Protecting the identities of sources is an integral part of investigative journalism, with the usual techniques being blurring faces, shooting interviewees as silhouettes and modulating voices. HBO Documentary Films’ Welcome to Chechnya, which exposes the systematic persecution of the LGBTQ community in Chechnya, introduces an innovative approach combining machine learning and face replacements that earned a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature at the VES Awards, and became the first documentary to make the Oscar shortlist for Best Visual Effects.