Pussy Riot ‘Punk Prayer’ praised by Sundance jury

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Published time: January 27, 2013 12:03
Edited time: January 27, 2013 16:03

A documentary about jailed punk band Pussy Riot, who became a household name after their controversial act at Russia’s main cathedral, ‘Pussy Riot—A Punk Prayer’ has won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award in America.

­The Russian and British co-production, directed by Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin, was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, competing against 11 other titles.

The three members of the feminist punk group were arrested after they stormed Christ the Savior Cathedral, in February 2012, and performed a profanity-laden ‘punk prayer.’ The trio was sentenced to two years each in a medium-security prison for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

The women insisted they never intended to offend people's religious sensibilities. One of members was released on probation after successfully appealing her conviction.

“I think that one of the things that interested us is why those 40 seconds – what they did when they went into the cathedral – why it became such a perfect storm of everything,” one of the film’s creators, Maxim Pozdorovkin, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“We often talk about how this possibly could be one of the most controversial and the most resonant pieces of performance art in history. The trial was important because it really brought together all these elements: Russia not having a punk culture, not having a performance-art culture, the resurgence of religious fundamentalism in Russia, the political situation, and all these things kind of came together in the story. In a way, once it was a sentencing and an outcome, that story was done – but, you know, future stories are made to be told,” he added.

The Sundance Film Festival was founded and by the star of Indecent Proposal, Robert Redford. Since 1978, the film forum has been held annually to celebrate independent moviemaking from across the world.