Vera Krichevskaya is a Russian filmmaker. She is the co-founder of TV Dozhd (TV Rain), which is the only independent private TV channel in Russia. She is an award-winning television director and has supervised other projects as Senior Director and Senior Producer as well. Her feature documentaries include “The Citizen Poet,” “The Man Who Was Too Free,” and “The Case” (“Delo Sobchaka”).
“F@ck This Job” starts screening at the 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival on November 12. The fest runs from November 10-28.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
VK: The story of “F@ck This Job” is a life journey – mine, [and] Natasha’s — the main protagonist of the film. It is a journey of all of us from Dozhd TV, the only independent news TV station in Putin’s Russia. It’s also the journey of the country from a state of semi-freedom to full isolation.
For me, it is a story of journalists who have a sense of self-respect, an understanding of their profession, and faith that Russia will be free one day. “F@ck This Job” is a tapestry of our fates and lives, multiple failures, and restarts — both on and off the camera.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
VK: There were two big driving points that drew me deeper and deeper into the story. The first one is an arc of the country, Russia. In 2008, I found my characters full of optimism and plans for their future. They were the owners of their life. The change of the country and the change of Russia’s arc began to change the characters. Step by step, the people who had never voted in elections, who were extremely apolitical, started to understand that they were losing their lives, opportunities, plans, and dreams. In one moment we meet our characters at a rally, and later behind bars. The change of the country shapes the change of the people, who in such a dark time, found themselves [anew], strong, and devoted.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
VK: The first thing is the inspiration to fight for your rights! It is crucial to be honest with yourself and others. I dream to see future journalists among the film audience. I believe this film can strike the beauty of values and principles of this profession. The mission of journalism is to show injustice — I want the audience to get a sense of [that].
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
VK: The biggest challenge is to make this story understandable for an international audience, to tell it clearly to everyone — to make it universal and very accessible. I did not want to make this film only for experts in politics, or in Russian studies. Not at all. I made it for a very wide audience. And that was my biggest challenge.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
VK: It is complicated. The initial money for development and first shootings were my savings, as usual. When I got to some big documentary markets such as Sheffield Film Festival or IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), I found EU co-producers. At the same time, I pitched this film to many foundations that support independent films. Fortunately, one of those foundations supported the film. A big role was played by Doc Society, a non-profit UK organization that supports independent films and helps in finding more money.
Still, as I am answering your questions, we have a budget gap. I hope we will be able to cover it after we start sales.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
VK: Just films! I love documentary and doc storytelling.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
VK: The best one is to cut your film. It is torture to cut [your film] — a nightmare. But it always works!
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
VK: Nothing specific — do whatever you want to do, do not listen to others, listen to yourself, imagine. You are the creator, you! No matter what your gender is.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
VK: “American Factory,” directed by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, and Agnès Varda’s “Black Panthers,” “Salut les Cubains,” and “Jane B. for Agnès V.”
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?
VK: Fortunately, I started editing my new film in April 2020, so the pandemic worked perfectly for me, but not for my family. Yes, sometimes it was unbearable to try to find a creative solution with my editor via Zoom, but somehow we overcame it. For me, the pandemic was a time for silence, for ego-trips, and for professional searchings.
W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make it more inclusive?
VK: One of the biggest problems is on-screen and off-screen negative stereotypes. There must be two different approaches to change it. For me, it is always crucial to support, to help move forward anyone who works with me from any underrepresented group. I feel it as a mission, so that is why in each of my projects I hire and promote LGBTQ people. Keep in mind that I am from a different society, Russia, where LGBTQ people are treated as second-class citizens by the state. I promote such people, give them additional chances. But again, I have very different geopolitical life experiences.
On-screen: Docs love revealing bad stories. Docs about crime are [in demand from] platforms. I am going to say an obvious thing — for decades the film industry has been building negative stereotypes of different underrepresented groups of people and has put them in a negative context. I believe we should change it — we should change not just the stories, we should change the social demand for films. I am looking for positive and inspirational stories that could change people’s minds and perceptions. I think it is a key factor.
