This interview was originally posted to the Documentary Channel Blog during last year’s Sundance Film Festival on January 14, 2013.
One of my most anticipated documentaries of this year’s Sundance Film Festival is Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, which follows the trial of three members of the Russian feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot. Less than a year ago, Maria “Masha” Alyokhina, Nadezhda “Nadia” Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina “Katya” Samutsevich were arrested for the collective’s performance in a Moscow cathedral, which was in protest of Vladimir Putin’s reelection.
By August they were all convicted and sentenced, with much of the world infuriated by this human rights travesty, likening the events to Stalin’s “show trials.” It’s an ongoing story of appeals and international responses, with one of the young women out on probation and the other two now serving time as political prisoners.
Clearly the film has had a quick turnaround, and that’s partly why I haven’t yet seen even a teaser let alone the whole feature. But I think this will be an important documentary, possibly this year’s Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, and so I took the opportunity, sight unseen, to interview Oscar-nominated producer Mike Lerner (Hell and Back Again), who makes his directorial debut with Pussy Riot, and his co-director, Maxim Pozdorovkin. The following exchange was conducted via email:
Documentary Channel Blog: What drew you guys to make this documentary?
Mike Lerner: What drew me was the image of Pussy Riot performing in Red Square in front of the Kremlin. I wondered, who are these people, what do they want, what the hell are they going to do next?
Maxim Pozdorovkin: One of the first things that drew me was a sense of a shared past with the characters. We had lived through similar times, listened to the same loud records, read the same poets and philosophers. I have found myself at family dinner tables arguing that Russian society could benefit from a feminist upheaval. The parents of the three members of Pussy Riot recalled having similar arguments with their daughters. As I listened to the girls’ testimonies in the courtroom, I discovered more similarities: a commitment to leftist politics, a love of the Russian avant-garde and its legacy, an interest in performance art as a political force, a rejection of the neo-liberal policies of the Yeltsin era.
How did the two of you come together as co-directors?
Mike: Maxim and I are friends, and I had started making the film already when Maxim turned up at the court in Moscow where the Pussy Riot trial was going on. I knew immediately that I wanted him to help me tell this story. His insights and understanding of Russian culture combined with our mutual love of punk rock have been hugely inspiring in the making of the film.
Maxim: This seemed like the perfect story on which to collaborate. When I first met Mike, we got along immediately having similar taste in film, music, and politics. It’s hard to imagine a better foundation for a partnership.
Mike, how did the decision to direct come about, and how did you find directing as opposed to just producing?
Mike: When I saw this story in the press I immediately knew I had to make this film. It speaks so much to everything I am passionate about, art, music, dissent, thinking for yourself, defense of justice and the pursuit of gender and social equality. I think the main difference between producing and directing is that producing is all about the big picture — seeing the film in all its aspects and the issues and problems that threaten its success whilst directing is all about falling in love with the story, attention to detail, single-minded focus on how the story will best be told. It’s been quite a steep learning curve, and combining both of these perspectives is exhausting but just about the most satisfying thing I have ever done, and I am incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity.
This appears to be a very quick production given that it’s not even been a year since the initial cathedral performance/protest. When did you hit the ground and begin shooting?
Mike: We started shooting in March, soon after the arrest. I knew I wanted the film to be about the trial so we had to wait for that process to be carried out. I also knew that we wanted to end the film with the verdict — well, the appeal verdict as it turned out.
Maxim: After the verdict and the appeal, I knew that we had an incredible story on our hands and needed to make the film as quickly as possible. Once I came back from Moscow, we plunged straight into the edit and will only come up for air once in Park City.
And how did you know when to stop filming what is still an ongoing human rights story?
Mike: True, the story of what has happened to Nadia, Masha and Katia is ongoing, but the story of the Trial of Pussy Riot has had its effect. Their trial tells us a great deal about the viability of freedom of expression not only in Russia but in the rest of the world.
Maxim: While the Pussy Riot movement continues, the story of Nadia, Masha and Katia had a very clear ending. Our film tells the story of their incredible “punk adventure,” as one of the girls puts it.
What is your primary aim with the film, to tell an interesting character-based nonfiction narrative or to put out a call to action in support of these women?
Maxim: As Mike and I began to discuss the film, it became apparently clear that once Nadia, Masha, and Katia had been arrested and had their balaclavas removed, the biggest question became: Who are these three girls and how did they end up where they are? Looking behind the masks, we uncovered three incredible stories. Through these characters we look at Russia today, its history, the role of feminism in society, the threat of religious fundamentalism and, most importantly, the political power of art. The epic story of these girls is an extraordinary window onto all these issues.
Mike: The characters of this film are obviously important (and compelling to say the least), but the interesting thing about Pussy Riot is their desire for anonymity — their actions are the important thing, not their personalities. If there is a call to action it is for all of us to examine the limits of freedom of expression in our own society. Freedom is always being attacked on many levels and it takes people like Nadia, Masha and Katia to show how important it is not to accept any limit on the defense of justice. One aim of this film is to try and convey an insight into the current state of freedom in Russian and the power of artists to highlight injustice.
What sort of access does the film present?
Maxim: It is no exaggeration to say that the access the film provides to the three arrested members of Pussy Riot is nothing short of incredible. Not wanting to give away too much of the film, I’ll just say that the audience will be up close and personal with Nadia, Masha, and Katia in ways that they are not expecting. While the filmmaking process was full of detours and unexpected twists, the courts and the Russian news agencies were incredibly helpful in providing some of the material for this film as well as access to all stages of the trial.
Mike: Obviously the three main protagonists were only available for limited periods to talk. But what the film does is, through the trial, allow these women to speak for themselves. We do have great insight about them from their friends and family, but due to their incredible performance in court we get a very complete picture of who these women are and what they are hoping to achieve.
Did either of your backgrounds help in any way with the access or how you approached the subject matter?
Maxim: In terms of personal access, having a shared background and worldview (not to mention a shared love of punk rock and avant-garde art) with the protagonists has really helped me understand all the implications of this story with all its rich historical and social resonances.
Mike: I think what helped with our access was our early enthusiasm for the story and our love of punk rock.
In one short sentence, what is the best reason you can give for Sundance audiences to check out Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer?
Mike: The stars of this film, Nadia, Masha and Katia are three of the most remarkable women you will ever meet, and their courage, wit and sheer balls will make your visit to the movie theater one that you will never forget.
Maxim: The film is entertaining, dramatic, shocking, thought provoking and hilarious — and that’s just the first twenty minutes. It’s about a Pussy Riot unleashed onto an unsuspecting world. What more is there to say?
This is re-printed with the permission of Participant Channel, Inc. © Participant Channel, Inc. 2014.
