“The Truth Is The Only Thing That Matters”: Watch The First Trailer For Political Thriller ‘Words Of War’ About Anna Politkovskaya; Sean Penn Exec Produces

By Andreas Wiseman

Here’s your first trailer for political drama-thriller Words of War, about the life and murder of Russian-American investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Watch the trailer on Deadline.com

BAFTA-nominee Maxine Peake, Oscar-nominee Ciarán Hinds and BAFTA-nominee Jason Isaacs star in the film, which is executive-produced by Sean Penn.

Decal Releasing will launch the film stateside on May 2. Signature is releasing in UK, Eagle Pictures in Italy, Divisa Films in Spain, Dimeo Films in Poland, and Front Row Entertainment in the Middle East.

Pic is based on the real-life story of Politkovskaya’s pioneering crusade for an independent voice in Russia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. For years, she exposed the atrocities of Second Chechen War despite numerous acts of intimidation and violence. She gained widespread international renown for her criticisms of Russian leaders and stands as a pillar of press freedom. In 2006 on Vladimir Putin’s birthday, Politkovskaya was assassinated in her apartment elevator, an act that attracted widespread international attention and outrage.

Sean Penn was last year at a National Press Club screening of the movie in Washington, D.C. Also in the room were famed journalist Bob Woodward, U.S. Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA), and former CIA director John Brennan.

The film was written by Eric Poppen and is directed by James Strong (Broadchurch). Concourse Media reps international sales.

Producers are Mark Maxey for Rolling Pictures and Miriam Segal for Good Films Collective. Also exec-producing are Stefanie Scott, Rick Crumly, Matthew Shreder, Grant Mohrman, Simon Fawcett, Andrew Wing, David and Alexandra Bell and co-executive producers are Brett Nemeroff and John Pettit.

The project, formerly known as Mother Russia and Anna, hit some turbulence during production when Politkovskaya’s family members distanced themselves from the project.

Read this story on Deadline.

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Political Thriller WORDS OF WAR Sells Internationally Across Multiple Territories