Moscow Pride '06

Synopsis

The documentary features the events that took place around the first Moscow Pride festival in Russia’s capital from May 25 to May 27, 2006.

Some focuses of the documentary include the Nordic festival, the Russian gay cultural contest, Merlin Holland’s lecture on his grandfather Oscar Wilde and the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) first World Conference.

Moscow Pride '06 also focuses on the troubles around the Kremlin and Moscow City Hall when participants gathered to protest the ban of the Pride march as well as the Tverskoi District Court decision to uphold Mayor Yuri Luzhkov’s decision to ban the march.

The movie is left as a vivid testimony and accurate picture of what took place in Moscow for history.

The film is not on the internet and not available on DVD. A copy can be obtained from the Russian LGBT Human Rights Project Gayrussia.ru

First Private Screening in Moscow

The documentary was first screened during a private projection at the National Film Centre in Moscow where 60 guests gathered at the invitation of the film director and producer. German journalists from RTL Television and ZDF were among the guests.

After the first screening, protagonists of the movie and spectators declared:

Nikolai Alekseev, Moscow Pride Chief Organizer said: “We are proud because this movie is an important work that will stay in history. It’s the first long documentary that deals with LGBT issues which took place in Russia. This is a living testimony that will be distributed in Russia and abroad. I am happy to see that a new generation of activists has emerged. Conformism and passivism are now behind us. We managed to generate passion and hope this finds its way into the hearts of many LGBT people in Russia and to revive the spirit of activism.”

Vadimir Ivanov, the Film Director said: “I am very proud that I took part in this event”. Mr Ivanov was also celebrating the same day his 60th Birthday and 35 years of his career in the Russian film industry.

Evgenia Debryanskaya, described Moscow Pride 2006 as “historical – an event that will stay in history forever”. Ms. Debryanskaya, leader of Russian lesbian movement, was arrested in front of Moscow City Hall on the day of the Pride.

Nikolai Baev, one of the organizers, said “We have succeeded in bringing the subject of homosexuality into homes through the media”.

Vlad Ortanov, former editor of Argo, one of the oldest gay magazines in Russia, described the movie as “a great human historical document that will say a lot to the future generations”.

Nikolai Khramov, leader of the Russian Radicals movement at the time, the first political movement to support the Moscow Pride, insisted that “this movie shows that there was something strong behind the gay pride and not only a desire of a few people to go in the streets”.

Tamara B, who described herself as a heterosexual pensioner said: “Now, I understand what happened in Moscow and why they organized this action. But unfortunately, in the current political climate in Russia the majority of the population will never see it as it will be ignored by local TV.”

Selection at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale)

The documentary was selected at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2007 and presented in the official programme of section “Panorama Documente” of Berlinale. It also entered the competition for the Teddy Award opened to Gay and Lesbian Movies.

During the festival, three screenings took place:

Nikolai Alekseev, Vladimir Ivanov, as well as Evgenia Debrianskaya attended the screenings in Berlin.

During the World Premiere of the film, on February 11, Wieland Speck, the head of Panorama section and one of the founders of Teddy Award for the best LGBT film, led a discussion on the movie. Volker Beck, the German MP whose attack at Moscow Pride is shown in the Film, appeared to answer questions from the audience together with Nikolai Alekseev, Vladimir Ivanov and Evgenia Debryanskaya.

As an introduction to the movie Wieland Speck said from the stage:

“Even here in Berlin we had to appeal for the help of the police to avoid any incidents,” “This is further proof of the difficulties that the organisers and participants of the first Moscow Gay Pride have to face.”

Mr Speck was referring to the police presence in the theatre after threats of attacks from nationalists had been received prior to the Premiere. The presence of Mr. Speck is very rare at such screenings.

During the Teddy Awards Ceremony on February 16, Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit introduced Nikolai Alekseev and Evgenia Debryanskay to the audience :

"Courageous organisers of the pride from Moscow, risking their lives, conducted the event in Russian capital which was banned by city authorities"

Volker Beck was also invited as a speaker during the ceremony. While he was sharing with the audience the difficulties faced by the LGBT community in Poland and Russia, images of his attack at Moscow Pride were shown on big screens.

Secondary screenings of the movie

The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) Film Festival presented the movie on Saturday 17th at the exclusive private screening room at the One Aldwych Hotel.

The movie was shown on Sunday 18th at 6.30 pm at the Stattkino during the Pink Panorama – LesBISchwules Festival Luzern. Before the screening, Nikolai Alekseev was invited to introduce the film and answered questions from the audience. The speech was moderated by Christoph Schmitt.

Short Version of the Documentary

A 12 minutes version of the documentary was produced just after the first Moscow Pride took place. It was first shown a day before the Torino Gay Pride (Italy) on June 16, 2006 at 6pm at the Centro Congressi Regione Piemonte.