DRIE KAMERADEN (THREE COMRADES)

In the early 1990s, three young men, Ruslan, Ramzan and Islam, drive around the streets of Groznyy at night, rock music blasting from the stereo. The three friends have their futures ahead of them. Little are they to know that these futures will be marked by the impact of a brutal war and struggle for independence that will wreak devastation on their homeland of Chechnya.

Shortly after the outbreak of hostilities in 1994, Ruslan was arrested by Russian soldiers and disappeared. Ramzan, who had begun a career as a cameraman at the beginning of the war, died with his camera in hand after being hit by a grenade. Islam became a doctor, but after being interrogated by the Russian authorities during a trip to Moscow, fled to Holland with his family. He is the only survivor of the trio.

Interviews with Islam and family members of the three men are juxtaposed with footage shot by Ramzan of the battles in Groznyy. Repeatedly Novikova returns to scenes of the three young friends in the early 1990s, poignantly contrasting these happy moments with the terrible consequences of the subsequent conflicts on the lives of the people of Chechnya.

"I wanted to make a film about the two wars in Chechenya, told through the eyes of ordinary people." Masha Novikova

Award: Seconde Prize, Vallidolid 2006

'The structure to Three Comrades is the material that Ramzan Mezidov, one of the three eponymous comrades, shot for Grosny TV during the war years. Truly exceptional documents, they give the viewer a rare inside look from the belly of war. Ramzan's pictures are of perfect documentary and aesthetic quality - in peculiar contrast to the suffering and despair that they show. In the parts that she directed, Novikova attempts to follow his style. The two filmic signatures complement one another well and produce a coherent multi-layered work.' Gianfranco Helbling, Critic's Week, Locarno 2006