In hospital and in diaper: Warsaw screens teaser of Putin thriller featuring Russian leader's deepfake

Radio Liberty reported the information.

A teaser for the English-language biographical feature film "Putin" was screened in Warsaw. The biopic chronicles the life of the Russian president from the age of 10, depicting his experiences of abuse by his stepfather in Georgia and culminating in the full-scale war he initiated against Ukraine.

The film by the famous Polish director Patryk Vega depicts the most important events in the political life of the president of the terrorist country: the war in Chechnya, the terrorist attacks in Dubrovka and Beslan, as well as the most dramatic events in Bucha, Irpin, and Mariupol. The film will also show his death.

"I looked into the future and showed the death of Putin. This is what the whole free world wants to see," said the director.

The film contains documentary materials, including drone footage shot by Ukrainian operators, showing the consequences of missile attacks on cities and civilian infrastructure. In the episode of the film that was included in the teaser, Putin is shown in a hospital, wearing a diaper and his own excrement. According to the director, the purpose of the film is to show the Russian president as sick and weak, as someone who can be overcome. 

According to Patrick Vega, this should give Ukrainians hope and faith in victory on the eve of the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

"We have done a lot of work with documents, consulted with various experts, in particular, I was advised by the former head of NATO intelligence, a general who commanded troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. The most valuable, unique source of information was a relative of a psychiatrist who was in the same oxygen capsule with Putin in the 70s," Vega said.

He also emphasized that he is not afraid for his safety.

"This film should explain to the world the so-called Russian soul and why Russians are so inadequate. It is a kind of "service manual" for Putin, an explanation of the rules of his game and the absurdity of Russian propaganda. The film should translate the culture of the East into the language of the West. I am able to do this because I grew up as a child in socialism, and now I function in an audiovisual culture across the ocean. This is my blow to Putin in the artistic dimension, because my weapon is the camera," emphasized Patrick Vega.

An international cast worked on the film. For two years, the filming took place in Ukraine, Russia, Syria, Israel and Jordan. To make the main actor look as much like Putin as possible, the filmmakers used the deepfake technology, which allowed them to superimpose the image of the Russian president on the actor's face. 

The world premiere of “Putin” is scheduled for the first half of 2024, and negotiations with American distributors are currently underway. More than 11 Asian countries have shown great interest in the film, and, according to the director, there is a preliminary agreement to translate the film into Ukrainian.