THE BEST DOCUMENTAY AWARD
"for its powerful story and main character,
lyrical cinematography and editing, stirring music score, for its meticulous
research and excellent archive footage, as well as the humanity and
subtlety with which the story was told, for its tremendous political
and universal relevance in today's polarized world where 'terrorism'
has become a convenient tool to suppress political dissent, and for
the filmmaker's courage in going against ingrained prejudices."
Karachi International Film festival, 2005
SPECIAL MENTION by the Amnesty Jury
“Andrei Nekrasov, You give with this documentary
an extraordinary contribution to the fight for openness and truth in
the Russian society, which in the condition of war on its soil is sliding
back to methods of the past. We recognize, that it takes enormous courage
to keep open the questions surrounding the involvement of the Russian
secret service FSB in terrorist acts in Russian cities.The Russian authorities
and president Vladimir Putin have rejected the numerous and just demands
for full investigation of the sinister activities of the FSB. With truth
and open dialogue being still more suppressed in your country it is
a great gift to all human beings fighting for human rights to have a
person like you. Congratulations...”
Cph:dox, Copenhagen, 2004
Nekrasov calls his film a documentary composition and
indeed it achieves a happy synthesis of two genres?the documentary and
the feature film. Nekrasov’s creation of a sense of suspense and
intrigue that can match the best psychological thrillers is truly impressive.
This film makes compelling viewing and, through to the end, the viewer,
like the characters involved, lives in the hope that the murder of the
innocent inmates of the Moscow apartment building, destroyed by a bomb
on 9 September 1999, will be resolved and justice redressed.
Any documentary relies on sensitive montage to order
the story and its telling and it is here that Nekrasov’s masterful
artistry lifts the film to a level of classic human drama, in which
the private fate of individual characters?Russians and Chechens alike?is
interwoven with political and historical events to achieve powerful
pathos.
Disbelief is a convincing documentary that unveils a political crime
and the human suffering it has caused. But it is also a work of art
that fires the imagination of its viewers, constructing and communicating
its story with a force that exceeds the specific and touches on the
universal.
Fiona Björling, Lund University, Sweden
http://www.kinokultura.com/reviews/R7-05nedoverie.html
Disbelief not only details the effects of terrorism
across the nation, but tells the story of Tania's personal quest to
define her relationship to her native country. For her there are two
Russias: the Russia before 8 September 1999 that exists only in her
heart, and the present-day Russia that may have had a role in the death
of her mother. She is in a state of disbelief as she claims: "I
would never believe people could do such a thing." When she visits
the Dakhkilgovs, a Chechen couple accused of being involved in the bombing,
she learns how deep the racism cuts through her country. It seems that
the only protagonist not subsumed with horror and disbelief about the
events and the current state of the nation is Sasha. The film's shocking
images and strong emotions are juxtaposed with his natural, childish
folly. Nevertheless, even with his American passport, Sasha is just
as much a part of the events of 19 Gyrianova Ul. despite his unawareness
of their consequences.
http://www.rusfilm.pitt.edu/2005/pn/disbelief.htm
The nerviest charge leveled at the Bush administration at the festival
occurred off screen, during a supplementary Q&A with the subject
of Andrei Nekrasov's Disbelief. Tatyana Morozova, a Milwaukeean whose
mother perished when her Moscow apartment complex was bombed in September
1999, spends the documentary casting aspersions upon the official verdict
that Chechen terrorists planted the explosives. After an exhausting
investigation, Morozova persuasively concludes that the bombing was
instead engineered by the Russian government -- that Moscow murdered
its own citizens to simultaneously sow hatred for Chechnya and boost
Putin's sagging popularity. Could such malevolence ever occur in the
United States? At the Q&A, Morozova paused, sighed, and then said,
"Do you want my honest opinion? I think it already has." She
explained that after 9/11, Bush followed Moscow's blueprint so precisely
that she was able to predict his every move. "I wondered only about
who he would blame."
