International documentary sales, distribution and production company Antidote” and “Fukushima.”
Currently in development, “The Face of Power” has been selected for the IDFA Forum, where the project will be pitched this month by Dogwoof.
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The film, produced by BAFTA-winner Sasha Odynova, marks the third collaboration between Dogwoof and Jones, following the BIFA and Grierson-nominated “Antidote” and “Fukushima,” which is due for release next year by Dogwoof.
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Told through rare archival footage, “The Face of Power” is a “chilling and immersive” portrait of Vladimir Putin’s rise from obscurity to autocracy. It is a psychological study of how one man “weaponized television to control a nation, deceive the world, and lead Russia into war,” Dogwoof said.
Newly uncovered footage will be woven through a “hypnotic flow of state media,” accompanied by audio testimonies from those who witnessed his rise and have lived under his rule, such as journalists, insiders, dissidents and ordinary citizens. Their voices “pierce through the spectacle, offering moments of reflection, grief, resistance, and warning.”
“The Face of Power” is not just the story of Putin’s rule; it is the story of how he was seen – “misunderstood, mythologized and enabled,” Dogwoof said. “It stands as both a reckoning with the past and a warning for what lies ahead.”
Oli Harbottle, Dogwoof’s chief content officer, said: “It’s great to be collaborating once again with James after the success of ‘Antidote’ earlier this year and with ‘Fukushima’ launching early next year. With ‘The Face of Power,’ we’re excited at his creative vision for the project and confident he will deliver a unique and insightful look at the ever-relevant topic of media manipulation being used to shore up political power.”
Jones and Odynova added: “Putin rewrote the playbook for modern strongmen – mastering the manipulation of truth and the crushing of dissent – yet he remains strangely unknowable. With this epic, cinematic, investigative film, we aim to peel back the mythology and reveal the forces that shaped one of the world’s most dangerous dictators. The fact that Putin personally targeted my friend and colleague Christo Grozev has only deepened my determination to make this film.”
