Welcome to Chechnya (2020)
94%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
23 wins & 17 nominations total
An illuminating and urgent call to action, Welcome to Chechnya portrays the horrors of the mass persecution of the LGBTQ+ community in the Chechen Republic with tenacity and tenderness.
Welcome to Chechnya is like a spy movie, but with real-life stakes and heart-stopping moments. David France’s documentary sheds light on the horrific treatment of LGBT people in Chechnya and the brave activists who risk their lives to help them escape. Despite the heavy subject matter, France sensitively draws out the distinct personalities of his subjects, making them feel like real people rather than just anonymous victims. It’s a harrowing and intense watch, but one that is well worth the effort. Just make sure to have some tissues on hand.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
Year of Release
2020
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Jul 3, 2020
Genre(s)
Documentary/Lgbtq+
Keyword(s)
Welcome to Chechnya, documentary, LGBTQ+, Russian, David France, Alice Henty, Askold Kurov, Joy A Tomchin, produced by, directed by, written by, reviewed by, critic reviews, Tomatometer, audience score, box office performance, budget, activists, Russian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, government-directed campaign, detain, torture, execute, LGBTQ Chechens, urgent call to action, horrors, mass persecution, Chechen Republic, tenacity, tenderness, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, Crazy, Not Insane, Love Free or Die: How the Bishop of New Hampshire Is Changing the World, Red Penguins, Body of War, horror, RT Podcast, MCU Movies, Netflix Series, TV Premiere Dates, Fandango
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
David France – Writer
David France – Producer
Alice Henty – Producer
Askold Kurov – Producer
Joy A. Tomchin – Producer
Director(s)
David France
Writer(s)
David France
Producer(s)
David France, Alice Henty, Askold Kurov, Joy A. Tomchin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
23 wins & 17 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (75) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (75)
Welcome to Chechnya: The Gay Purge. brought home the horror with a dramatic urgency. David France’s grimly compelling film was a docu-thriller, with heart-stopping moments as activists spirited people out of the country in clandestine operations.
December 30, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Anita Singh
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
France sensitively draws out the personalities of his subjects, ensuring that, despite the digital disguises and pseudonyms, they emerge as distinct individuals.
December 30, 2020
Alex Davidson
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
David France has made a difficult, distressing and often tremendously bleak film about the torture and murder of LGBT people in Chechnya, and the brave efforts of community activists and organisers to “extract” them from the region.
December 30, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Rebecca Nicholson
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
It’s one of those documentaries that makes you wonder how it even got made… It’s a little bit all over the place, but ultimately I found this to be a harrowing, fascinating watch.
July 9, 2020
Angie Han
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
It’s a collective profile in courage … on the people who are the last thing standing between survival and a purge.
July 8, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
David Fear
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
A documentary that plays like a chilling undercover thriller.
July 8, 2020
Justin Chang
NPR
TOP CRITIC
The balance between the macro-political perspective with the more intimate personal stories is well-executed, giving the full context of what these people are going through and the sense of urgency felt in their desperate situations.
June 5, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Josh Parham
Next Best Picture
An urgent call to arms.
May 19, 2022
Brian T. Carney
Washington Blade
This movie features a real-life spy story unfolding right before our eyes. Try to watch and not hold your breath in places.
March 20, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
David Reddish
Queerty
An immersive document of a loosely structured group specializing in helping Chechen and Russian gays and lesbians escape to other parts of the world, Welcome to Chechnya is an intense experience that left me shaken at just how high the stakes are.
September 10, 2021
Jason Shawhan
Nashville Scene
David France has, once again, highlighted great injustice perpetrated against Queer people. Now, the world just needs to sit up and listen to this Great Whistleblower.
August 31, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Ben Turner
The Pink Lens
Sometimes there really is nothing else to say about a film, except that it is a harrowing, tough, worthy and near-exhausting watch. And yet, you’ll be glad you made the effort and took the time.
July 6, 2021
Graeme Tuckett
Stuff.co.nz…
Plot
Welcome to Chechnya is a documentary that follows activists risking their lives to confront the mass persecution of the LGBTQ+ community in the Chechen Republic.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Sorry, there is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film or anyone in the cast on Fresh Kernels. The reviews and comments are all serious and focused on the important subject matter of the documentary.
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