THE GHOST REPUBLIC
In September 2023, following Armenia's capitulation to Azerbaijan in the decades-long conflict over the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, over 120,000 Armenians flee, leaving behind everything they have known. After seeing images of this forced exodus, I set out to meet my compatriots.
Upon arrival, I encounter the worn faces of refugees journeying toward Armenia. Among them, I search for Mikaël, a young boy I filmed in 2018 in the village of Talish when he was just 14 years old. I find him and his family in Yaghdan, a village now filled with refugees. Today, they have lost everything. I capture Mikaël’s new life among his people, confronting him with images of the past—a haunting reminder of the Nagorno-Karabakh he cannot forget.
How will they rebuild their lives, as Armenia stands once again on the threshold of new trials?
Upon arrival, I encounter the worn faces of refugees journeying toward Armenia. Among them, I search for Mikaël, a young boy I filmed in 2018 in the village of Talish when he was just 14 years old. I find him and his family in Yaghdan, a village now filled with refugees. Today, they have lost everything. I capture Mikaël’s new life among his people, confronting him with images of the past—a haunting reminder of the Nagorno-Karabakh he cannot forget.
How will they rebuild their lives, as Armenia stands once again on the threshold of new trials?
Not so far away places
“Not So Far Away Places” is a Russian euphemism for prison. For years, a lawyer and human rights activist entered SIZO pre-trial detention centres—overcrowded, freezing spaces where the accused await judgment, cut off from family and exposed to violence and systemic abuse.
A member of Memorial, she was officially employed as Lead Analyst at the Federal Penitentiary Service. In practice, she used this position to gather evidence, navigate a rigid bureaucracy and help prisoners hold on to dignity within a system designed to break them.
Filming discreetly with a chest camera, she documented hunger strikes, solitary confinement, denial of legal access, religious repression, and suspicious beatings. Complaints were dangerous; silence was enforced through fear. Each night, she backed up her footage, building an archive she hoped might one day serve as evidence—if change ever became possible.
Combining exclusive first-person images from inside Russian prisons with observational scenes and interviews, the film offers a rare, direct view of a system built on control and intimidation.
A member of Memorial, she was officially employed as Lead Analyst at the Federal Penitentiary Service. In practice, she used this position to gather evidence, navigate a rigid bureaucracy and help prisoners hold on to dignity within a system designed to break them.
Filming discreetly with a chest camera, she documented hunger strikes, solitary confinement, denial of legal access, religious repression, and suspicious beatings. Complaints were dangerous; silence was enforced through fear. Each night, she backed up her footage, building an archive she hoped might one day serve as evidence—if change ever became possible.
Combining exclusive first-person images from inside Russian prisons with observational scenes and interviews, the film offers a rare, direct view of a system built on control and intimidation.