Directed by Vera Krichevskaya, the award-winning Russian documentary F@ck This Job about the fight to protect independent journalism in Russia will U.S. premiere at DOC NYC.
F@ck This Job had its world premiere at Artdocfest Documentary Film Festival in Moscow in April, and also screened in competition at the 37th Warsaw International Film Festival where is won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The documentary will screen in November at the 2021 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) prior to the U.S. premiere at DOC NYC.
The independent Russian TV station Dozhd has been broadcasting since 2008. Founded by Natalya (Natasha) Sindeeva, a newly graduated media manager, it is one of few stations daring to criticize the authorities. Over the course of 10 years, Dozhd’s coverage of the war in Ukraine, Navalny’s anti-corruption investigations, and the unveiling of state propaganda profoundly change Natasha’s life and values. Russia and Natalya change in parallel to each other. What starts as the country’s brief thaw ends in its total isolation, while Natalya grows from a wealthy, spoiled woman in a pink Porsche into a person committed to a life full of meaning. A story of resistance against the Putin regime. A documentary about people who have a sense of self-respect, an understanding of their profession, and faith that Russia will be free. (WIFF Program Description)
Natasha, 35, is a newly rich, successful woman who is looking for fame, reputation, and dreams come true. She decides to launch an independent TV station in Putin’s Russia, 2008. Natasha hires opposition reporters, minorities, and LGBTQ journalists. Soon her “baby” became the lone island of political and sexual freedom. Dozhd TV (also known as TV Rain) is the only independent news TV station that has survived Putin’s rule. Back then, this woman couldn’t have known she would fight on the frontlines of the war between Truth and Propaganda and lose all her money. She did not think she would become the hostage of her dream. The film is a production from the UK, Germany, and Russia.
Watch the first trailer for F@ck This Job.