Day of the victims of enforced disappearances: “Barzakh” film screening and panel discussion

EHRAC and Bertha Dochouse will present a screening of “Barzakh”, an award-winning documentary by Director Mantas Kvedaravičius, on 30 August, to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The screening, at the Curzon Bloomsbury cinema in central London, will be followed by a panel discussion with the participation of the Head of ZMINA Tetiana Pechonchyk.

This event aims to raise awareness of Russia’s use of the crime of enforced disappearance as a tool of war, in Chechnya and more recently in Ukraine, and the ongoing impact on the families of the disappeared, who live a half-life, doubtful about the survival of their disappeared loved ones, but never fully reconciled to their deaths.

From the beginning of the first Russian-Chechen war in 1994, many people have been “disappeared” from their towns – arrested, abducted, killed by State Security forces – and nothing has been heard of them since. In the Chechen language, “Barzakh“ means the land between the living and the dead, reflecting the limbo experienced by the relatives of the disappeared of not knowing about the fate of their loved ones.

Following the screening of “Barzakh“, a panel of experts will discuss the human cost of Russia’s actions in Chechnya and Ukraine, focusing on the ongoing suffering of the families of the disappeared.

Lithuanian filmmaker and anthropologist Mantas Kvedaravičius was killed in April 2022 while filming in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine. This screening also pays tribute to Kvedaravičius’ talent and compassionate filmmaking.

Panel

• Jessica Gavron, EHRAC (introductions)
• Akhmed Gisaev, Human Rights Analysis Centre
• Tetiana Pechonchyk, ZMINA (appearing via Zoom from Kyiv)
• Dr Sarah Whittaker, Trauma Treatment International

Chair: Mariat Imaeva, EHRAC

Tickets for the screening (including the panel discussion and Q&A) can be booked on the Curzon Bloomsbury website.