PUTIN’S WITNESSES

Synopsis

The events of the film begin on 31 December 1999 when Russia was acquainted with its new President Vladimir Putin. The film is based on unique and strictly documentary testimonies of the true causes and consequences of the operation “Successor”, as a result of which Russia ended up with the President who still rules the country. The protagonists of the film are Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian nation, as always being a silent witness of its own destiny.

Biography

Vitaly Mansky was born in 1963 in Lviv /Ukraine, USSR.
He graduated from VGIK — All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography in 1989 and became one of the most prominent contemporary Russian documentary filmmakers and producers. He has shot more than 30 films as a director which were screened at festivals world-wide and were awarded several times. As a producer, Vitaly produced films with directors like Renata Litvinova, Alexander Rastorguyev, Sergey Miroshnichenko, Dmitry Zhelkovsky, and Sergei Loznitsa.
In 1996, he launched a project that aims to archive amateur private video files that were shot in the times of the former USSR (from the 30s till the 90s).
Vitaly Mansky is the producer of the national Laurel Leaf award for the best Russian documentary films. He is also the founder and president of Artdocfest — Russian Open Documentary Film Festival for Russian-language creative documentaries.
Since 2014 Vitaly Mansky lives and works in Latvia.

Filmography:
2018 PUTIN’S WITNESSES
2016 CLOSE RELATIONS
2015 UNDER THE SUN
2014 THE BOOK
2013 PIPELINE
2011 MOTHERLAND OR DEATH
2009 NIKOLINA GORA. EPILOGUE
2008 VIRGINITY
2008 DAWN / SUNSET. DALAI LAMA 14
2006 WILD, WILD BEACH
2005 GAGARIN’S PIONEERS
2003 ANATOMY OF T.A.T.U.
2002 BROADWAY. BLACK SEA
2001 TRILOGY ‘RED TSARS. PRESIDENTS OF RUSSIA’:
GORBATCHEV. AFTER THE EMPIRE
YELTSIN. ANOTHER LIFE
PUTIN. LEAP YEAR
1999 PRIVATE CHRONICLES. MONOLOGUE
1995 BLISS
1993 CUTS OF A RECURRENT WAR
1991 LENIN’S BODY
1990-1995 ETUDE ABOUT LOVE
1990 POST
1988 BOOMERANG

festival

Karlovy Vary IFF 2018, Czech Republic (Grand Prix for Best Documentary)
Stockholm IFF 2018, Sweden (Bronze Horse Award for Best International Documentary)
FIPADOC Biarritz 2019, France (Grand Prix for Best International Documentary)