HBO Max has slated the documentary thriller, Navalny, which it coproduced with CNN Films, for a May 26 streaming debut.
The film, directed by Daniel Roher, was produced by Raefilm Studios’ Odessa Rae, Fishbowl Films’ Diane Becker and Melanie Miller, and Cottage M’s Shane Boris. Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton of CNN Films executive produced the film with investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh.
Navalny won the Documentary Audience Award and the Festival Favorite Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, leaving the event as one of its most acclaimed documentaries.
The film follows Russian government opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he survived an assassination attempt via poisoning with a lethal nerve agent. Investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat, along with news organizations including CNN, uncovered details of the plot and its potential links to the Kremlin, though president Vladimir Putin has denied any involvement in the attack.
Roher tells Navalny’s story as he works to bring reform to his country, and follows him after he was imprisoned upon his return to Russia in January 2021.