Torture

Synopsis

A stark interrogation room in modern Russia. The air thick with fear, pain, and the sound of a cello’s mournful cry.

Torture exposes the horrifying reality of the Penza case, where the FSB fabricated a terrorist plot to boost their careers. Through raw testimonies and haunting music, we follow the ordeal of eleven young antifascists and anarchists as they endure brutal torture at the hands of the state. Teatr.Doc’s unflinching documentary play weaves together victim accounts, expert witnesses, and the chilling words of the security forces themselves.

As holidays for Russia’s military and police forces tick by on the calendar, composer Alina Anufrienko’s cello score transforms classical Russian themes into a soundscape of modern hell. With no actors on stage, only witnesses – former political prisoners, human rights activists, and journalists – Torture forces us to confront the silent epidemic of state violence. In doing so, it asks: in a society built on fabricated confessions, how can truth ever hope to prevail?