02/11/2017 - Dutch filmmaker Jessica Gorter's new documentary will world-premiere at the IDFA and will also take part in the Best Dutch Documentary Competition

Dutch documentary filmmaker Jessica Gorter's new film, The Red Soul [+see also:
trailer
film profile], will world-premiere in the IDFA's International Feature-Length Competition on 19 November, and it will also be eligible for the Best Dutch Documentary Competition.

The logline for the film reads: "Why is it that so many Russians still defend Stalin as a great leader and a hero? The Red Soul lays bare the Russian psyche of today and shows a world full of contradictions."

In The Red Soul, Gorter asks questions related to the delicate subject of the Russian people's relation to Stalin. No one has ever been convicted of the crimes committed by the dictator's regime, although hardly any families escaped the hunger, fear and violence.

Is Stalin a hero who led the Soviet Union to victory? Or can he be held responsible for the millions of victims who died during his reign? Even now, more than 50 years after the death of Joseph Stalin, Russians are still deeply divided over how to deal with the memories of this painful past. In a mosaic of intimate portraits, ordinary Russians, both young and old, speak openly about their traumas, rooted in a violent history. Tales of pain alternate with tales of pride. Not infrequently, these conflicting views can be found in one and the same person. Gradually, this disturbing film exposes how the Soviet past lives on in current generations in Russia.

The Red Soul is a production by the Netherlands' Zeppers Films, in co-production with IKONdocs. Germany's Deckert Distribution handles the international rights.

Watch the movie’s official trailer below.