The Making of a New Empire
Encyclopedia
The Making of a New Empire is a 95 minute documentary film
by film director Jos de Putter
and produced by Jura Films. The film portrays Khozh-Ahmed Noukhaev
as the founder of a Moscow-based underground movement, which later became known as the Chechen mafia
. The film explores Noukhaev's cultural background and his ideas about Chechenya's future. After its release in 1999, the film was nominated for the Golden Calf
for best long documentary and was selected for the competition programs of several leading documentary film festivals across the globe, including Hot Docs
and IDFA.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by film director Jos de Putter
Jos de Putter
Jos de Putter is a Dutch film director, film critic and screenwriter who primarily makes documentaries. He studied political science and literature at the University of Leiden, and was a member of the editorial staff of the film magazine Skrien...
and produced by Jura Films. The film portrays Khozh-Ahmed Noukhaev
Khozh-Ahmed Noukhaev
Khozh-Ahmed Tashtamirovich Noukhayev , also spelled Hozh-Ahmed Nukhaev, Nukhayev or Noukhaev, was a leader of the Chechen mafia known as Obshina and a prominent figure in Chechen politics...
as the founder of a Moscow-based underground movement, which later became known as the Chechen mafia
Chechen mafia
The Chechen mafia is one of the largest organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafia gangs, which originally consisted of criminals of Chechen ethnicity who later also tried to recruit former Russian special military forces, police and army officers...
. The film explores Noukhaev's cultural background and his ideas about Chechenya's future. After its release in 1999, the film was nominated for the Golden Calf
Golden Calf (award)
The Golden Calf is the award of the Netherlands Film Festival, which is held annually in Utrecht. The award has been presented since 1981, originally in six categories: Best actor, Best actress, Best film, Best Short film, Culture Prize and Honourable mention...
for best long documentary and was selected for the competition programs of several leading documentary film festivals across the globe, including Hot Docs
Hot Docs
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America's largest documentary film festival, conference, and market, held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
and IDFA.