevchikh.

Release

The film premiered on 25 January 2022 at the

as the final title in the U.S. Documentary Competition section, where it won the Festival Favorite Award and the Audience Award for the U.S. Documentary Competition. In March 2022,

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...

acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, and set it for an April 11, and April 12, 2022, release. The film is scheduled to premiere on 24 April 2022 on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

in the US, as well as on the streaming platform

CNN+ The Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news channel and website headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owne ...

.CNN и HBO сняли документальный фильм о Навальном
/ref> It will begin streaming on

on May 26, 2022. It was shown on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

on 25 March 2022

Reception

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' critic Phil Harrison awarded it 5/5 stars calling it "... one of the most jaw-dropping things you’ll ever witness", and "this terrifying documentary enters the realms of the far-fetched spy thriller – and yet it’s all true". ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' film critic Ben Kenigsberg added the film to the "Critic's List" and also praised it saying "Roher has assembled a tense and absorbing look at Navalny and his inner circle".

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{CNN Films 2022 films American documentary films Alexei Navalny 2022 documentary films Articles with missing Wikidata information CNN Films films Warner Bros. films Sundance Film Festival award winners Films directed by Daniel Roher Films scored by Marius de Vries Documentary films about Russia Films about Vladimir Putin Documentary films about human rights Documentary films about elections Documentary films about politicians Documentary films about historical events 2020s American films