Doc/Fest - Sheffield

Anna Politkovskaya knew she was living a dangerous life. One of Vladimir Putin's most vocal critics, she dedicated her working life to giving a voice to the voiceless, most notably her reporting on the brutual oppression of the Chechyan people. Her murder in October, 2006 sent shockwaves through the world. In this poignant documentary, Erik Bergkraut weaves together footage taken during a recent film he made featuring Politkovskaya, and interviews since her death with her family and colleagues to try to understand the combativeness and compassion that made her one of journalism's greatest heroes. En route to Beslan to mediate in the 2004 school hostage crisis, she was poisoned and left in a coma. Undaunted, she carried on bringing the plight of Chechyans to the world. It's both chilling and moving to see Politkovskaya, in the wake of three of her colleagues' untimely deaths, discuss living on borrowed time.