By Eric Beltmann Notes from the Milwaukee International Film
Festival 2004
Article published 12.19.2004.
________________________________________
FROM SUNDANCE CHANNEL DOC SEASON WEB SITE.
Thursday 04/04/05
6pm Sundance Channel
Disbelief (2004 CAN/RUS): The second Canadian documentary featured
this week, Disbelief would, coupled with HBO's Terror in Moscow, make
a good second feature on a Chechnya-themed double-bill. The film takes
a look at the destruction of a Moscow apartment building in 1999, an
attack that was credited by the Russian government to Chechnyan terrorists,
and by the conspiracy-inclined to Vladimir Putin, at the time trolling
for votes. Leningrad-born director Andrei Nekrasov is unable to provide
the definitive answer to the mystery of who actually destroyed the building
and killed 300 Russian citizens, but he clearly has an opinion, and
it doesn't cast Pooty-Poot in a very good light. For many in America,
the Patriot Act is seen as excuse to restrict civil liberties in the
name of fighting terrorism. In Russia, a similar crack down has occurred
in the name of fighting Chech?n terrorists. Do governments use the threat
of terrorism to further their own goals?
Posted 02.04.2005 02.22 Uhr
J. Dawn Campbell
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
I am so very sorry for the loss of every Innocent Russian
Civilian in this horrible catastrophe. I just watched this film on the
Sundance Channel about 4 days ago, and I was simply appalled that such
an event would occur and that a National Government would be so lax
in their investigation. I have many Chechen Friends, though I am an
American Muslim, but I know my Chechen friends are as horrified by this
act of cowardice as anyone else. There are even questions of FSB complicity
in the Moscow theatre seige and in their unwillingness to show restraint
in Beslan. This does not hold terrorists free from guilt in those two
incidents; however, there are too many questions about the FSB involvement
to dismiss the facts. The Apartment Bombings are so tragic because they
affected the lives of ordinary Russians, not powerful or rich people,
but just ordinary people, and that is simply heartbreaking. As a Muslimah
I can assure you that this is completely contrary to anything taught
by Allah or the Prohet Muhammed.
My Deepest Condolences and I hope that one day we can all live free
and without fear of retribution. I am so dismayed about the fate of
the attorney in the film, Mr. Trepashkin. If there are any letters I
can write or anything I can do please let me know. I was touched in
the movie when Tanya asked him is he was fearful for his life and he
simply said "I have never defrauded anyone or lied to anyone....My
conscious in clear." I wish there were some way to help him.
Again, my deepest condolences for your loss and my prayers always with
the victims of this horrible tragedy.
Sincerely,
J. Dawn Campbell
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Posted Mon Mar 21 at 11:03 pm by jassad500
questionable terrorism
It has never made sense to me that a 1999 bombing on an apartment building,
the more recent takeover of a Moscow movie theater or the most recent
attack on a Breslan school full of school children made any sense to
further the Chechenyan goal towards independence. Terrorism for the
sake of naked terror is NO strategy. This idea is truly unbelievable
and defies intelligence.
Posted Tue Mar 22 at 12:34 am by cogito69
questionable terrorism
I don't think that there can be any real question that governments around
the world are using the threat of terrorism to further their own political
and personnal agendas. The broad stroke of the Patriot Act is only one
example, the invasion of Iraq another. But I am conflicted (and I suspect
that governments use this confusion to their advantage) . . . there
can be no question that terrorism really exists. And I think that to
look for rational thought or logic in the exercise of that terror is
a mistake. I don't think that the truth will ever be known about the
explosions. The questions raised in the film are terrifying. I want
to believe that no government would ever so brutally use its own citizens
so callously, but I am afraid that history is rife with examples and
the only way to check such actions is to constantly strive to bring
such acts into the light of public scrutiny. I am amazed at the bravery
of the director.
