ANTIDOTE

“I have lived in Russia, speak Russian, and have witnessed the effects of Putin’s repression. People I know are currently sitting in Russian prisons. For many years I’ve wanted to make a film that shows how the key to understanding Putin is that he’s a killer, but for a long time it was journalistically near impossible to prove it – and then Bellingcat came along. […] We wanted this film to tell an epic story of the death throes of a murderous, lying regime through very personal narratives. My last film Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes told the story of an empire collapsing under the weight of its own lies. In many ways, I see this as a contemporary version of the same story.” (James Jones)

James Jones is an Emmy-winning British director who makes documentary films for international television and theatrical release. His documentaries tell extraordinary human stories from all over the world. The films combine journalistic rigor with a distinctive cinematic sensibility and often take on authoritarian regimes. James is a Russian-speaker with a longstanding interest in Russia. He recently made the BAFTA and Cinema Eye-winning film Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes. His series Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn aired on Apple TV+.