Film about persecution of gays in Chechnya wins British Film Academy Award

The documentary "Welcome to Chechnya" by the American film director, David France, about the persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya has won an award from the British Film and Television Arts Academy.

The documentary "Welcome to Chechnya" tells about LGBT activists working undercover in Chechnya to help people avoid persecutions for their sexual orientation, obtain visas and shelter outside the republic. The film presents stories of these people and the activists who helped them. It shows the story of Maxim Lapunov, a native of the Omsk Region, who was detained in Chechnya on suspicion of homosexuality and spent 12 days in the basement of the criminal investigation division, where he was beaten up. Later Lapunov was forced to leave Russia because of threats.

The documentary "Welcome to Chechnya" has won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award in the "International" nomination, says the statement posted on the Academy's website today.

The statement notes that the announcement of the winners and laureates of the Virgin Media BAFTA awards took place on June 6.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 7, 2021 at 09:56 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.