STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Daniel Roher could not have foreseen how his film on Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny would assume a bigger-than-life persona, what with Russian troops butchering Ukrainian civilians as the film was set to premiere.

The film has become a must-see, serving as a gripping example of how important films can be.

Roher, a Canadian documentary filmmaker, presented his film to a full house at The Argyros Sunday night at the conclusion of the Sun Valley Film Festival. The Sun Valley audience, he said, was just the third audience in the world to see the film, which premiered two months earlier at a virtual Sundance Film Festival.

Even as he fielded questions from the audience, Roher said that he is desperately searching for a way for Russians to see the film.

“I’ve got a few ideas,” he said.

The Sun Valley Film Festival presentation was preceded by a concert of Ukrainian music performed by local members of the Sun Valley Music Festival and Wood River Orchestra. The crowd rose to its feet as R.L. Rowsey sang the Ukrainian national anthem.

Roher accepted the audience applause with mixed emotions, “knowing that I’m enjoying this extraordinary moment while the subject of the movie sits in a Russian gulag.”

“What’s important to remember is that Vladimir Putin is not Russia, and Russia is not Vladimir Putin,” he added.

The 98-minute documentary is as gripping a thriller as one will ever see, but it’s about real life with real consequences.

The film shows the events related to the poisoning of Navalny, a 45-year-old lawyer who led crowds in chants of “Putin! Thief” as he ran for office to fight authoritarian corruption. It shows his wife’s frustrated efforts to get him transferred out of the Russian hospital where he was treated following his poisoning.

And it includes fly-on-the-wall footage of Navalny and his colleagues’ gotcha moment as a would-be   assassin admits to a three-year plot to kill Navalny and offers that his team would have killed Navalny had the plane in which he was riding not made an emergency landing allowing him to be treated promptly for the lethal nerve agent.

Though serious stuff, the film contains lighter moments including the hilarity that evolved over the would-be assassins’ attempt to clean up the evidence left in Navalny’s blue underwear. And it exposes the love of Navalny for his country and his wife Yulia and their two children.

“They’re an extraordinary couple,” said Roher.

The film followed Navalny to his arrest in January 2021 upon his defiant return to Russia from Germany.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” Navalny said to the camera, noting that people don’t realize how much power they actually hold.

“It’s a profound, insightful and amazing portrait of a man who sacrifices everything for what he believes in,” said Ketchum resident Sandra Flattery, who was among the viewers. “His passion to stand up to corruption in Russia is truly inspiring despite the personal cost to him and his family. I pray he survives.”

Roher said he was pursuing another film project in Vienna that had stalled when the opportunity to follow Navalny fell into his lap. He began sneaking across the Austrian/German border under the radar, even driving eight hours straight on two hours of sleep on one occasion to get to Berlin to film Navalny watching Putin’s press conference after the assassination plot was revealed.

Roher noted that Navalny is a master at rallying support via Tik Tok and other forms of social media.

“There’s something about being in the presence of Navalny—he has a disarming smile, able to make you feel you’re the only person in the room,” he said.

Roher noted one shot where he had to interview Navalny, cognizant that Navalny could soon be sentenced to prison for the rest of his life or even killed.

“The possibility and likelihood that this was his last interview was on my mind, and we didn’t know what would happen,” he said.

Since the Sundance premiere, Russian media has gone to great lengths to discredit the film, accusing  Roher of being a CIA operative and even a pornographer. Both accusations are false, Roher said.

“Putin knows about our movie. He was briefed on it and wasn’t happy,” he added.

Just before Sundance, CNN Films and HBO Max announced they were partnering on the movie with the CNN to broadcast the film in North America and HBO Max an CNN+ holdin streaming rights.

In light of what’s happening worldwide, Warner Brothers has acquired the theatrical rights and is planning to release the film in more than 800 theaters April 11 and 12. And while much of the film takes place in a small room with Navalny and his associates, the film very much warrants the big screen treatment.

Roher added that it’s important for the world to keep Navalny’s memory alive to prevent Russians from killing him.

“Spread the word about the movie. Tell your friends. Tell everybody. Alex’s life is in peril. The more he’s the subject of conversation the harder it will be to murder him,” he said.

“Alex stands for the beautiful Russia of the future,” Roher added. “It looks dark right now but change can happen.”