This past weekend a dear friend of mine, Olga Konskaya, passed away. Words are insufficient to express my grief. My thoughts and prayers are with her friends and family.

Olga Konskaya, a prominent Russian film producer, director and actress, died on May 28th, having just turned 45. She was a graduate of the prestigious Moscow Arts Theatre school and went on to work in the famous Stanislavsky’s MKHAT theatre. She starred in numerous feature films, receiving a prestigious award for the best lead role at the Kinotaurus Film Festival in 2001 (“Lubov and other Nightmares”). When the Russian government unleashed a brutal military campaign in Chechnya in 1999 Olga broke up with the Russian cultural establishment and started her own company, Dreamscanner Productions, to produce films beyond the reach of Putin’s tightening grip.