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The Penal Colony is a fictional film based on the true story of Nadya Tolokonnikova and the brutal accounts of her sentencing in Penal Colony No 14 in Mordovia and we have finished shooting the film.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET THE FILM DONE
THE STORY
Nadya Tolokonnikova is sentenced to imprisonment in Penal Colony No. 14 in Russia. The colony is a sweatshop that feeds the sewing industry daily with thousands of police uniforms. Contrary to what is predicted by the law, the prisoners are forced to work unpaid seven days a week from 16 to 17 hours, with no breaks for food, no bathroom breaks, under constant pressure to meet their quotas using old and broken sewing machines.
To maintain order in the colony, the administrators, Colonel Vulagin and Lieutenant Colonel Kurianov, delegate some prisoners to the role of depriving the rights of all others. Savage beatings, hazing and torture are included in the daily "prison menu". Many prisoners are pinning their hopes on Nadya, because of the public support she has. Nadya in an unequal direct confrontation with the administration, attempts many demands and reports to change the conditions, to no avail. The administration applies the method of "collective punishment" which makes life in the colony impossible. Nadya’s friends in prison are punished brutally, older prisoners are ordered to beat the younger and every human right is lost. Faced with this impasse, with the encouragement of her friend, the doll maker, Nadya decides to go on a hunger strike, and not give up until the administration decides to respect the law and cease to treat prisoners like slaves.
Cast & Crew
Were very privileged to be working with such a talented team of independent international filmmakers, actors, and activists.
Manos Cizek and Lindsey Aliksanyan (Director & Writers) are filmmakers developing a style of integrated fiction within political cinema. Their first film together, Red City, was an art-house film about the Greek riots. Manos’ main influence being social movements and experimental cinema, he brings a touch of media activism into contemporary filmmaking. While Lindsey, influenced by contemporary art, presents strong cinematic tones highlighting his interest in low concept characters within a high concept backdrop.
Christina Moumouri (Director of Photography) An awarded and internationally renowned cinematographer, Christina is an incredible asset to our team, bring a further cinematic depth and experience in shooting within high contrast and low light conditions, ideal for the prison scenario.
Constantine Markoulakis (Role of Colonel Vulagin) - Upon graduating the American College of Athens in 1988 he was accepted in Greek National Theater's School of Dramatic Art, of which he graduated with highest honors in 1991. Since then he has been working steadily in theater, movies and television series, combining work in artistic "off-Broadway" theaters of renowned directors with successful movies and prime time T.V series of high quality, and becoming one of Greece's most prominent and popular actors.
Mariana Novak (Role of Nadya Tolokonnikova) is a theater & film actress based in Los Angeles. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to act as a conduit to such an important political figure and message in support of prisoner rights in Russia.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!