Posted Tue Mar 22 at 06:38 pm by kwazu
Government use of terrorism
There is no doubt that government use of terrorism or the threat of
terrorism to control the average citizen and justify their own agendas.
Weapons of mass destruction comes to mind . I, also am conflicted...but
that's just the emotional feeling of wishing politics was not this dirty
business that it most certainly is. I applaud the director and Tanya's
attorney for the courage to bring this to our attention. I see the Patriot
Act as one more step down that slippery slope.
Posted Wed Mar 23 at 12:27 pm by mcslain
The Power of Nightmares ???
I watched the documentary Disbelief yesterday while stuck at
home with the flu. What an incredible story!.. ?he message is extremely
important. Maybe Americans fail to see the horrible things their governement
may or may not be doing, but surely it is easy for them to see this
when the Russians are the accused? From there its just a short leap
to thinking in terms of power, control and economics... rather than
the flag waving simplistic ideas we are taught in American schools.
This documentary reminded me of the BBC production "The Power of
Nightmares", which caused quite a stir in Britain... <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/3755686.stm>
Thanks -Mark
At great personal risk, Nekrasov decided to investigate
why terrorists would bomb a broken-down apartment building...
The result is a documentary full of more suspense and drama than most
Hollywood movies.
Paul Hansen, The Daily Camera on Disbelief
The gripping film!
Pat Aufderheide, Sundance Verite, AlterNet on Disbelief
jaw-dropping "Disbelief"!
Ray Pride, Neycity Chicago
To pursue the truth of one's own history, and that of one's nation,
as Nekrasov and Solzhenitsyn have so fearlessly done, requires a courage
so breathtaking as to seem superhuman. One can only hope more of our
filmmakers will find it in them to learn courage - whatever it might
require. The world certainly requires it of us, now more than ever.
F.X. Feeney, Sundance Daily News N 9
HARD FOCUS: features of filmmaking. The Practice of Courage. World
Cinema vs. A World in Crisis.
"Disbelief" is remarkable in its
use of American-style investigative reporting, something that is still
a rarity in a country where the fight for democracy and free speech
is still a daily struggle.
Peter H Howell The Toronto Star on Disbelief
By DENNIS HARVEY Variety
Posted: Wed., Feb. 4, 2004, 2:15pm PT
Disbelief
(Docu -- U.S.-Russia) A Dreamscanner Prods. presentation. Produced by
Olga Konskala. Executive producer, Andrei Nekrasov. Directed, edited
by
Andrei Nekrasov.
"Disbelief" digs into the mysterious Sept. 9, 1999
night-time bombing of a large Moscow apartment complex, a peacetime
outrage swiftly blamed on Chechen terrorists. But as this first nonfiction
feature by Andrei Nekrasov ("Lubov and Other Nightmares,"
"Love Is Strong as Death") shows, the evidence was far
from clear. Did the Russian government bomb its own citizens to foster
support for waging war on Chechnya? That possibility makes "Disbelief"
important viewing -- though helmer dissipates impact by focusing on
a protag whose on-camera quest for answers comes off like an attempt
to thrust "Silkwood"/"Erin Brockovich"-style dramatics
into the docu frame.
By John Anderson. staff correspondent NEWSDAY
20 January 2004
Copyright Newsday
Vanessa Redgrave was on hand to support the documentary "Disbelief,"
in which director Andrei Nekrasov makes a convincing case ("circumstantial,"
he cautioned) that the 1999 bombing of a residential Moscow building
was actually the work of Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin.
The incident was used by Russian authorities to justify the bombing
of Chechnya, and Redgrave is a longtime Chechen supporter. And so, because
Sundance is such a media magnet,and Nekrasov is a friend, she flew into
Utah for one day to support the film - whose audiences have been responding
explosively.
by F.X. Feeney, Sundance Daily News N 9
HARD FOCUS: features of filmmaking. The Practice
of Courage. World Cinema vs. A World in Crisis.
