The Dmitriev Affair
Yuri Dmitriev is a man with a mission: "Every human being has the right to know where they come from and where their family lies buried." For several decades, he had been exhuming and bringing to light what many would rather forget. After years of searching the pine forests of Karelia in northwestern Russia, he discovered mass graves with thousands of people who were secretly executed during Stalin's "Great Terror". Thanks to his efforts, many families finally found out what happened to their disappeared relatives. While his work received international recognition, in Russian Dmitriev is discredited, arrested, and sentenced to 15 years.
Jessica Gorter is a Dutch documentary filmmaker. She studied directing and editing at the Dutch Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam. She lived in the United States as a teenager, and after completing her studies, worked and traveled in Russia for a longer period of time. Her experiences in both of these worlds, coupled with her passion for photography, form an important basis for her further works. Her award-winning films have been screened worldwide at film festivals and universities, and have been theatrically released and broadcast internationally. She has also directed for Dutch television (Human, VPRO) and worked as an editor for various documentaries. Her documentary, 900 Days (2011), was awarded best Dutch film at IDFA 2011.
