Bathed in the midnight cold sun, a poignant portrait of a man who paid a high price for his commitment to truth. The story of Yuri Dmitriev shows how the Russian authorities implement their Orwellian model of revisioning the past – and how they silence people who guard historical memory. The titular character is a human rights defender from northern Russia and member of Memorial who devoted his life to commemorating the mass graves of the victims of the Stalinist purges. According to the official narrative, it is victims of "Finnish concentration camps" who lay buried in the Karelian forests. His activities for many years have been a thorn in the FSB's side and to discredit him authorities charge Dmitriev with possessing pornography of his daughter. er. The case is so badly falsified, even under Russian conditions, that the local courts acquit him. However, that isn't the end of Dmitriev's troubles. 

Konrad Wirkowski

WATCH DOCS nomination at the Krakow Film Festival