Documenting a secretive and ongoing human rights atrocity, “Welcome to Chechnya” spotlights a network of courageous activists who smuggle L.G.B.T.Q.
individuals out of Russia’s Chechnya region during what is widely viewed as an anti-gay purge. Tales of entrapment, abduction and torture unfold as evacuees settle briefly into a secret shelter before being spirited to Canada or “somewhere in Eurasia” to await the result of asylum applications.
This limbo can leave them cooped up for months, often unable to go outside for fear of being discovered by the ruthlessly homophobic Chechen authorities who, we are told, will do whatever it takes to ensure their silence.