MSNBC Films has acquired From Russia with Lev, the first project from Rachel Maddow‘s production company Surprise Inside, with plans to screen the documentary at the MSNBC Live event in September followed by a theatrical and broadcast debut.
The documentary project centers on Lev Parnas, a key Ukrainian figure in the congressional investigation that led to the first impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019. The project will include new interview footage with Parnas and his personal archive of photos, videos, documents and secret recordings. Maddow interviewed Parnas on the eve of Trump’s first impeachment trial in January, 2020. He was acquitted.
From Russia with Lev will be shown to attendees of MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024, a gathering of network hosts for a daylong discussion at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. No date has yet been announced for its theatrical and broadcast run.
The project is directed by Billy Corben and produced in partnership with Corben’s studio rakontur and Universal Television Alternative Studio. Maddow serves as executive producer, along with Rashida Jones, Rebecca Kutler and Amanda Spain.
In a statement, Maddow said, “There should be more documentaries from an insider’s perspective about the Trump presidency. There should be a Mike Pence documentary. There should be a John Kelly documentary, or a Rex Tillerson documentary. But it takes someone like Lev Parnas to be brave enough to speak up first. Lev’s story is un-put-down-able.”