Daniel Roher is on a mission with “Navalny,” and it’s one he considers life or death.
The documentary filmmaker, who last directed “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,” believes that the more people see “Navalny” worldwide, the greater the spotlight will be on the imprisoned Russian dissident it is named for, and the more problematic it will be for Vladimir Putin’s administration to kill him. Alexei Navalny, a one-time presidential candidate in Russia, was poisoned with nerve gas in 2020, and although Putin and his government denied it, the poisoning was later linked to the Kremlin. Navalny was detained in January 2021 when he returned to Russia.
“If we can keep Alexei’s name in the headlines it will be harder for the regime to murder him in prison” Roher tells Variety. “My personal mission as the director of this film is to get as many people in the world to see it as I possibly can.”
With the spotlight on Russia and Ukraine, Warner Bros. swooped in to give the documentary a theatrical release in more than 800 theaters in North America on April 11 and 12 in conjunction with Fathom Events. Originally the plan was for the doc, an award winner at the Sundance Film Festival, to debut on CNN and stream on HBO Max.
“Getting this film seen in Russia is my top priority and something that’s very important to me and the entire team,” Roher says.
The filmmaker got in touch with Navalny via Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev and filmed the Russian dissident from fall 2020 until he was detained in Russia early last year. Last month, a Russian court sentenced Navalny to nine years in prison for fraud, but many believe that his sentence is a direct result of Navalny’s opposition to Putin as well as his pleas to Russians from jail to protest the invasion of Ukraine.
The director spoke to Variety about his access to Navalny in prison and concerns about his own safety.
This is your second feature documentary yet despite being in the beginning of your career, Navalny trusted you with his story. Did you convince him that you were the right person for the job with a pitch?
Yes. We did have to do a pitch. It wasn’t as if I wrote out a 12 page essay, it was more of a vibe. It was more sitting across from him and trying to explain to him why this work that we were trying to do was vital and necessary and urgent. I think it was that sense of – history is unfolding now in front of us as we speak, and we need to be documenting this – resonated with Alexei. I think he really appreciated that sentiment.
Did he also want to make the doc to ensure that his story is seen by not only his supporters, but also by people around the world who don’t know much about him?
Alexei’s great genius is his mastery of social media. Part and parcel with that was his understanding that a documentary – a cinematic rendering of his story – is very different from a YouTube video. A YouTube video is immediate. It’s like a news broadcast. It’s for the moment. It’s for now. Whereas a documentary film is for history. It’s on a time delay. It comes out not in a week, but in a year or two years or three years. What he understood and what he foresaw is that in a year from when we first met, he might be in a position where he is in prison, or he is inaccessible and he understood that a documentary film might be the perfect medium to remind the world of his story and to reinvigorate the conversation surrounding the injustice of his detention.
In the production notes for the film, you said that Navalny’s “great genius is his media acumen, he way that he can bend a news cycle to his will and use the Internet to achieve his political objectives.” Was there ever any concern that he invited you to film him, and he knew what story he wanted you to tell?
He’s not a filmmaker. Telling this story in this format is not his expertise. He really trusted our professional judgment on what would make the best film. Something that Alexei appreciated from the very beginning was the integrity I brought to this project. I made it very clear that if they decided to work with me, I would be in the driver’s seat. I would have editorial control. It takes a great deal of trust to agree to that, but he was game.
Navalny’s attempted assassination was a complicated plan that involved several individuals. Proof of the Kremlin’s involvement is detailed extensively throughout the film. What was it like editing down all of that information into a succinct, understandable storyline?
This is a film that is exposition on top of exposition, and it was incredibly challenging from an editorial standpoint to include all this information in a way that was engaging and digestible. But we had an extraordinary editorial team. Langdon Page and Maya Daisy Hawke are two of the finest documentary editors in the world and the sensibilities that they brought to this project took my vision and my filmmaking pedigree and ability and brought it to a level that I would never have reached on my own.
The docu was unveiled as a last-minute “surprise” entry in the U.S. Documentary Competition slate at Sundance 2022. Why?
The reason why Sundance hesitated on their announcement was for security reasons. They were rightfully concerned that if they announced this film, the Russians would try to somehow sabotage a platform or sabotage the festival.
Have you spoken to Navalny while he has been in jail?
I understand that his lawyers are able to communicate with him, but I personally am not. I understand that he has been following the news and the articles and the interviews and so on (about) the film and I think he’s very enthusiastic about the world’s response to our documentary.
Do you think that the release of this film will put pressure on Putin to release Navalny from prison?
That’s not our expectation. My expectation is that telling Alexei’s story in this format will remind the world of his plight. If we can keep Alexei’s name in the headlines it will be harder for the regime to murder him in prison. My personal mission as the director of this film is to get as many people in the world to see it as I possibly can.
These days, it’s rare for a major studio to grant a wide release for a documentary, but Warner Bros. is putting the film in hundreds of theaters, and it will eventually stream on CNN and HBO Max. How will you make sure that the doc is seen in Russia?
I can’t speak to that at the moment, but what I can tell you is that we have a plan. Getting this film seen in Russia is my top priority and something that’s very important to me and the entire team.
Are you concerned about your safety after this film is released?
I have no doubt that the Russians are going to try hacking my email and my social media. I have no doubt that the Russians are going to use their dirty tricks to try and discredit my colleagues and try to assassinate our character. It’s coming down the pike for us. The Kremlin, Putin, and the Russian government understand the power that is this film and they will do everything they can to try and discredit the filmmakers.
We knew what we were getting into when we started this project and we are existing and working within the context of Navalny and his family — some of the bravest people on earth. I can’t help but be inspired by Alexi’s personal bravery.