In February last year, Pussy Riot's 'Punk Prayer' - a guerrilla punk performance directed at the Kremlin in a Moscow Cathedral - and the subsequent actions taken by the Russian authorities, shot the feminist collective into the international limelight. The 40-second act of protest landed several of its members in prison, convicted of committing an act of hooliganism under a context of religious hatred. The harsh penalties handed down to the group's members has opened up fresh debate in a nation that knows all too well the heavy hand of the regime and shines a spotlight on frequent cases of human rights abuse in the country.

 

Set to debut this week, A Punk Prayer is a new documentary by Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin that champions the women involved, and takes us to the centre of the ongoing trial. For those with an interest in the case, it looks to shed more light on events, with the filmmakers - although wholly sympathetic to Pussy Riot's cause - making clear that the women were naive to the consequences.

 

A Punk Prayer opens HBO's Summer documentary series on Monday night in the US, and is also screening at the Sheffield Documentary Festival this Wednesday, 12 June.

 

Jack Smylie