Snapper Hits Back

There is many an expat in Russia who, caught up in the middle of the drama around him, has thought, "This would make a great film."

Sam Ramsay, a photographer for Reuters, was in the middle of one of the country's most turbulent events, the storming of the White House in 1993, and had the same thought but he, unlike many others, has gone on to make that film.

Fifteen years on from the events of October 1993, when then-President Boris Yeltsin sent tanks and troops against opposition forces barricaded in the government building, Ramsay is looking for distributors for the action thriller "Victory Day," inspired by the events of those days and its consequences for Russia.

Ramsay, then a photographer at Reuters, saw the events first hand and even at that point knew that he would incorporate his experience into a film.

"I was on the ground, where a lot of people didn't get access," Ramsay said. "I got some of the best pictures that day. I just felt even then that I knew how the story would unfold. I could see where the reforms were going, knew that I wanted to make something of it."

Initially, Ramsay was reluctant to leave China when Reuters asked him to go to Russia in 1991. "I just thought it would be farms and factories." But he enjoyed the experience enough to stay on and off for more than a decade.

After the inspiration, Ramsay worked for years to get the film made. "Victory Day" ?€” in which Ramsay is writer, actor, director and producer ?€” has been shown at film festivals and is now looking for a distributor.

The film tells the tale of disgruntled photographer, Sam Cassels, who is forced out of Russia after he punches the finance minister.

The story is loosely based on Ramsay's experience in Russia ?€” although he admits, with some regret, that he never punched a Russian finance minister ?€” and the opening credits show photographs he took when he was in Russia.

In the film, Sam goes to work at a tabloid magazine in Prague but is soon dissatisfied. He quits, calling the editor a sellout after he discovers that the magazine is funded by a Russian oligarch who runs an illegal prostitution ring. Afterward, he runs into Oksana, a Russian woman who has been trafficked into prostitution and, joining forces, they try to take on the oligarch.

"It's a retrospect of what happened," Ramsay explained. "It's about how the common man lost out and how the West didn't help and weren't looking out for the best interest of the Russian people."

The pair fights to get the oligarch tried for crimes against humanity, sabotaging reforms, privatization and using the war in the Caucasus to make money.

The battle is personal for both of the main characters. In one scene, Sam is having a beer with other expatriates in Prague. One of them asks, "Why can't Russia just get itself together?" ?€” a question that infuriates Sam.

Oksana is also aggressive. In the Czech metro, a woman mutters "Russky" when she is seated next to her, and Oksana screams throughout the whole carriage, "So what if I am Russian, so what?"

One of the most difficult parts of the movie was casting it. The actress who plays Oksana, Natalya Shiyanova, is a stand-up comic who was found by Ramsay's friend.

"I really liked Natalya because she came from a small town and then moved to Moscow," Ramsey recalled. "It was similar to Oksana in Prague."

The part of Sam, however, was much easier to cast. "I always wanted to act," said Ramsay. "I took my first acting seminar when I was 5 years old. I hated it because they were doing stupid stuff like rolling around pretending to be worms."

"I know it's a late start. But I could do as good a job as anyone else that I could find for my budget."