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PUTIN’S KISS

Denmark, Germany, 2011 | 82 Minutes | A film by Lise Birk Pedersen

Masha became known as the girl who kissed Vladimir Putin on the cheek at a propaganda event. She is a member of the nationalist youth movement “Nashi” and believes in Putin’s promise of a better Russia. But then she meets the anti-government blogger Oleg and befriends him.

www.putinskissmovie.com

  • SYNOPSIS

    Nashi is an increasingly popular political youth organization in Russia with direct ties to the Kremlin. Officially, its goal is to support the current political system by creating a future elite among the brightest and most loyal Russian teenagers. But the organization also works to prevent the political opposition from spreading their views among young people.

    16-year-old Masha Drokova, a Nashi commissar and spokesperson, is an ambitious middle-class student from the outskirts of Moscow. After joining Nashi at the age of 15, she moves to the very top of the organization and is rewarded for her dedication with a university scholarship, an apartment, and even a pro-Putin talk show.

    Everything changes when Drokova becomes acquainted with a group of liberal journalists, including popular anti-Putin reporter Oleg Kashin. At first, she remains devoted to Nashi while pursuing tentative friendships with its left-wing critics — but when Kashin is brutally beaten by “unknown perpetrators,” she has a genuine change of heart and decides to take a stand.

  • DIRECTOR

    Lise Birk Pedersen was born in Denmark in 1974 and graduated from the National Film School of Denmark; her thesis film, MARGARITA, was a portrait of a Russian teenager immigrating to Denmark. Since 2003, she has made a variety of TV programs and short documentaries. PUTIN’S KISS is her first feature-length film.

  • CREDITS

    Director
    Lise Birk Pedersen

    Cinematography
    Lars Skree

    Editors
    Janus Billeskov Jansen
    Steen Johannesen

    Producer
    Helle Faber

    Co-Producer
    Stefan Kloos

    Music
    Tobias Hylander

    Sound Design
    Peter Albrechtsen

    Colour Grading
    Lasse Marcussen

    Production
    Monday Production in collaboration with Made in Copenhagen

    Co-Production
    Kloos & Co. Medien in collaboration with SWR & ARTE

  • SUPPORTED BY

    The Danish Film Institute
    Creative Europe Programme – MEDIA of the European Union
    Nordic Film & TV Fund

  • AWARDS

    Sundance Film Festival 2012
    Winner “World Cinema – Documentary”

    Bodil Awards 2013 – Danish Film Awards
    Winner “Best Documentary”

  • FESTIVALS

    World Premiere
    IDFA – International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam 2011, The Netherlands

    US Premiere
    Sundance Film Festival 2012, USA

    Further Festivals (Selection)
    Göteborg International Film Festival 2012, Sweden
    Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2021, Greece
    Hong Kong International Film Festival 2012, Hong Kong
    Wisconsin Film Festival 2012, USA
    Planete+ Doc Film Festival 2012, Poland
    Reykjavik International Film Festival 2012, Iceland
    CNEX Documentary Film Festival 2012, Taiwan
    Biografilm Festival 2013, Italy

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