Ubezhdeniya (2016)

Four stories of young men's encounters with army recruitment commissions. Ardent pacifist Roman is sent through a series of humiliating court trials. Losha and Viktor endure long and condescending deliberations that undermine their personalities. Finally, LGBT movement veteran, Johnny is bluntly rebuked and handcuffed. All are put to test by a bureaucratic machine that doesn't sympathize with those who dispute the purposiveness of military service. The conscript enters a room packed with officials. The officials have to listen to his convictions that go in conflict with the idea of military service. It's for the officials to decide whether the conscript leaves the room as a soldier or as a civilian. A sneak peak into what it really means to stand up for one's beliefs in a re-militarized society that punishes conscientious objection under criminal law. We are observing the process of decision making, the conscript and the officials, the time passing by and all the details that make life what it is.