F@ck This Job.
Directed by Vera Krichevskaya.
Featuring Natalia Sindeeva. In Cinemas. 103 mins.
That Stephen Sondheim was a real showbiz trooper, thoughtfully dropping dead right before the release of Spielberg’s version of his career breakthrough West Side Story. That though is nothing compared to Putin timing his invasion of Ukraine to coincide exactly with the release date of this documentary about a Russian independent TV channel that has been trying to break the truth through Putin’s news monopoly and get the truth out about him. He’d do that and they don't even like him. What a mensch!
Founder Natalia Sindeeva makes for an unusual crusader for press freedom. A rich party girl and a top executive at a Moscow radio station who married into a fortune, in 2008 she decided it might be fun to start a TV channel. Originally, her conception for Dozht TV, “The Optimistic Channel,” seems to have been similar to the original Janet Street Porter version of L!ve TV: a freewheeling lifestyle channel with smooth, symbiotic integration of on and off camera staff, broadcast from a snazzy studio in the heart of the capital. Instead of turning to topless darts and the weather in Norwegian when the original concept didn’t take off, they became Russia's conscience, reporting the news the government-controlled media wouldn’t. And they suffered for it though the party atmosphere continued throughout: the fridge was always stocked with bubbly and everyone drank like fishes.
Still, I know what you’re thinking and you’re absolutely right: that title is awful. So much so that if it wasn’t for its extreme topicality, I doubt I’d be covering. (Worst still, it really has nothing to do with the film. It's taken from a throwaway remark by one of their reporters in a riot. In Kyiv.)
Director Krichevskaya worked on and off at the station which may explain why her film is a little too insular and personality-driven. Sindeeva hogs the attention throughout and appears braless on the poster. But it’s a fascinating and surprising story. It was a shock to discover President Medvedev, who took over for Putin after his first two terms in office and was seen in the west as his stooge, was viewed by over there as ushering in a new era of freedom and opportunity. He seems to have been the inspiration for her to start the channel.
Director and star will be in London and Oxford for a series of Q&A screenings.
25 February, 6.15 pm – Picturehouse Central
26 February, 8.30 pm – Pheonix Picturehouse, Oxford
27 February, 3.00 pm – The Ritzy, Brixton – Picturehouse
27 February, 6.00 pm – Finsbury Park Cinema - Picturehouse
Directed by Vera Krichevskaya.
Featuring Natalia Sindeeva. In Cinemas. 103 mins.
That Stephen Sondheim was a real showbiz trooper, thoughtfully dropping dead right before the release of Spielberg’s version of his career breakthrough West Side Story. That though is nothing compared to Putin timing his invasion of Ukraine to coincide exactly with the release date of this documentary about a Russian independent TV channel that has been trying to break the truth through Putin’s news monopoly and get the truth out about him. He’d do that and they don't even like him. What a mensch!
Founder Natalia Sindeeva makes for an unusual crusader for press freedom. A rich party girl and a top executive at a Moscow radio station who married into a fortune, in 2008 she decided it might be fun to start a TV channel. Originally, her conception for Dozht TV, “The Optimistic Channel,” seems to have been similar to the original Janet Street Porter version of L!ve TV: a freewheeling lifestyle channel with smooth, symbiotic integration of on and off camera staff, broadcast from a snazzy studio in the heart of the capital. Instead of turning to topless darts and the weather in Norwegian when the original concept didn’t take off, they became Russia's conscience, reporting the news the government-controlled media wouldn’t. And they suffered for it though the party atmosphere continued throughout: the fridge was always stocked with bubbly and everyone drank like fishes.
Still, I know what you’re thinking and you’re absolutely right: that title is awful. So much so that if it wasn’t for its extreme topicality, I doubt I’d be covering. (Worst still, it really has nothing to do with the film. It's taken from a throwaway remark by one of their reporters in a riot. In Kyiv.)
Director Krichevskaya worked on and off at the station which may explain why her film is a little too insular and personality-driven. Sindeeva hogs the attention throughout and appears braless on the poster. But it’s a fascinating and surprising story. It was a shock to discover President Medvedev, who took over for Putin after his first two terms in office and was seen in the west as his stooge, was viewed by over there as ushering in a new era of freedom and opportunity. He seems to have been the inspiration for her to start the channel.
Director and star will be in London and Oxford for a series of Q&A screenings.
25 February, 6.15 pm – Picturehouse Central
26 February, 8.30 pm – Pheonix Picturehouse, Oxford
27 February, 3.00 pm – The Ritzy, Brixton – Picturehouse
27 February, 6.00 pm – Finsbury Park Cinema - Picturehouse
