News Release! Rachel Maddow's 'From Russia With Lev' Documentary
PHOTO USE COURTESY OF MSNBC
MSNBC FILMS PRESENTS DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FROM RUSSIA WITH LEV
Executive Produced by Rachel Maddow and directed by Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami, God Forbid)
Broadcast Premiere on MSNBC Friday, September 20 at 9PM/ET
From Russia With Lev reveals the outrageous scheme that led to former President Donald Trump's first impeachment. It follows the much, much larger-than-life journey of Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-born hustler and former small-time mafia operator whose random, almost accidental association with Trump and Trump attorney Rudolph Giuliani took him around the world, and ultimately to prison. Lev reveals the ham-handed workings of the furtive campaign to dredge up false but damaging allegations against then-candidate Joe Biden.
From Russia With Lev draws on more than 30 hours of new interview footage with Parnas and his close network, as well as a never-before-seen personal archive of photos, videos, documents, and secret recordings. From start to finish, the film presents a view of former President Trump that is unfiltered and unavailable anywhere else.
The film is the first film project from MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and her Surprise Inside production company. The film is directed by Billy Corben (an Edward R. Murrow Award winner for Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami) and produced in partnership with rakontur, Universal Television Alternative Studio, with Maddow serving as executive producer, and was acquired by MSNBC Films.
From Russia With Lev premieres on MSNBC Friday, September 20 at 9pm ET. The film will be preceded at 8PM/ET by a special episode of The Rachel Maddow Show featuring discussions of news of the day as well as insight into the film.
Lev Parnas on his first donation to the Trump campaign:
“The moment that really got me is when I asked him, ‘Why are you doing this?’ And he looked out into the ocean and then stared back at us and said, ‘You know what? I don’t need to be doing this. I’m doing this for the regular folks, for the common people. I’m trying to stop them from destroying our country.’ And at that moment, it was something that hit me. I was mesmerized, cultinized, hypnotized. I was Trumpanized.”
Lev’s wife Svetlana on Trump’s behavior:
“We were all waiting for Trump to get presidential and instead he just became a monster. He’s a bully and he really needs to focus on himself like, please stop focusing on the United States. Go sit down. It’s time.”
Lev Parnas reflects on how his actions affected Hunter Biden:
“To watch Hunter Biden, an American citizen that has nothing to do with politics, a son. And I have sons. To watch the pain I caused in his life. I just hope one day I could say I’m sorry and make it right.”
**FILMMAKER AND SUBJECT INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST**
Credits
- Director: Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami)
- Producer: Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben
- Executive Producers: Rachel Maddow, Rashida Jones, Rebecca Kutler, and Amanda Spain
Subjects
- Lev Parnas
- Svetlana Parnas, wife of Lev Parnas
- Michael Sallah, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who investigated Lev
- Tony Andre, Debt Collection Attorney
ABOUT MSNBC FILMS
MSNBC Films, a division of MSNBC, produces and acquires documentary features and short films for distribution across the NBCUniversal News Group platforms. MSNBC Films collaborates with top filmmakers to deliver a variety of thought-provoking films that reveal the humanity beyond the headlines, combining the extraordinary journalism of NBCUniversal News Group. For more information, please visit https://www.msnbc.com/films.
