Hunting the Rainbow

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.