Pussy Riot gained worldwide fame and notoriety when they performed a forty-second protest prayer inside Russia's main cathedral.<br/> <br />Now the story of the three young women who took on powerful institutions when they protested against President Vladimir Putin's close ties with the church is being told in a documentary.<br/> <br />'Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer' has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to a sold-out Park City crowd, and it's an important project according to co-director Maxim Pozdorovkin.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Maxim Pozdorovkin, co-director, saying (English):<br/> <br />"One of the things we felt is that, whereas in the West it was understood to be mostly a political human rights story and in Russia it was understood almost exclusively as a religious hooliganism, religious hatred story. In reality the story is so much bigger and so much richer and so epic, and I don't use that word lightly."<br/> <br />The band's performance led to their arrest on charges of religious hatred and culminated in a trial that has reverberated around the world.<br/> <br />The court found all three women guilty and sentenced them to two years in prison, although one later had her punishment converted to a suspended sentence.<br/> <br />The documentary follows band members and their families as they struggle through Russia's legal system.<br/> <br />US viewers will likely see the film on HBO, which purchased the TV rights during the festival.
