The Russian feminist protest collective Pussy Riot is headed for television in a limited scripted series, Deadline reported on Wednesday.
The group’s creator, artist and activist Nadya Tolokonnikova, reached a deal with STX Entertainment to develop the series based on her forthcoming memoir.
The series will be the first scripted project made with the full support from the creator of the movement. Previous films on the group, including Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer and Pussy versus Putin, were documentaries. The project will reportedly explore how Tolokonnikova went from a young girl from Siberia to protest artist and organizer who took on one of the world’s most ruthless dictators, as well as the origins and formation of the art collective.
The series will also cover Tolokonnikova and other young women’s actions against Putin in Moscow; their arrest after their infamous “Punk Prayer” performance at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 2012; their trial, conviction and sentence to two years in a prison colony for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”; and their protests at the Sochi Olympics conducted after their release.
“I was a broke 20-year-old artist studying philosophy, he was one of the most powerful, wealthy and dangerous men on Earth,” Tolonnikova said in a statement by STX. “In 2011 I went against him, damn the consequences. After years of imprisonment, harassment, attacks, trauma I am ready to share this story.”
She added: “My dream is to see my country peaceful, democratic and diverse, where gay people are not being stoned to death. Is it too much to ask? Does it make me an extremist?
“Today I’m on Russia’s most wanted list, labeled as a foreign agent, and recently was arrested in absentia by Russian court. My relatives and friends had been poisoned, my government wants me dead, but I don’t regret anything. If Pussy Riot’s story can inspire a new generation of rebels, it was all not in vain.”
Sophie Watts, the former president of STX, will serve as executive producer for the series. “We are incredibly excited to make a show as courageous and daring as its subject,” said Watts. “Nadya’s life is nothing short of extraordinary. A gripping, real-life spy life, filled with heroic, relentless art actions and activism, this series will show how a persevering artistic spirit can change the world.”
