Anhelina Kariakina
journalist and documentary filmmaker
On the occasion of the online release of the investigative documentary The Killing of a Journalist, we will talk to the film's director, Matt Sarnecki and Anhelina Kariakina, a journalist, documentary filmmaker and activist, about what hurts and resonates with our audiences most in the film: corruption scandals and the lawlessness of oligarchs, and the extraordinary role that journalists play in uncovering multi-layered fraud schemes. The story focuses on the risks that journalists and media workers take to bring the truth to the public and give a chance for justice, as well as the enormous sacrifices that sometimes remain in the shadows that these people make to tell the story. We will also talk about the role of documentary filmmakers in bringing justice through cinema, and about festivals and film screenings as platforms for public awareness and civil society activism.
journalist and documentary filmmaker
Journalist, producer and film director at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
Matt Sarnecki has directed several documentaries broadcast throughout Europe and beyond. His documentary Killing Pavel, about the murder of investigative journalist Pavel Sheremet, won the Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal in 2017 and the DIG Award (Italy) in 2018. Previously, he produced and directed documentary
series featured on Vice and Powder.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Matt grew up in Los Angeles, California. He earned a BA in political science and history. He spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania before moving to Prague, Czech Republic, where he held a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts.
In 2007 he returned to New York and spent several years working in television and documentary. He earned a master’s degree in journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. Since 2013 he has lived in Bucharest, Romania.