Masters of Dox

Putin’s Witnesses

Vitaly Mansky
Screening time  
25.02. / Monday, 19:00 - 21:00 Theatre 1  
Mansky returns to the intimate footage he shot inside Putin's circle over the course of the year 2000 to bring a new perspective on the leader who has played a crucial role in global politics ever since.

Through testimonies from Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and the current Russian president himself, Vitaly Mansky tells the story of how Putin rose to power and has held his position for nearly two decades. On New Year's Eve 1999, Russian President Boris Yeltsin surprised the world by announcing that he was stepping down and turning the office over to the country's newly appointed Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. The transition called for Putin to serve as acting President until a special election was held three months later. He refrained from the usual campaign tactics of running television commercials or debating his opponents. Instead, his team hired filmmaker Vitaly Mansky to follow Putin in office for a television documentary. Now Mansky returns to the intimate footage he shot inside Putin's circle over the course of the year 2000 to bring a new perspective on the leader who has played a crucial role in global politics ever since.

Vitaly_mansky

Vitaly Mansky

Vitaly Manskiy (1963, Lviv, Ukraine) graduated from VGIK in 1989 and became one of the most prominent contemporary Russian documentary filmmakers and producers. He has directed over 30 films which have been screened at almost every major festival around the world and have won over 100 international awards. He is the founder and president of the International Festival of Creative Documentary Films Artdocfest (its activity was halted in 2022 due to censorship in Russia, as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine). He is persecuted by the Russian authorities for defending his civic position

General sponsor

Svideteli Putina

Latvia, Switzerland, Czech Republic
2018, 102'

Directed by:
Vitaly Mansky

Screenplay by:
Vitaly Mansky

Edited by:
Gunta Ikere

Music:
Karlis Auzans

Producers:
Natalya Manskaya, Filip Remunda, Vít Klusák, Gabriela Bussmann

Produced by:
Studio Vertov, Golden Egg Production, Hypermarket Film

Festivals & Awards:

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2018 – Best Documentary; Camden International Film Festival 2018 – Harrell Award, Special Mention; Stockholm Film Festival 2018 – Bronze Horse Best Documentary; IDFA 2018; Toronto International Film Festival 2018; DOK Leipzig 2018; BFI London Film Festival 2018; Cork Film Festival 2018; Riga International Film Festival 2018; Film Fest Gent 2018; Brisbane International Film Festival 2018; Adelaide Film Festival 2018