Browse films

A Sniper's War

Olya Schechter
United States, 2018, 82 min.

In Russian with English subtitles.
Includes violence and adult language.

AIFF Award Winner:
Best Foreign Documentary

A Sniper's War is a story of a sniper, whose anti-US views led him to join the pro-Russian rebels in the ongoing Ukrainian conflict -- a primary source of tension between the United States and Russia. When social media becomes a communication platform to schedule sniper duels, the main character, Deki, is threatened by his rival on the other side.

Director's Statement

This film has been a product of a three-year effort to unveil a complex and fascinating nature of a sniper by the name "Deki" fighting on the side of the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. Working in harsh and dangerous conditions - the front line of the ongoing Ukrainian conflict - the New York filmmaker, Olya Schechter, captures daily lives of the pro-Russian rebels and exposes paradoxes of the modern warfare when a social media becomes a communication platform for two rival snipers to schedule duels. Gaining unprecedented access to the military bases and the front lines she utilizes poignant interviews, battles, and interactions, to create a nuanced and morally ambiguous portrait of a man walking the tightrope that is wartime morality: is Deki a solder or a killer?

Category: Documentary.
Themes: War, Politics, Gun Culture.