‘Art house cinema’ by ‘Me phim – passionate about films’ will screen the documentary ‘Pussy riot: a punk prayer’ this Tuesday at Snap Café.

It was on the 21st of February 2012 when Pussy Riot, a political female punk group, entered the Orthodox Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, jumped on the altar and started singing, playing and screaming anti-Putin lyrics. Shortly after, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, three of the band’s members got arrested for ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred’.

The act became the interest of newspapers and media platforms worldwide.

‘Pussy riot: a punk prayer’ by Helmers Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin documents the trial of the three women. While the directors are clearly sympathetic to the band, they did a good job in not turning the documentary into over-dramatised, over-sentimental propaganda.

Not having a lot of footage to work with and also having completed the documentary in only six months, the directors are still able to show a comprehensive picture of what the case and its ramifications imply, both in Russia and internationally. The trial was associated by many with the ‘show trials’ of the Stalin period; the women’s eloquent and articulated closing statements as well as the debates in the court room alone are worth the audience’s time.

Some have criticized Pussy Riot’s act for simply being a way to seek publicity, others have accused them of anti-religious propaganda and many have defended them against the oppression of Putin’s government. Whatever you think of the case and of the punk band, ‘Pussy riot: a punk prayer’ is an opportunity to look at and re-think what freedom of thought, freedom of speech really mean in our society and in our legal systems.

Entrance fee: FREE (donations for the charity Wildlife at risk are gladly accepted)