Oct 16 2025 to Oct 16 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

98 minutes | English, Russian and German | 2022

Enthralling and intimate, the Oscar-winning documentary Navalny, directed by Daniel Roher, unfolds with the pace of a thriller as it follows Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in his quest to identify the men who poisoned him in August 2020. Shot in Germany as the story unfolded, the film offers extraordinary access to the investigation while also portraying Navalny the man—a reformist leader who refuses to be cowed, even by an assassination attempt.

The documentary takes viewers inside the meticulous investigation into the shocking poisoning, revealing who was behind it. Navalny’s years-long campaign against corruption among Russia’s elites has earned him powerful enemies, particularly Vladimir Putin, who pointedly refuses to utter his name in public. In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent in an elaborate attempt on his life. Despite official denials, independent investigations by Bellingcat, CNN, and others later linked the attack to the Kremlin.

The film Navalny is produced by Odessa Rae (RaeFilm Studios), Diane Becker and Melanie Miller (Fishbowl Films), Shane Boris (Cottage M), and Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton (CNN Films), with Maria Pevchikh as executive producer.

Following the screening, a discussion between Aakar Patel and Swati Dandekar will take place, followed by an audience Q&A.

Please note: director Daniel Roher will not be present.

Viewer discretion: Children under 17 are restricted from viewing the film unless accompanied by an adult.

In collaboration with:

Speakers & Director

Daniel Roher
Documentary Director and Storyteller
Daniel Roher is an Academy Award–winning Canadian filmmaker best known for directing Navalny (2022), the gripping documentary on Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny and the investigation into his poisoning. Navalny premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, went on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and has been widely praised for its thriller-like pace and extraordinary access.

Born and raised in Toronto, Roher studied at the Etobicoke School of the Arts and briefly attended the Savannah College of Art and Design. His earlier films include Survivors Rowe, Sourtoe: The Story of the Sorry Cannibal, and Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band, which opened the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Roher’s work often explores themes of politics, human rights, and justice, and he is currently developing his first narrative feature, Tuner.

Aakar Patel
Columnist & Chair, Amnesty International India
Aakar Patel is a syndicated columnist who has edited English and Gujarati newspapers. His books include Why I Write, a translation of Saadat Hasan Manto’s Urdu non-fiction (Tranquebar, 2014), Our Hindu Rashtra: What It Is. How We Got Here, a study of majoritarianism in India and Pakistan (Westland, 2020), Price of the Modi Years, a history of India after 2014 (Penguin Random House, 2021), The Anarchist Cookbook, a guide on why and how to protest (HarperCollins, 2022) and the novel After Messiah (Vintage, 2023). He is Chair of Amnesty International India.

Swati Dandekar
Documentary Filmmaker & Film Educator
Swati Dandekar is a documentary filmmaker and a film educator based in Bangalore, India, with a special interest in creating critical visual narratives of the living history around her, of people, places, ideas, traditions, practices, and the continuous process of change. In addition, she has been closely involved with designing media for education. As a founder trustee of Vikalp Bengaluru, she has been actively screening documentary films and curating festivals in Bangalore city for over fifteen years. Swati heads the Film programme at the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore.