Jessica Gorter studied documentary filmmaking and editing at the Dutch Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam. Since then she has worked as an independent filmmaker focusing on post-soviet Russia. She directed, produced and shot several documentaries including Piter, No Goods Today and Ferryman Across the Volga. For the theatrical production Quarantaine, she made a series of portraits of survivors of the siege of Leningrad. Her films have been shown at many different film festivals and broadcasted in various different countries. She also directed TV programs for Dutch television and worked as an editor for various documentaries. In 2014, Gorter received the Documentary Stipend of the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds for 'the skillful and elaborate approach in her research and her concise and layered way of dealing with the themes underlying her stories'.

Her second feature length documentary, 900 Days, contrasts the devastating and unforgettable stories recounted by survivors of the Siege of Leningrad, the infamous German blockade, which caused the deaths of more than 1 million people during World War II, with the triumphant memorials fabricated by the Russian state. The film won the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary and the Prix Interreligieux at Visions du Réel in Nyon. Her 2018 film, The Red Soul, lays bare the Russian psyche of today by letting Russians speak openly about Joseph Stalin and their traumas, rooted in a violent history.

Gorter's latest film The Dmitriev Affair is a prescient examination of the growing despotism of the Russian legal system and the methods used to silence those who challenge official state narratives. It paints a shocking picture of the way the Russian state rewrites history and treats its citizens. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC 2023 and received a special mention from ArtDocFest Riga 2024.

Icarus Films is proud to distribute three of Jessica Gorter's films. Discover more of our featured filmmakers.