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For three weeks in May 2002, Paul Mitchell filmed in and around Chechnya. He followed a detachment of special Russian forces and a unit of rebel Wahabite fighters. The director and his crew, who also lived with Chechen refugees in Grozny and the surrounding villages, give us a moving glimpse of the life of civilians ruined by the war. They take us to the valley of Pankisi on the border between Chechnya and Georgia, a zone that, according to Russian and American secret services, could well serve as a new based for radical Islamists linked to Al Quaeda. The documentary posits the viewpoints of Russian forces about "cleansing operations"-described as simple identity checks- against those of the civilian Chechen population, often the main victims of these raids. Operations that, according the human rights groups, constantly violate the most basic rights.

United Kingdom - 2002 - 52 mn - DV Cam - Colour

Director Paul Mitchell, Tania Rakhmanova Script Paul Mitchell, Tania Rakhmanova Editing Robert Wright Music Haim Franck Ilfman

Production Wilton Films, Rivingston House, 82 Great Eastern street, EC2A 3JF Londres, Royaume-Uni Tél : +44 20 7428 4788 E-mail : paul@wiltonfilms.com

Sales Carlton Television International, Mark Gray Tél : + 44 207 612 7386 Fax : + 44 207 486 1707 E-mail : mark.gray@carlton.co.uk