Russian film festival stands up despite threats

The director of Russia's Artdocfest documentary film festival was attacked by activists during the final day of the event in Moscow on Friday.

Members of the South East Radical Block (SERB) started interrupting Vitaly Manskiy during an interview and then tried to throw underwear in his face.

The incident came two days after SERB activists interrupted the screening of a film at one of the Moscow's cinemas, saying it insulted residents of Crimea.

Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting in eastern Ukraine since shortly after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula.

More than 14,000 people have died in the conflict, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled.

According to the preview, the film "Way Home" tells the story of a man moving to Ukraine after the annexation.

The SERB activists complained about the use of the word "annexation" in the preview.

Artdocfest has come under fire several times in previous years for showing documentaries on sensible topics like Ukraine, Chechnya and homosexuality in Russia.