Locarno film premiere puts Putin under spotlight

A documentary exploring anti-Putin dissent premieres at the Locarno Film Festival on Thursday. "Winter, go away", the work of 10 young filmmakers, explores the tactics employed by opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2012 election campaign earlier this year. Highlights include a grandmother advising grandson Vanya how to improve the construction of his stilts ahead of a public demonstration; and a group of climbers who scale a building to take down a huge pro-Putin poster and replace it with one calling for his departure. The film, shot in February and March, also features an interview with Pussy Riot, the all-girl punk band currently on trial in Moscow over an anti-Putin stunt they staged in a Russian Orthodox church. The film shows them entering a church and singing, before being hauled away by police. The film's title comes from a slogan chanted by opponents of Putin and his administration. The festival runs until August 11.