Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (2013)

Follows the court case of three members of the Russian feminist punk protest group Pussy Riot after their performance in a Russian Orthodox cathedral.

Directors:

Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin

Stars:

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Mariya Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova	...	Herself
Mariya Alyokhina	...	Herself
Yekaterina Samutsevich	...	Herself
Andrey Tolokonnikov	...	Himself
Natalia Alyokhina	...	Herself
Stanislav Samutsevich	...	Himself
Pyotr Verzilov	...	Himself
Mark Feygin	...	Himself
Nikolai Polozov	...	Himself
Violetta Volkova	...	Herself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev	...	Himself (as Patriarch Kirill)
Irina Khrunova	...	Herself
Lev Lyapin	...	Himself, prosecuting lawyer
Madonna	...	Herself (archive footage)
Dmitry Medvedev	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial in a case that has gripped the nation and the world beyond, three young artists or the society they live in?

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Plot Keywords:

extremism | provocation | russian politics | post soviet russia | performance | 

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Taglines:

Of punk and power.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Crime | Music | News

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

5 July 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

Pussy Riot

Filming Locations:

Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,148

Company Credits

Production Co:

Britdoc Foundation, Roast Beef Productions, Third Party Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Free ussy Riot
Written and Performed by Peaches and Simonne Jones

User Reviews

As noted by Le Monde, Pussy Riot's actions in the cathedral would be heavily prosecuted in France and most developed democracies in Europe.

Contrary to what is promoted in this film, it was not Pussy Riot's critique of religion, or the }patriarchy" that got them into legal trouble in Russia. It was going inside a church, and desecrating it through physical acts. What they got prosecuted for was not a "thought crime" or a free speech crime, but for what would be a prosecutable hate crime in the UK, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the US, Canada, Australia etc.

What a shame. Free speech is important.Free speech that one side or the other consider despicable, discordant or prejudiced, is important to protect. There is nothing wrong with radically attacking through speech or art the ideas or beliefs that people hold. But the "performance art" INSIDE the church by Pussy Riot is not, and never was, the same as Hebdo cartons, or Mapplethorpe's P sschrist. This film is utterly full of false narrative of what happened. Pussy riot could have done the same thing on the public sidewalk outside that church and not been prosecuted. They decided to go in , not leave, even get up on the alter. if you did that in Paris, London, Washington DC you'd go to jail too.