Hunting the Rainbow

Overview

Documentary about how, in today’s Russia, love and private life have become grounds for harassment, persecution, and criminal prosecution. The film begins with ordinary situations that, in a different political context, would have remained part of everyday life: two lovers walking home hand in hand, flirting in a private chat, sharing a kiss on the street. In contemporary Russia, however, these simple acts trigger a chain of violence — because the lovers are of the same sex. And that has now become a crime. Flyers with photographs, curses, and threats appear in apartment buildings. A kiss in public leads to detention and beatings. Private messages in a closed group result in abduction straight from a university classroom and hours of police torture. Through the stories of Lyosha, two men named Sergey, and August, the film systematically reveals how this system operates — from everyday homophobia and workplace pressure to the actions of law enforcement agencies.