The Betrayed

United Kingdom1995documentary79'Jacek Petrycki Retrospective

On the 31st December 1994, 3500 men of the Russian Majkopsky Brigade were sent into attack Grozny. They were never seen again. "The Betrayed" is the story of their mothers' search for their sons, a search that takes the women through the front line to the Chechen position. Abandoned by the Russian authorities who are seeking only to conceal the extent of the defeat, they place their trust in Kossov, a former Russian Colonel who is trying arrange an exchange of prisoners. But when Kossov's agent Renat also goes missing and the Russians attack the neighbouring town of Samashki, Kossov is plunged helplessly into the full horror of a genocidal war directed against the civilian population. Jacek Petrycki received BAFTA Award for cinematography in this film.