Abstract

ReportOUT met with David France to discuss his body of work, and especially, what is currently happening in Chechnya to sexual and gender minorities.

David France is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, New York Times bestselling author, and award-winning investigative journalist. Welcome to Chechnya (HBO Max, 2020) premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the special jury award for documentary editing. The film went on to receive numerous accolades, among others, winning the Panorama Audience Award and Amnesty International Film Prize at 2020 Berlinale, as well as a BAFTA Award.

France has seen his journalistic work inspire several films, including the Peabody-winning SOLDIER’S GIRL (Showtime 2003), based on his New York Times Magazine story of the transgender girlfriend of a soldier killed in an anti-gay attack, and OUR FATHERS (Showtime 2005), earning him a WGA nomination.

As a filmmaker, his directorial debut, HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE (IFC Films 2012), was nominated for an Oscar, two Emmys, and a Directors Guild Award. Appearing on over 20 “Best of the Year” lists, including Time and Entertainment Weekly, the documentary won numerous top honours from various festivals and critics.

His 2017 film, THE DEATH & LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON, a Netflix Original Documentary, won numerous festival prizes and was awarded the Outfest “Freedom Award” and a special jury recognition from Sheffield International Documentary Festival.

Report. Inform. Defend.