The Litvinenko documentary everyone’s talking about
February 9th, 2007 by Zsofia
A few days ago, BBC 2 aired a much talked about Litvinenko documentary, “My Friend Sasha: A very Russian murder.” The film has been in the news not just for its unseen footage of the poisoned Litvinenko, but also for the threats its Russian director, Andrei Nekrasov, received during the film’s final cut for the BBC programme, Storyville.
Here is what series editor Nick Fraser said about the film on the Storyville website: The director “doesn’t attempt to ’solve’ the Litvinenko murder. Instead he re-creates Litvinenko’s life and, more importantly, his consciousness. And he tells us how terrifying it is to be an intelligent, critical individual in contemporary Russia. The real subject of the film is Nekrasov’s admiration for Litvinenko, who was a remarkable and courageous man.”
Nekrasov started filming in 2000 and interviewed many Russian critics of Putin, including the (by now assassinated) journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky. He talked to Litvinenko and Berezovsky about the way they met and the details of how Litvinenko was ordered, but refused, to kill Berezovksy. He also explored the delicate press freedom situation, and interviewed former secret service officials, who now fear for their lives, and a lawyer who has been imprisoned for his views.
The film seems to have been originally intended as a general documentary on Russian corruption and cronyism, and its Litvinenko focus only happened gradually, or perhaps even only as a direct result of his assassination. (There is actually only one interview with Litvinenko, although quite long, and cut into bits.) Unfortunately, Nekrasov did not shoot any footage right after the Politkovskaya murder, even though Litvinenko was highly vocal about the case, putting the blame directly on Putin. He spoke at the Frontline media club in London, you can watch here what he said.
The director told RFE/RL that he had to wrap up the edit quickly. “I know there is very strong pressure from British society on the government and the police to comment on this issue, and television, too, is pressured,” Nekrasov said. “For example, I asked the BBC to give me at least six weeks for editing. This is normal. I was given three weeks for everything, for the reason that society needs some kind of answer - if not the name of the perpetrators, then an honest and open discussion.”
In other news, Hollywood studios are in a race to start production on various Litvinenko projects. Johnny Depp has announced he would produce a film based on a forthcoming book by Alan Cowell, the New York Times’s London bureau chief. Columbia Pictures has reportedly offered $1.5 million for the rights to Death of a Dissident, written by Litvinenko’s widow. Meanwhile, a third film, Blowing Up Russia will be based on Litvinenko’s own book alleging that President Putin was behind the 1999 Russian apartment bombings, which were blamed on Chechen separatists.
