A documentary tribute to the murdered Russian journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya was turned down by the Berlinale's Forum.
Instead, "Letter to Anna" by Swiss producer/director Eric Bergkraut, played to a packed festival fringe screening Sunday that counted Russian opposition coalition leader and former chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, ex-German foreign minister Joschka Fischer, Bob Geldof and Catherine Deneuve in its audience of around 300.
The film tells the story of the campaigning reporter's life -- and tragic slaying in the lobby of Moscow apartment where she was gunned down in October 2006.
Bergkraut met and filmed Politkovskaya during the making of his documentary "Coca the Dove From Chechnya," about the Chechen women who record human rights abuses by the Russian army.
"Anna was part of that film -- not the main protagonist and I ended up with lots of wonderful, strong footage of her," Bergkraut said. "When I heard the news on the radio that she had been murdered I was shocked but not surprised."
Narrated by Susan Sarandon, the film tells the story of the fearless and dedicated campaigner for human rights through the footage Bergkraut shot in 2003-04 and through the eyes of her children Ilya and Vera, Novaya Gazeta newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov, ex-husband Alexander Politkovsky, and anti-Putin activist Kasparov.
Illya Politkovsky said the family had seen and approved of the film. "The film has absolutely no chance of being shown in Russia on television (which is under heavy state control) but maybe it could get arthouse release."
Bergkraut confirmed Sunday that the film had been turned down by the Forum. The screening at the hastily arranged venue was the film's first public screening and he hoped it would be more formally presented as a premiere at a festival soon.
Deneuve, who has recorded a voice over for a French language version, told
Variety that "it was the least I could do to help fight for the truth."
At Sunday's screening Kasparov said he did not know who killed Politkovskaya but he had "no doubts" that the order came from "the inner circle" of the Kremlin.
Bergkraut urged Putin and world leaders including German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Nikolas Sarkozy, Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown and US president George Bush to help reveal the truth about who killed her.
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