Anna (upcoming film)

Anna is an upcoming biographical film about the late Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Directed by James Strong, it is set to star Maxine Peake as Politkovskaya, Jason Isaacs as her husband Sascha, and Ciarán Hinds as her Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor at the Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Muratov.[1]

Anna
Directed byJames Strong
Screenplay byEric Poppen
Produced by
  • Dean Altit
  • David Banks
  • Paul Brennan
  • Kia Jam
  • Miriam Segal
Starring
Production
companies
  • Luminosity
  • K Jam Media
  • BuzzFeed Studios
  • Film Bridge International
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Latvia
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

Anna Politkovskaya was a journalist and human rights activist who persisted with reporting on the conflict in Chechnya despite considerable danger to herself, and tried to expose corruption within Russia under the governance of Vladimir Putin. She continued in the face of poisoning, intimidation and violence before being the victim of a contract killing in the elevator of her house on October 7, 2006.[2]

Cast

Production

The project was announced as Mother Russia at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival with Maxine Peake, Jason Isaacs, and Ciarán Hinds attached to the main roles.[3] The film had James Strong attached as director, working from a screenplay by Eric Poppen, and was announced to be made by the production company Luminosity, with filming scheduled for UK and Latvia in 2022.[4] Producers were listed as Dean Altit, David Banks, Paul Brennan, Kia Jam, and Miriam Segall,[5] with co-production from Forma Pro Films at their Latvian studios, K. Jam Media, and BuzzFeed Studios, with a reported budget of $13 million.[6]

In February 2023, the family of Anna Politkovskaya released a joint statement expressing concern about the factual accuracy of the script they had been given at the start of production, that they had not contributed in any way, nor had they granted permission for their names to be used in the film.[7]

Casting

In September 2022, Emma D'Arcy, Harry Lawtey and Ellie Bamber were added to the cast, with the project title being changed from Mother Russia to Anna.[8] Lawtey confirmed his role as Anna Politkovskaya's son and discussed the film within a geo-political context saying "The film has been planned for years and obviously now it has unfortunately become too relevant... Being part of a project that feels current and meaningful is a privilege."[9] D'Arcy was replaced by Naomi Battrick due to scheduling issues.[10]

Principal photography

Selling rights to the film became held by Film Bridge International from Luminosity in late 2022. Principal photography was revealed by Deadline Hollywood to have commenced in Latvia in December 2022, with filming scheduled to last into February 2023.[11]

References
  1. "Ciarán Hinds to portray Nobel Peace Prize winner in film about murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya". rte.ie. May 16, 2022.
  2. "Maxine Peake To Play Fearless Russian Journalist & Putin Scourge Anna Politkovskaya In Timely Cannes Package 'Mother Russia'; Ciaran Hinds Co-Stars With Jason Isaacs". Deadline.com. May 13, 2022.
  3. "Maxine Peak, Jason Isaacs set for Mother Russia movie". Filmstories.co.uk. May 16, 2022.
  4. "A film about Anna Politkovskaya will be filmed in the UK". afisha.london. May 13, 2022.
  5. "Mother Russia". Productionlist.com. June 27, 2022.
  6. "ANNA AKA Mother Russia". goodfilmscollective.
  7. Ntim, Zac (March 7, 2023). "Family Of Russian Journalist Anna Politkovskaya Claim Upcoming Biopic Is "Grossly Inaccurate"". Deadline. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  8. "'House Of The Dragon' Star Emma D'Arcy, 'Industry' Actor Harry Lawtey & 'Willow' Star Ellie Bamber Join Movie 'Anna' About Murdered Russian Journalist & Putin Scourge Anna Politkovskaya". Deadline.com. September 12, 2022.
  9. "Harry Lawtey is weighing the price of success". zonadeprensard.com.
  10. "House Of The Dragon' Star Emma D'Arcy Drops Out Of Anna Politkovskaya Biopic 'Anna', Replaced By Naomi Battrick". Deadline. November 23, 2022.
  11. Wiseman, Andreas (December 1, 2022). "'Anna': First Look At Maxine Peake As Russian Journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Film Bridge Takes Over Sales Duties". Deadline. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
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