Stand

Stand, dir. Jonathan Taleb, France, 2014, 87 min., in Russian with English subtitles
NOTE: this film contains graphic depictions of homophobic violence
Friday, June 20, 4:00 pm @ Castro (World premiere!)
Sunday, June 29, 4:15 pm @ Castro

Anton (Renat Shuteev) and
Vlad (Andrey Kurganov)

Stand is the story of two Russian gay men, Anton and Vlad, horrified by the acts of violence against gay men in their community. Someone is luring men out into the countryside to be beaten half to death, all so the beatings can be uploaded to YouTube for the amusement of homophobes everywhere. They drift along until one evening they drive by what appears to be a gay bashing in progress, spurring them into action as amateur detectives, trying to learn who is behind this wave of violence. Going to the police is not a viable option, because the police are as virulently homophobic as the gay bashers, more likely to lock up the victims than to try to find the attackers. However, Anton is obsessed with their sleuthing, to a level that frightens Vlad almost as much as the bashings. It’s an engaging drama, with cute actors (Renat Shuteev looks more than a little like a twenty-something Johnny Depp), and it bravely wrangles with topical subject matter. Viewers get a palpable sense of the nightmare of living in Vladimir Putin’s gay-scapegoating Russia. Recommended.

• IMDb page • official Facebook page (en/ru/fr) • official Twitter • trailer (English subtitles) (YouTube • Vimeo) • официальный тизер #1 (русская версия) (YouTube • Vimeo) •