Dr. Wilmes hosts celebrated Documentarian Vitaly Mansky

Published Feb 15, 2025 by
Filed under: News & Events

On February 15th, 2025, Dr. Justin Wilmes gives a lecture and hosts a discussion with celebrated Ukrainian and Russian documentarian Vitaly Mansky at Columbia University.

Dr. Wilmes, right, and Vitaly Mansky, left, sitting at a table hosting a discussion following the screening of Mansky's Film
Dr. Wilmes, right and Mansky, left.

The discussion followed a screening of Mansky’s film Putin’s Witnesses (2018). The event raised awareness about the craft of documentary filmmaking in Russia in the Putin-era, including the role of “bearing witness” to Russia’s shift to authoritarianism and the challenges of filmmaking in that context.

Students and faculty on the left discussing Mansky’s film with Dr. Wilmes, back right, and Mansky, front right.