Podtalk: Director Daniel Roher New Doc Reveals Alexei ‘Navalny’

Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 24, 2022 - 5:39pm

CHICAGO – “Navalny,” the latest documentary from director Daniel Roher, regards Russian presidential candidate Alexei Nalvany, who ran against Vladimir Putin and gained popular support. Famously, this resulted in being poisoned and exiled, and his story is currently on CNN and will stream on HBO Max beginning May 26th, 2022.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Alexei Nalvany is the highest profile anti-Putin activist in Russia, and has been familiar in current events, especially when a mysterious poisoning led to his exile. But the reasons for his actions are ardently revealed in the documentary “Navalny,” the U.S. Audience Award honoree at Sundance. Navalny ran for President against Putin, was the the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation in Mother Russia and has been a constant thorn in Vladimir’s side … so much so that Putin never refers to him by name. The main story in the doc is the amazing online support that Navalny receives, including organizations that helped him uncover (quite remarkably) the circumstances of his poisoning. The real-life intrigue – which includes Navalny’s return to Russia after his recovery, just before Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine – is miles above and more outrageous than any fiction, mostly because the implications of his status is the lubricant that could loosen the iron grid that Putin has on Russia and the world stage. This is a real life situation that plays like a thriller, with a story that is ongoing. A must see.

Daniel Roher (Self Portrait Inset) Directs ’Nalvany’
Photo credit: Doc10.org

Canadian filmmaker Daniel Roher appeared at the Doc10 Film Festival, which premiered TEN highly curated documentary films in Chicago. Since 2015, Doc10 has developed a reputation as a premier festival on the awards circuit. The fest is curated by the Chicago Media Project (CMP), a nonprofit and member-supported organization that provides great documentary films and social impact media to Chicago, as well as nationally, to promote, foster interest and generate engagement for documentary projects through many unique avenues.

In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, ‘Navalny’ director Daniel Roher (who also provided the self portrait sketch above) talks about the first draft of history and more …

”Nalvany” is currently on CNN and will begin streaming on HBO Max on May 26th. Directed by Daniel Roher. Rated “R”