“Act and Punishment”, a film by Evgeny Mitta

On Tuesday February 20th, please join us for a screening and discussion of Act and Punishment, a film by Evgeny Mitta. This work is a documentary that historically and culturally grounds the protest actions of Pussy Riot. The film, which the Russian government has banned, juxtaposes interviews with members of Pussy Riot who tell their own stories alongside commentary by Russian art historians, curators, and artists who contextualize their work. The film makes extensive use of raw footage depicting Pussy Riot’s actions and Pussy Riot inspired demonstrations in Russia. This will be the first time that filmmaker Evgeny Mitta will be in the United States to present his film. Evgeny Mitta will discuss the history of Russian performance art/music, the making of his documentary film, queerness of femme holy fools, and provide some context on Russia-US relations. As a friend to the Pussy Riot collective and many other Russian political artists, Evgeny can speak on the intersections of politics, sexuality, class, and gender that are portrayed in his film.

Evgeny Mitta is a visual artist, documentary filmmaker, scenographer, and actor. Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, he graduated from the Moscow State Art Institute of V. Surikov. Soon after graduating, he co-founded “First Gallery” the first private artist gallery in Russia and since then he has opened the Paperworks Gallery. In 1994 he became a member of Moscow Artists’ Association and he has had his paintings sold at Sotheby’s London ‘Contemporary East’ in 2013. His movie, Act and Punishment, is a part of a documentary series “Anthology of Contemporary Art” which includes two other movies, Vinogradov and Dubosarskiy: Commissioned Painting, and Oleg Kulik: Challenge and Provocation. Evgeny’s next film focuses on the protests of 2012 in Moscow, and is titled 2012.