When rumours began to surface in 2017 of a “gay purge”, Russia was silent. It was extremely hard at the time for international media to verify what was actually going on as victims either disappeared or were too afraid to speak out. We now know that what was going on was a purge – a liquidation – of the LGBT community. LGBT people being rounded up, tortured and even being given back to their families to commit so-called “honour killings”.
But through the darkness there was light. Oscar nominated film Director David France went undercover in Chechnya to capture these harrowing stories – and the inspirational efforts of the LGBT activists who risked their lives to save them. The result is his new documentary, Welcome to Chechnya: The Gay Purge.