"Putin's Kiss" (CNEX x RFHK x Good Lab - Discussion Forums on Citizenship #1)

salon-citizenship-1

CNEX x RFHK x Good Lab
Discussion Forums on Citizenship #1

Film: Putin's Kiss
Date: 16th January 2014 (Thu)
Screening Time: 7:30 - 8:45 pm
Sharing Time: 8:45 - 10:30 pm
Venue: Mini Theatre, The Good Lab, L1, The Sparkle, 500 Tung Chau Street, West Kowloon

Guest Speakers:
Prof. SHEN Xu Hui (International Relations Scholar, Adjunct Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Science, CUHK)
Mr. Brian Yeung (Guest Editor, Russia Beyond The Headlines Asia)

Moderator:
Mr. Tieh-chih CHANG (Member of Renaissance Foundation, Chief Editor of City Magazine)


Synopsis:

"Putin's Kiss" (2012) (85 min) (Director: Lise BIRK PEDERSEN)

2012 Best Cinematography, World Documentary Competition, Sundance Film Festival
2012 Golden Firebird Award Nomination, Documentary Competition, Hong Kong International Film Festival

Nashi is an increasingly popular political youth organization with direct ties to The Kremlin. Officially, its goal is to support the current political system by creating a future elite among the brightest and most loyal Russian teenagers. But their agenda is also to keep the political opposition from spreading their views among the Russians.

In PUTIN’s Kiss, we meet 19-year-old Marsha, a Nashi commissar and spokesperson. Seduced by the energy of the movement, the future prospects and opportunities that this organization would be able to provide, Masha joined Nashi at the age of 15. In almost no time she progressed to the very top of the organization. She has posed with her much admired political leader and icon, Vladimir PUTIN– and on one occasion, even kissed him when he attended a Nashi meeting.

Marsha belongs to the educated, well-mannered and well-spoken part of Nashi. But according to the opposition, Nashi also has a radical wing that is secretly responsible for threats and violent attacks against anyone who doesn’t agree with PUTIN. When Marsha is up for election within Nashi and loses to a candidate whose program is called “fighting the enemies of Russia”, she starts questioning her role in the Nashi movement for the first time.