Sacha Koulaeva

A journey into the lived reality of international human rights, observed from within long-term relationships and shared time. At its centre stands Ales Bialiatski, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, whose presence emerges through the voices of those who have lived and worked alongside him over decades. The film is carried by two women - his wife Natalia Pinchuk and his closest colleague Sasha Koulaeva. Through memory, routine gestures and years of shared experience, they reveal what it means to remain with someone when history moves in circles rather than forward. Moving across places marked by authoritarian experience, from Belarus to Tunisia and Colombia, the film follows a recurring rhythm of hope, exhaustion and return, linking human rights defenders across borders and generations. A film shaped by endurance, loyalty and the quiet persistence of human dignity over time.

In Russia, criticizing the war in Ukraine or Vladimir Putin’s regime has become a crime. Thousands of ordinary citizens are being arrested, tried, and imprisoned. They are called “Politzek”: political prisoners. Filmed clandestinely over the course of more than a year, Politzek gives a platform to those who, despite the fear, continue to speak out against Putin’s repressive Russia. Through the intersecting stories of a teenager sentenced to five years in prison for criticizing the government on social media, a young artist jailed for placing anti-war stickers, a human rights activist, and two theater directors facing Kafkaesque trials, the film unveils the machinery of state repression in Russia. With rare footage, broken yet unyielding voices, this is a story of silenced resistance.