Award winning Immortal fortress takes the viewer on a dangerous behind-the-scenes journey into Chechnya, exploring the tiny mountain republic's war-driven culture while searching for its most prolific warrior, Shamil Basayev.

 

After centuries of blood feuds and resistance to all foreign occupiers, the warrior cult defines Chechen society. Ideally every Chechen man is first a warrior. Shamil Basayev personifies this warrior spirit. to Russia and the west he is a terrorist, but to man in Chechnya a hero. The surprise attack on the Russian city of  Budyonnovsk in 1995 and the invasion of Dagestan in 1999 have given him international attention and brought Russia back to the battlefield.

 

Immortal fortress is a riveting look behind the scenes of one of the world's most controversial men and least understood cultures. It answers the broader question of why Shamil Basayev and thousands of other Chechens fight.

 

"The wild west may be gone but there are still a few places on the planet were everyday events are larger than life. One such place is Chechnya, where Dodge Billingsley went to shoot a documentary on the region. the result is on of those rare films that its you in the gut, but makes you a bit more informed at the same time. these people come from a different culture, and the voices and images enable you to connect with it. Not necessarily agree with it, but certainly understand the Chechen thought process. It's not fiction, but fact, and compellingly presented fact at that." -Jim Dunnigan (Author of "How to Make War" and "A Quk Dirty Guide to War")

 

52 Minutes

 

Available in NTSC or PAL format