Antidote – Hot Docs 2025
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April 24 to May 4, 2025
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The lead journalist for Bellingcat goes on the run after being targeted for assassination by Russia in Antidote. Christo Grozev is the lead journalist of the open-source news organization Bellingcat, who is assisting a whistleblower of Russia’s poison program to flee the country. However, Grozev himself begins to fear for his life, forcing him to flee from his family in Austria.
Antidote Synopsis
Antidote is a documentary directed by British filmmaker James Jones. The film follows Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev, the co-founder of the open-source journalism organization Bellingcat, who finds himself the target of an assassination plot by Russia, forcing him to flee his home in Austria. The film also follows Evgenia Kara-Murza, whose Russian opposition leader husband, Vladimir, is imprisoned in the country, with Evgenia holding onto the hope that he’ll be freed as part of a prisoner swap.
My Thoughts on Antidote
While the story of Antidote makes for a real-world political thriller, the film is not as engaging as I would expect it to be, featuring many interviews with the subject, Christo Grozev, surrounded by shadows. Also, while it was done to hide his identity, and the film even includes a disclaimer, the decision by James Jones to use AI technology to alter the appearance of a Russian whistleblower and his family ends up being a very distracting element of Antidote, with the whistleblower giving off major uncanny valley vibes. While the story of Antidote is fascinating, I do wish that this documentary were better executed.
