Russian Journalist Anna Politkovskaya Murdered

I was at the store today when my husband called me on my cell: "Hey, you remember Anna Politkovskaya, that Russian journalist we saw in the film Coca: The Dove of Chechnya last year?" he said. As soon as he said those words, my heart sank; I knew what his next words were going to be: That Politkovskaya, known for her relentless pursuit of the truth in documenting human rights violations, especially by the Russian government against Chechnya, had finally been assassinated.

When I saw Coca: The Dove of Chechnya at the Amnesty International Film Festival last year, I was moved by Politkovskaya and her dedication to reporting the truth, in spite of the death threats she received on a regular basis. When she was on her way to report on the Chechen terrorists taking over a school in Beslan in 2004, she was taken ill with severe food poisoning, but many believed that she was poisoned in an attempt on her life. She had to flee to Vienna, Austria in 2001 after receiving emails claiming that a Russian police officer whose atrocities against civilians she had reported on was seeking revenge.
Politkovskaya, who worked for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was found shot dead in a lift in Moscow; the BBC's Emma Simpson in Moscow reports that the shooting has "all the hallmarks of a contract killing." Amnesty International has called for a thorough investigation into the killing. She was 48 years old, and leaves behind two children. In spite of the threats against her life, Politkovskaya refused to give up reporting the truth as she saw it. In an interview with the BBC two years ago, she said that she believed it her duty to continue reporting in spite of the death threats.

I look at the life and work of a woman like Politkovskaya, and I am truly humbled. We here at Cinematical write about film, and I think we do a pretty good job of it, but none of us are putting our lives on the line at the end of a day. If I write an unfavorable review of a film, the studio folks might not like it, but I don't have to worry that they're going to put a contract out on me. I don't have to look over my shoulder all the time to see if someone is following me. I don't worry, when I get into an elevator, that a contract killer might be waiting to silence me from writing with a bullet. And I have to wonder: Would I have the courage she had? Would I put my life on the line for work that I truly believed in? I am humbled by her bravery and her dedication to truth and justice.

Politkovskaya's murder serves to underscore the importance of the work she did, but it also makes films like Coca: The Dove of Chechnya, and human rights film festivals that much more important. If more people hear about stories like the ones that Politkovskaya tried to bring to the world's attention, at least her death -- after a life lived in pursuit of the truth -- won't be in vain.