“Act & Punishment” centers on all-girl Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot, and a new trailer for the documentary doesn’t shy away from some of the controversies surrounding the polarizing group. Text in the spot poses questions about Pussy Riot’s intentions and reception, including “revolution or media noise” and “belief or PR” — the answers to which have divided many.
As the official synopsis for the film details, Pussy Riot “stood up to government human rights oppression in [Russia] and paid the ultimate price with their incarceration in 2011.” “Act & Punishment” chronicles what happened following Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Mariya Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich’s release from prison in 2012, when they evolved “from mere political activists through their formation of a punk rock band destined to bring their message of revolution to the masses and beyond.”
The spot is primarily composed of protests and media coverage sparked by Pussy Riot, and set to music advocating for the separation of church and state, and supporting anarchists and feminists.
Tolokonnikova has said her “strange punk advice” to fight oppression “is to mix everything that you know and everything that you care about into one thing.” She explained, “I’m tired of all these conversations about art and politics. Why do you have to separate them?”
“Act & Punishment” will be released on VOD Janaury 23.
