Mountain Men and Holy Wars

Chechnya's struggle for independence from Russia is one of history's longest on-going conflicts. In the last decade alone, nearly 150,000 Chechen civilians have been killed in two wars with Russia; a catastrophe that is one of the most underreported humanitarian crises of our time. Mountain Men & Holy Wars examines the roots of this bloody and protracted war. Filmmaker Taran Davies sets out to trace the life and legacy of Imam Shamil, the legendary warrior who led Chechnya's first rebellion against Russia and who is today the muse of Chechnya's struggle for independence. Davies and his colleagues travel to the site of Shamil's defeat, meet a man who claims to have had a life transforming vision of the Imam, uncover signs of the deadly Chechen tradition of vendetta & drink tea with Shamil's great great granddaughter. But Davies' journey takes an extraordinary turn when he encounters Imam Shamil's most violent legacy; the contemporary Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev.