Mercury Locks in Sales for Russian Oil Tycoon Doc ‘Vlast’; New Footage of Khodorkovsky Trial Filmed
Posted on: January 6, 2011Adam Benzine
6 Jan 2011
© C21 Media 2011
Mercury locks in sales for oil tycoon doc
UK distributor MercuryMedia has penned a number of sales for Vlast, a documentary about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, following the Russian oil tycoon’s trial and sentencing in Moscow last week.
The single doc, which premiered at the 2010 LA Film Festival, has been sold to ZDF Germany, TVN Poland, ERR Estonia and DBS Israel. Director Cathryn Collins has been in Moscow during the latest trial to shoot footage to be incorporated in a re-edited cut for an updated version of the film, to satisfy international interest from broadcasters.
In his latest trial, Khodorkovsky was found guilty of embezzlement by a Russian court and sentenced to six additional years in prison. He had been in jail since 2003, having been first convicted in 2005 on charges of tax evasion and fraud.
Many critics say the case against him is politically motivated. Khodorkovsky - once Russia’s richest man as head of the Yukos oil firm - had funded opposition parties and complained of corruption in the Kremlin, and was seen as a threat to president Putin.
A range of national politicians, including German chancellor Angela Merkel and UK foreign secretary William Hague, have issued statements critical of the latest ruling, with the latter urging Russia “to respect the principles of justice and apply the rule of law in a non-discriminatory and proportional way.”