"Russian filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov's Disbelief
dares to re examine the 1999 bombing of a Moscow apartment building
that the Putin government blamed on Chechen rebels, and instead explores
the possibility that the Russian government itself was behind the atrocity,
to justify its later invasion of Chechnya. As Nekrasov told an audience
at Sundance, Thursday: "If Russians can kill over 20 million fellow
citizens, as they did during the times of Lenin and Stalin, why would
it be so hard for them to kill 300 people now, if they think the cause
is just?"
His deadliest enemy is less the vengeance of his government
that it is the sheer apathy of so many of his countrymen. "People
simply do not want to face what is going on around them. They'll tell
you, 'This is my country and I have to live with it,' or, 'That's our
history. What's the problem?'
Well - it is a big problem if you live in that country!"
To find the mirror image of one's own weakness - one's
own potential for madness - in the suffering of another human being
- requires moral courage. The same is true of a refusal to be bitter
about one's exile. To pursue the truth of one's own history, and that
of one's nation, as Nekrasov and Solzhenitsyn have so fearlessly done,
requires a courage so breathtaking as to seem superhuman. Courage is
the one thing money can't buy, no matter how big your movie budget.
Courage can't be taught (except indirectly perhaps,by the examples of
the superhumanly courageous) but clearly it can be learned.
One can only hope more of our filmmakers will find it in them to learn
courage - whatever it might require. The world certainly requires it
of us, now more than ever.
Again, to quote Solzhenitsyn, "Talent is an extraordinary
burden. You need skill to bear it."
TERRORISM
PAUL HANSEN, Boulder
The Daily Camera, 22.04.2004
The great danger is indeed fear itself
I recently returned from the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.
This year a Russian documentary titled, "Disbelief,"
by Moscow director Andrei Nekrasov, stood out. It is the story of the
fatal bomb blast of a working-class Moscow apartment building in 1999.
It was quickly blamed on Chechnyan terrorists, and Russian President
Putin used it to inflame public opinion and re-ignite the war with Chechnya.
There was just one problem. A few brave Russians, including Nekrasov,
could not understand why terrorists would bomb a broken-down apartment
building. At great personal risk, Nekrasov decided to investigate.
The result is a documentary full of more suspense and drama than most
Hollywood movies. Nekrasov uncovered, beyond reasonable doubt, that
it was a secret section of the KGB that bombed the building. Putin then
used the incident to justify the invasion of the Muslim breakaway state.
Nekrasov's view, which was reinforced by last week's election, is that
Russia is again becoming a powerful one-party state with empire on its
mind.
My point in sharing this is to bring more awareness to how fear is being
manufactured and manipulated to control societies around the world.
It doesn't have to be as blatant as bombing your own people or even
al-Qaida bombing Madrid. As horrible as any terrorist attack is, it
is the fear of terrorism that causes the most damage. Peace is possible.
Please watch for the program "Disbelief."
Sundance Verite
By Pat Aufderheide, AlterNet
February 10, 2004
Who really set the bombs that blew up an entire Moscow apartment
complex, and with it a young woman's mother and boyfriend? St.Petersburg-based
filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov is pretty sure he's found the people who know
the answer. They charge that President Putin's government has created
horrific terrorist incidents and blamed them on Chechen nationalists,
in order to create support for its unpopular leadership. The gripping
film features the young woman and her sister, married to a Wisconsin
man.
"We searched for a U.S. character because we wanted to win international
attention for this issue," Nekrasov said. "Governments can
too easily use terrorism as a weapon to intimidate their own publics.
An undemocratic country is now a threat to the entire world."
By Peter Howell THE TORONTO STAR
20 January 2004
Copyright (c) 2004 The Toronto Star
The official government view is also disputed in Disbelief, an investigation
by Russian director Andrei Nekrasov into the Sept., 1999 bombing of
a Moscow apartment complex that claimed many lives. Russian authorities
immediately blamed the blast on Chechen separatists, calling it an act
of terror by a group seeking a radical break with the state.
