Rachel Maddow's Documentary Feature 'From Russia With Lev' to Debut at 'MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024'

Rachel Maddow's production banner, Surprise Inside, is set to debut its first feature documentary "From Russia With Lev" at the "MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024" conference on September 7 in Brooklyn. The film chronicles the twisty tale of Ukrainian-born operative Lev Parnas, whose association with former President Donald Trump and attorney Rudolph Giuliani took him on a strange journey that ended in a stealth campaign to dig up dirt on then-candidate Joe Biden.

Directed by Billy Corben, "From Russia With Lev" draws on more than 30 hours of new interview footage with Parnas and his close network, as well as a never-before-seen personal archive of photos, videos, documents, and secret recordings. Maddow signed on to executive produce the film in January, four years after she interviewed a remorseful Parnas on the eve of the impeachment proceedings in January 2020.

Maddow believes that "From Russia With Lev" will appeal to a wide audience, describing it as an "insane, very gonzo story" about a guy who's very interesting and funny. The film is not just about politics, but also about how things actually work inside the government when it is taken over by crooks.

The documentary will have a limited release in arthouse theaters and broadcast on MSNBC in late September. Maddow's Surprise Inside venture aims to tackle a wide range of documentary fare beyond stories with political themes, with the goal of entertaining while holding all films to journalistic standards.