Letter to Anna [NY Premiere] Series: Human Rights Watch International Film Festival 2008 [June 13 - 26] Director: Eric Bergkraut, Country: Switzerland, Release: 2008, Runtime: 84
Anna Politkovskaya was a brave and tenacious journalist for one of Russia’s only independent journals, Novaya Gazeta. Anna used her platform to strongly criticize Russian military actions in Chechnya. On Oct. 7, 2006, she was shot dead in the stairwell of her Moscow apartment building. Filmmaker Eric Bergkraut met Politkovskaya while making his 2005 documentary Coca: The Dove From Chechnya and filmed some powerful, frank interviews with the late reporter.
In Letter to Anna, he interweaves this footage with a tantalizing search for her likely killers. Insightful contributions come from colleagues and loved ones who discuss her work while celebrating the life of an extraordinary woman and mother, a fearless defender of the people, and “the conscience of Russia.” Narrated by Susan Sarandon.
Presented in association with Committee to Protect Journalists, www.cpj.org.
