Claire Doole - When 27 year old French filmmaker, Florent Marcie left for Grozny in January 1996, he knew little about the Chechen struggle. Speaking no Russian and armed with just a camera, he was however determined to find out how a people of one million could take on the might of the Russian army. After spending nearly two months with rebel fighters in villages on the frontline, he returned home, an advocate for their cause.

How easy was it for you to film in Chechnya?

A couple of packets of cigarettes and a few dollars bought my passage across the border. Although it was forbidden, it was surprisingly easy to get into Chechnya and to gain the trust of the soldiers and villagers. It was not hard at the time to get access to Maskhadov, Basayev, Dudayev, men whose names have gone down in history as leaders of the Chechen fight for independence.

What is your lasting memory of your time there?

It was the strength of the people, their courage and unity. Two years after the start of the first Chechen war, the spirit of resistance was so strong. In the film you see them in front of the Presidential Palace in Grozny, just after it has been razed to the ground by the Russians. They are praying, chanting, dancing, some are crying but they are determined to fight on. Of course all of that has now been destroyed.

It is a very one sided film. Do you think this undermines its credibility?

You know I am not English and I have no problems with subjectivity. I don’t believe in objectivity. I just filmed what I saw and where I could film. I don’t pretend that this movie is the truth about Chechnya, but it is part of the truth.

Why did you wait for nine years before making it?

After the massacre at the school in Beslan in September 2004, President Putin blamed international terrorists with links to the Chechen separatists. I felt the time was right to counter balance this wave of Russian propaganda.

Do the separatists have links with Al Qaeda?

(Laugh) Everyone always wants to know this. Remember, it is Russia who is recruiting soldiers to kill in Chechnya. This is a much greater problem than Chechens recruiting foreigners. If there are foreign Muslim fighters there, they may be fighting for the wrong reasons, but in a way I can understand it.

Has the international community let the Chechens down?

In the film you see some European politicians talking to a group of Chechens in front of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. They are not inside the Council but outside. For me that is a strong metaphor for European and international inaction.

How important is it that journalists carry on in the footsteps of Anna Politkovskaya and expose human rights abuses in Chechnya?

It is vital that the world wakes up to Russia’s extermination of the Chechen people. If it is not reported, it will become the norm. Many journalists are scared and intimidated following her death. It would also be dangerous for me to go back as well as for my contacts there. The days you saw in the film of Chechen women confronting Russian soldiers are over. The Chechen resistance has gone underground.

Do you see your film as a tool of resistance?

You know, you can kill the people, their leaders, journalists, but you cannot kill a film. As we speak, the authorities are rewriting history, so for the Chechen people, particularly those in exile, it is all the more important to have a record of the collective past. "Itchkeri Kenti" is a film about memory, but paradoxically it is also about the future.