One Does Not Say No to the State

The village of Bereznik lies in the very North of Russia, hundreds of kilometres away from
any big city.

Bereznik is famous for its endless forests and the only overage women's hockey team in the world, whose captain is 83 years old.

Actually, Bereznik represents Russia in its miniature: more than half of its inhabitants are women, and most of these women are over 60 years old. They are the people who elected president Putin and still support him in all his actions. Even in war.

Who are they? Do they really want to make Ukrainians suffer. What do they want and why do they always allow propaganda to replace common sense and sacrifice themselves to the power of the state?

We travelled to Bereznik to talk to these women and try to understand Putin’s Russia.

  • Katerina Gordeeva
    Director
    Humans at War, Defeat Cancer
  • Katerina Gordeeva
    Writer
  • Yaroslav Rodionov
    Editor
  • Daria Ustenko
    DOP
  • Vlas Lipovetskiy
    Colorist
  • Elena Movenko
    Graphic Design
  • Elena Shalkina
    Camera Operator
  • Daniil Bolotnikov
    Camera Operator
  • Maria Vigrianova
    Producer
  • Tatiana Bulycheva
    Sound Design
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Государству нельзя сказать "нет"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 42 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 23, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Russian Federation
  • Country of Filming:
    Russian Federation
  • Language:
    Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:91
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Katerina Gordeeva
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Katerina Gordeeva

One of the most famous independent journalists from Russia worked as a TV reporter for the federal television channel NTV until 2012. During her time at NTV, she reported as a war correspondent from the frontlines of Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Iraq, but later resigned from the channel due to a disagreement with their program agenda.

She left Moscow out of protest in 2014, after Russia’s remorseless annexation of Crimea and seizure of part of Eastern Ukraine. In 2020, she created her own You-Tube channel, which today has more than 1.5 million subscribers.To make her documentary film Humans At War Katerina Gordeeva travelled to dozens of refugee shelters in both Europe and Russia. She collected first account interviews of people with opposing views about their experiences and how the war had drastically changed their lives. This three-hour testimonial film has been viewed by more than 2.5 million people. In the summer of 2022, Gordeeva was named as one of the top 10 most influential independent journalists in Russia. She is a five-time winner of the only independent professional award in Russia, the Redcollegia. Gordeeva was awarded the Anna Politkovskaya International Journalism Prize in August of 2022, an award that truly honors her commitment to independent journalism. Katerina continues everyday to devote her integrity to unbiased journalism in these very challenging times.

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