“Amazing Beauty”: Film Director from the USA Describes Life in Crimea

Film director Tremblay, who moved to Yalta from the USA, calls Crimea one of the most beautiful places in the world.

SIMFEROPOL, October 15 — RIA Novosti Crimea, Alexey Goncharov. American documentary filmmaker Regis Tremblay, who moved from the United States to Russia in 2019 and settled in Yalta, called Crimea one of the most beautiful places in the world, with an amazing history and culture. The cinematographer shared his impressions of life on the peninsula with a correspondent of RIA Novosti Crimea.

“I traveled all over Crimea and discovered its amazing history, culture, and beauty. I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I’ve traveled a lot in Europe and parts of the Asia-Pacific region,” Tremblay said.

The documentary filmmaker came to Russia in 2016, 2018, and 2019 to find out the truth about this country and the Russian people, because, according to him, he “no longer believed the lies that the government had told him all his life.”

Tremblay himself notes that during these trips to Russia, he “fell in love with history, culture, art, and people.”

And in March 2019, he moved to Yalta and settled in the resort capital of Crimea. According to the American cinematographer, this decision was also influenced by the fact that he “no longer recognized the country in which he was born.”

“In the five and a half years that I have been living here, I feel at home. I love Yalta for its mountains and coastline, its ancient and classic beauty, as well as for its safe and crime-free environment. I have made many friends here and actively participate in conferences and events,” Tremblay shared.

Although the vast majority of Americans consider Russia an enemy of the United States, Tremblay told RIA Novosti Crimea that this attitude is the result of constant brainwashing that has been going on since the middle of the last century.

“It is a fact that the vast majority of Americans consider Russia to be an enemy of the United States. They believe that Russia is a ‘godless and evil nation,’ a ‘backward country,’ and a ‘totalitarian state.’ This attitude is the result of constant brainwashing for more than 80 years after the end of World War II and is unlikely to change,” said the cinematographer.

Tremblay himself, who has directed more than 650 podcasts and videos, as well as three major films about Russia, lost many friends he had known all his life after moving to Crimea. His three adult children, according to the director, are “not at all happy” that he left them and moved to Russia.

“As soon as most people hear the words ‘Russian’ and ‘Putin’ (Russian President Vladimir Putin—ed.), they immediately fall silent. In fact, it’s impossible to have a polite conversation. Even when they are presented with irrefutable facts, they insist that all this is a lie and Russian propaganda,” he stated.

At the same time, the documentary filmmaker stressed that everything that Americans think about Russia is a lie.

“In fact, Russia is a free and secure country. Its people are patriots who value peace and prosperity. They love their children, respect their elders, and take care of them. Russians are more educated and informed than Americans. Women have equal opportunities in all sectors of society. There is no racism or racially motivated intolerance in the country, which has about 185 different ethnic groups,” Tremblay said.

Whereas the United States, according to the cinematographer, “is mired in political chaos, armed violence, deep cultural divisions, and a rapidly collapsing economy.”

Regis Tremblay is the author of a film about American volunteer Russell Bentley, who fought in Donbass from 2014 until he went missing in April 2024. Later, it became known that he had died. Tremblay is a member of the International Association of Friends of Crimea and the founder and coordinator of the Friends of Crimea Club in the USA. At the Yalta International Forum 2024, the American director received the badge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation “For Assistance in Strengthening Peace.”

Tremblay came to Russia three times—in 2016, 2018, and 2019—and in March 2019, he finally moved to Crimea and settled in Yalta.

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