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We are launching an unprecedented project for us — and we are confident that it will happen!
Over three years of work, we’ve seen how important the issue of political prisoners is — and how hard it can be for people to take that first step: to write a letter, to ask a question, to say out loud what they think or what they fear.
Now, we want to approach this subject from another side — through art, live interaction, and shared experience.
We are creating a multimedia immersive performance based on real letters to political prisoners and their replies, in partnership with Echo Media Group and a leading Russian human rights organization.
The project will combine:
- short art films
- live performances by actors
- improvisations by musicians
- and your own response — we want to create a special immersive atmosphere during the show, where you can engage directly.
The project will premiere in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, and more cities) and will also be available in a digital format for screenings worldwide.
We already have a professional film crew, a brilliant lead actress, and the RCDA volunteer team taking care of all organizational and administrative work. We have brought together passionate people from across Canada and beyond — and this already proves how meaningful the project is. But we cannot do it without your support!
How You Can Help Right Now:
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Make a donation — even the smallest contribution matters. You can support us with a one-time gift or set up a monthly donation. 💳 Donate here. Our goal is to raise $50,000 CAD to cover filming, venues, props, travel, translation, and team work.
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Become a volunteer — in your city or as part of the project team.📍Sign up here.
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Spread the word — tell your friends, share our link, and help us reach those who can support.
Why This Matters
By supporting Inside Out, you help transform silence into connection and fear into action. In working with the Russian-speaking diaspora and on the issue of political prisoners, we constantly encounter the effects of propaganda and “learned helplessness” — the belief that nothing can be changed. Inside Out challenges this myth, restoring the voice and face of those the authorities are trying to erase from public memory.
By dramatizing real letters, we return individuality to people reduced to statistics. Behind the numbers, we reveal living human beings — their voices, stories, and emotions. The performance will feature letters from political prisoners parallel to letters to them, written by ordinary people. This allows the audience to see themselves on both sides of the exchange: to feel the fear, hope, and resilience of the imprisoned — and the strength of solidarity and support that even simple words can bring. A small act like writing a letter becomes an act of resistance, breaking through walls, distances, and fear.
Our performance makes this act visible, tangible, and contagious.
This project is unique in that, today, Russians — both inside the country and abroad — are almost entirely deprived of a voice and of the ability to make sense of what is happening. We speak not only of the tragedy of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but also of the deep trauma that, together with an increasingly repressive state policy, has been inflicted on civil society.
Inside Russia, such reflection is impossible: unprecedented censorship and repression have only increased the number of political prisoners. Abroad, many Russians lack both the resources and the emotional strength to process these events — the stigma of being labeled an “aggressor” and the weight of public condemnation fall indiscriminately, depriving people of the chance to reflect and to imagine new pathways toward a democratic Russian future.
Culture is an integral part of that future. We believe cultural reflection can become a starting point where anti-war Russians can grieve, understand, and process their experiences — and, in doing so, find a way out of the current social deadlock.
For Canadian society, this project will act as a mirror: offering an inside view of how the machinery of propaganda works and revealing the scale of totalitarian control — without having to experience its consequences firsthand. Taking part in this project, whether as a supporter or an audience member, is a direct contribution to those who share Canada’s values of peace, progress, cultural exchange, and humanism.
Timeline
- July–August 2025 — preparation, casting, equipment purchase
- Early September 2025 — filming in Winnipeg
- September 2025 — editing
- October 2025 — color grading (Berlin/Winnipeg), sound (Winnipeg/Yerevan), rehearsals in Montreal
- Spring 2026 — premiere in Montreal
- Spring – Summer 2026 — completion of the online film version
- Fall 2026 – Fall 2027 — performances in Canada and abroad, public events
What Is It You’re Funding?
At its core, Inside Out is both a movie and a live performance.
The Movie: A professionally produced hybrid film (art film + documentary + staged performance + music) based on real letters between political prisoners and ordinary people. It will premiere in Montreal, then tour across Canada, and finally be released in a digital format so audiences worldwide can experience it.
The Performance: An immersive stage show (actors, jazz musicians, multimedia projection, audience participation) that travels across Canadian cities, with future international screenings.
When donors give, they are literally funding the creation and distribution of this film/performance, ensuring it isn’t just an idea… it becomes a real cultural artifact that carries prisoners’ voices into theatres, communities, and living rooms.
Budget Highlights
- Film production, equipment rental
- Color grading and sound studios
- Stage props and set design
- Musicians’ and actors’ fees
- Venue rentals
- Team travel and accommodation
- Promotion and audience outreach
- Organizational costs
- Translation into English and later French
💌 Join us. Support us. Share our story. Together, we will bring these voices to light.
📍 Volunteer
💳 DonateFollow the project on social media