HISTORY

In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin passed a bill forbidding the “promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors.” LGBT youth, now defenseless against insults and intimidation under this “gay propaganda” law, are considered sick, sinful and abnormal. Psychologists, teachers and even parents can be fined or imprisoned for supporting them. Forty-five Russian teens and tweens share their stories through anonymous interviews and video diaries. They detail their humiliations and discriminations, as well as their courageous stands against bullies. Their testimonies are collected online as the Children 404 project, named after the common “error 404 – page not found” web message. The support group's founder struggles within the system to bring public attention and empathy to the victims of this government-endorsed hate, while activist Pasha decides he must leave his homeland altogether if he hopes to find a boyfriend and lead a normal life. Has a new Stone Age arrived in Russia?

Friday, December 11th 8:00 p.m.

Russia, 2014

Director:

Pavel Loparev

Askold Kurov

70 minutes.

Language: 

Russian with subtitles in Spanish

Co-Presenter:

Cinema Politics

Producer(s):

Pavel Loparev

Askold Kurov

Editor(s):

Lena Rem

Pavel Loparev

Writer(s):

Pavel Loparev

Askold Kurov

Cinematographer(s):

Pavel Loparev

Askold Kurov

Distributor:

Rise and Shine World Sales WG

DIRECTOR

Pavel Loparez is a documentary filmmaker and stop-motion animation in the Catout Animation Studio.

Askold Kurov born in Uzbekistan but lives in Russia since 1991. He studied Philology, Theater and Theological Sciences. He has worked in the Russian Theater and has also performed duties as artistic designer. In 2010, he graduated from Moscow's Marina Razbezkina Film school.

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

• World Premiere: Hot Docs, Toronto, 2014
• Hamburg Film Festival 2014: Won Political Film Award
• Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival 2014: Nominated Silver Eye Award Best Feature Documentary