Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia

Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia (originally released by BBC Worldwide[1] and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom[2][3] under the title Cold Fear: Gay Life In Russia) is a 2014 HBO documentary film by Ben Steele on anti-gay violence in Russia. It is narrated by Matt Bomer.[4]

The documentary film was originally shown in the United Kingdom at the time of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.[5] In the lead-up to the Games, many Western nations criticised Russia's stance on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights, in particular the anti-"gay propaganda" law which passed in June 2013, with some calling for a boycott of the Olympic Games.[6] At this time, violent attacks on gay men by extremist groups such as Occupy Pedophilia, which was profiled in Steele's documentary, reached their height.[7][2][3] These abuses included online humiliation and beatings on camera (sometimes to the point of unconsciousness), with these videos being uploaded online in order to humiliate the victim.[3][5][8] Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a United States government-funded media organisation, noted that "the brutality of these videos played a significant role in galvanizing broad international support for Russia's beleaguered LGBT community".[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Steele, Ben (director) (2014). Cold Fear: Gay Life In Russia. BBC Worldwide. ProQuest 1841415496.
  2. ^ a b Franchetti, Mark (15 September 2013). "Vigilantes torture Russia's gay men". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Gallagher, Paul; Thorpe, Vanessa (1 February 2014). "Russian anti-gay gang violence seen for the first time on camera". The Observer. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  4. ^ Lowry, Brian (3 October 2014). "TV Review: 'Hunted: The War Against Gays In Russia'". Variety. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b Teeman, Tim (6 October 2014). "The 'Hunted' Gays of Putin's Russia: Vicious Vigilantes and State Bigotry Close Up". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  6. ^ Lally, Kathy (29 September 2013). "Russia anti-gay law casts a shadow over Sochi's 2014 Olympics". The Washington Post. Sochi, Russia. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  7. ^ Habeck, Joachim Otto; Schröder, Philipp (December 2016). "From Siberia with Love or Angst in the City? On the Idea of Merging Research Projects in Novosibirsk and Co-Teaching in Hamburg and Berlin". Ethnoscripts. 18 (1): 11–12.
  8. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (2 October 2014). "Gays as Human Prey: The Terrifying Truths of 'Hunted: The War on Gays in Russia'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  9. ^ Schreck, Carl (7 October 2014). "A Filmmaker's Chilling View Of Russia's Antigay 'Vigilantes'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 9 July 2023.