‘Navalny’ Director on Putin and Security Concerns: ‘We Knew What We Were Getting Into When We Started This Project’
variety.comAddie Morfoot ContributorDaniel Roher is on a mission with “Navalny,” and it’s one he considers life or death.The documentary filmmaker, who last directed “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,” believes that the more people see “Navalny” worldwide, the greater the spotlight will be on the imprisoned Russian dissident it is named for, and the more problematic it will be for Vladimir Putin’s administration to kill him.
Alexei Navalny, a one-time presidential candidate in Russia, was poisoned with nerve gas in 2020, and although Putin and his government denied it, the poisoning was later linked to the Kremlin.
Navalny was detained in January 2021 when he returned to Russia.“If we can keep Alexei’s name in the headlines it will be harder for the regime to murder him in prison” Roher tells Variety. “My personal mission as the director of this film is to get as many people in the world to see it as I possibly can.” With the spotlight on Russia and Ukraine, Warner Bros.
swooped in to give the documentary a theatrical release in more than 800 theaters in North America on April 11 and 12 in conjunction with Fathom Events.
Read more on variety.com