“We seem to have forgotten about Chechnya. How do people live in this country where the war issue is still not resolved? Today, no one is talking and thinking about Chechnya,” says the Italian director Nicola Bellucci with concern. The film director has shot a film about several people living in Grozny, the capital of war-torn Chechnya. “Grozny Blues,” this is how the Italian film director’s film is called, which this year is included in the “Golden Apricot” Yerevan International Film Festival “International Documentary” competition program. As presented by Belluchi, the film revolves around four women who have been fighting for human rights under worsening conditions for many years but get more and more disillusioned with the situation in Russia.
The building where they work is also home to a Blues Club that is frequented by a group of young people. Having only vague memories of the Chechen wars in the 90s, they try to make sense of the strange things that are happening in their country. “There are many stories untold, says Bellucci, I am trying to present some of them in an interesting way. I was interested to know how people live in Chechnya, especially women, who are the most repressive class of the society. People were talking about their lives with so difficulty. For me, it was also very difficult to persuade them, because they did not feel them safe,” says the film director.
Siranush HAYRAPETYAN
