A disturbing new short film is depicting the realities that gay men in Chechnya are reportedly facing, both in detention camps and at the hands of their families.
“Unchechen” is intended as an “everyman’s” tale according to writer and director Stephen M Hornby. Created by digitalSTAGE, and based on a stage version performed by Manchester, UK-based theatre collective Take Back in May 2017, “Unchechen” shines a light on the horrors gay men in Chechnya are subjected to using actors, since, according to Hornby, the men who have escaped the country’s alleged detention camps are too terrified to appear in person for interviews.
“Some of the details in this case are imagined, but the mechanics of his capture, torture and eventual fate are all based on reports from the few people who have escaped,” Hornby told HuffPost. “The sad thing to say is that there is no exaggeration in the film.”
Hornby hopes that “Unchechen” will have an effect on viewers around the world.
“We can read about their story, but it’s not the same as having them tell it. It doesn’t engage us emotionally,” he said. “So, we wanted to bridge that gap by dramatizing one man’s story. What we hope is that it makes the story real, shocks you and makes you want to help and take some action.”
Check out “Unchechen” above. Want to learn more about to abuses gay men in Chechnya are being subject to? Head here.
