One does not see many short fiction films on television or in theaters. But on a recommendation of a friend, I began to screen Alexander Molochnikov’s short film “Extremist” (it is on the Oscar short list) on YouTube. The film reinterprets a real act of protest by Sasha Skochilenko, a young Russian artist who tried to call attention to Putin’s murderous invasion of Ukraine. What Sasha did was swap grocery price tags in a St. Petersburg supermarket with various antiwar messages (e.g., “Putin has been lying to you from the television screen for 20 years.”).
A 76-year-old neighbor reads these messages and reports them to the police. Sasha is arrested by hooded cops (looking like members of ICE) and asked by the police to apologize so she can get her life back. Sasha refuses, which leads her to receiving a Draconian seven-year sentence.
The film is too short to give Sasha much emotional complexity, but we do see her in an out lesbian relationship and part of a free-wheeling bohemian world, despite the general conservatism of the Russian public and government. The film suggests the harsh sentence is both for her minor politically subversive act and for being a lesbian.
“Extremist” concludes with Sasha providing a riveting final word of autonomy, stating: “What I wrote on those tags were not lies. Everybody knows. You fear me. Despite being behind bars, I feel absolutely free, and I can speak my mind.” The director reinforces that feeling with red confetti descending on a smiling Sasha and friends. It is a powerful moment in a film that deserves greater length.
When Molochnikov wrote the script, Skochilenko was behind bars in Russia. But in August 2024, she was released in a large-scale prisoner exchange between Russia and several Western countries.
