Document Film Festival - MEMORIAL/ LIQUIDATION

Documentary following Memorial's fight to preserve the memory of Soviet repression amid Russia's crackdown on dissent and war in Ukraine. International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival returns for the month of November. Our venues are all in the Southside this year at The Glad Cafe, The Deepend @ Govanhill Baths Community Trust and The Back Bit @ Park Lane Market. We will be showcasing 13 international documentaries from across the globe. Thursday Screenings at The Deepend @ Govanhill Community Baths Trust. Saturday Screenings between The Glad Cafe and the Back Bit @ Park Lane Market. We will be fundraising for Gaza Soup Kitchen and Medical Aid for Palestinians. Recommended donations: £5 per film; But pay as much or as little as you can afford - no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please note that as we are using recommended rather than fixed ticket prices, eventbrite will only allow you to purchase one ticket at a time. We will have tickets available on the door throughout the festival cash/card. MEMORIAL/ LIQUIDATION. Vasily Bogatov - Taisiya Krugovykh / France/ 2025/ 60m. The film opens with archive footage of the “Returning the Names” ceremony, held annually by Memorial at the Solovetsky Stone, across from the former KGB headquarters. People read aloud the names of their relatives who were executed during the Great Terror. Among the participants, we also see opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The narrative then follows the events surrounding the dissolution of the human rights organization in Russia’s Supreme Court. Supporters who gather at the courthouse in solidarity with Memorial are detained by the police and imprisoned. The film captures the secret evacuation of Memorial’s archives—which contain information on Stalinist repressions, dissidents, and Soviet-era executioners—as well as the farewell to the organization’s office, which was seized by court order. The start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine is shown through the eyes of the film’s protagonists—members of Memorial. During a Memorial press conference on the first day of the war, lawyer Ilya Novikov appears via video link from Kyiv as the city is being bombed by Russian forces. Oleg Orlov heads to Red Square with an anti-war and anti-fascist placard. He and another Memorial staff member Irina Galkova are arrested by police. In the following scene, police raid Memorial’s office. Special forces in black uniforms and masks block all entrances, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. Memorial staff attempt to speak with the masked officers. Finally, deep into the night, the security forces leave, taking all computers with them. The Memorial team manages to re-enter the office to find it ransacked and the walls defaced with the letter "Z". Memorial is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. After the ceremony, Oleg Orlov takes the stage and calls for unwavering support for Ukraine. After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize Oleg Orlov is put on trial for “discrediting the Russian armed forces.” During the proceedings, he learns of Alexei Navalny’s death in prison. Despite an obvious threat to his freedom—and his life—Orlov continues to stand firm in his beliefs. He appears for his sentencing, and the court sends him to prison.