Nekrasov casts doubt on the official story, suggesting that the bombing
was done by agents of the Federal Security Service to give the Russian
government an excuse to continue its violent crackdown on rebel Chechnya.
Nekrasov's tells the story through the eyes of Russian-American sisters
Alyona and Tatyana Morozov, who lost their mother in the blast. The
film turns up much damning information, including a planned bomb blast
at another Moscow apartment in which federal security agents were caught
in the act. But it was explained away as a "training exercise"
ordered by their superiors, and senior officials refused to connect
the incident with the 1999 apartment bombings.
"Maybe I'm afraid of finding out the truth,"
says a woman interviewed in the film, who lost relatives in the Moscow
blast. "Because the truth might even be worse than what's happened."
Disbelief is remarkable in its use of American-style
investigative reporting, something that is still a rarity in a country
where the fight for democracy and free speech is still a daily struggle.
Sundance's Foreign Voices Struggle To Be Heard; World Cinema
Highlights from Park City
by Anthony Kaufman
indieWIRE
In the two-year-old World Cinema documentary section,
I only caught Andrei Nekrasov's "Disbelief," which investigates
the mystery and anguish around the bombing of a Moscow apartment building
in 1999. By focusing on two sisters who lost their mother in the bombing,
Nekrasov pulls some heartstrings, but he also unveils a massive conspiracy
that suggests Russia's security service, the FSB, took part in the attacks
in order to rally the country to war against Chechnya and set the stage
for the presidential victory of Vladimir Putin. Sound familiar?
World Cinema may be overlooked at Sundance, but it's films like "Disbelief"
and "The Missing" that show just how relevant foreign viewpoints
can be. As Sundance guru Robert Redford commented during the festival's
opening night remarks, "There is a huge increase in world cinema
and a need for those voices to be heard."
"Disbelief" documents
a Russian tragedy
By Becky Hodges
1/19/2004 6:38:16 AM
Salt Lake Tribune
Without going back to old notes I can’t be certain, but it seems
like I tend to start the first Sunday of Sundance on a thoughtful note.
This year is no exception.
In September of 1999, close to 300 people were killed in explosions
in apartment buildings in Russia. The documentary feature Disbelief
deals with an explosion the night of September 8-9, 1999 which killed
93 people.
Disbelief focuses on Tanya Morozova-White, a Russian emigre to the United
States, whose mother died and sister, Yelena, survived that explosion.
A CNN crew Yelena approached right after the explosion contacted Tanya
in Milwaukee. She went to Moscow as soon as she could, only to find
herself identifying the bodies of neighbors and friends in nine morgues
as she searched for her mother. She was able to help her sister emigrate
to the United States.
The Russian government blamed Chechen terrorists for the explosions
and used the public’s horrified reaction as an excuse to start
the second Chechen war.
Other evidence pointed to the FSB, the agency which replaced the KGB.
In 2003 Tanya returned to Russia with her 3-year-old son, Sasha, to
look for answers.
Tanya contacted old friends, family members, her sister’s lawyer
Mikhail Trepashkin (a former KGB and FSB agent), a Chechen who was accused
of planting the explosives, government agencies and even Akhmed Zakaev,
a Chechen leader in exile in London. She gets a wide range of opinions:
a White Russian returnee who was a friend of her mothers believes Chechens
are responsible, Tanya’s uncle damns the government investigation
and says there won’t be any answers until the current "powers-that-be"
are gone, Tanya’s friend in Moscow is afraid that an answer might
be worse than the loss of her parents, and Zakaev says if it had been
Chechens getting revenge for the first war they would have attacked
something like a military base or government office not civilians.
Like Tanya, the view comes away from Disbelief with no answers, but
strong suspicions, especially when the follow up notes before the credits
report the assassination of a second Duma member and the arrest of Trepashkin.
Disbelief is a thought provoking documentary which doesn’t
cast blame, specifically, but doesn’t pull any punches either.