Sarah Polley arrives on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Tuesday, September 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
A documentary about an imprisoned Russian opposition leader directed by Canadian Daniel Roher has won an Oscar.
The best documentary prize went to “Navalny,” an investigative look into the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.
It’s the first career Oscar for Toronto-raised Roher, whose film also won the documentary prize at the BAFTAs and the Producers Guild of America Awards.
Roher followed Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner, and his team as they tried to piece together who was behind his poisoning with a nerve agent in 2020.
“Navalny” is both a look into Navalny’s attackers but also a plea to his supporters to apply pressure on the Kremlin in the event of his prolonged imprisonment.
“Navalny” beat out fellow nominees in the documentary category including “Fire of Love,” “All that Breathes,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” and “A House Made of Splinters.”
