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.

More in Documentary

  • The Original Badass

    The Original Badass

    Simantini Chakraborty
    United States, 2024, 11 min.

    A group of award-winning filmmakers have created this powerfully-immersive and fast-paced short documentary, which spans numerous decades of American... more ›

  • The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt's Monument to Ida B. Wells

    The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt's Monument to Ida B. Wells

    Rana Segal
    United States, 2024, 66 min.

    This feature documentary weaves together sculptor Richard Hunt’s process and life story, with that of civil rights crusader, suffragist and anti-lynching... more ›

  • Avant-Drag!

    Avant-Drag!

    Fil Ieropoulos
    Greece, 2024, 92 min.

    Avant-Drag! offers an exhilarating look at ten Athenian drag performers who deconstruct gender, nationalism, belonging, identity, while facing police... more ›