CITIZEN K Documentary Films

Talent attending: John-Paul Bernbach (Executive Producer), Alex Gibney (Director)

In this penetrating and gripping documentary, Academy Award^®-winning director Alex Gibney charts the fascinating rise and fall —and surprising resurgence — of former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

In the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Khodorkovsky formed Yukos, which rapidly became Russia’s biggest oil company and made him one of the country’s richest men. Running afoul of Putin’s unwritten rule that oligarchs stay clear of politics, however, Khodorkovsky’s fortunes rapidly reversed, leading to his arrest, a show trial and a 10-year prison sentence in a labor camp. Upon his release and exile to London, Khodorkovsky became a human rights advocate and formed a pro-democracy group in Russia. With Khodorkovsky himself acting as a steely-eyed but immensely captivating guide, CITIZEN K captures all of the contradictions of modern Russia. –Ken Jacobson