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Sentenced to Live

Documentary Drama > 80 Min. > Digital Beta & DVcam >Part 2 of a trilogy

Producers, Director & Writer: Avi Bohbot

Languages: Belarusian, English, Hebrew, Russian

Source: Chaos Films Ltd

Production Status: Editing – Rough Cut, fund raising

 

This heartfelt documentary follows Kopel Kolpanistky – holocaust survivor, partisan and author of Sentence to Live – during one of his last pilgrimages to his home village of Lachwa, Belarus. Family, friends, and fellow survivors join him as they revisit their difficult past and rediscover the land where they once lived. For both the young and old who join Kolpanistky on his visit, this family tale epitomizes the emotional struggle in which the tangible proof of their history comes to life.

Partizans paint

At the age of 15, Kolpanistky witnessed what was arguably the first ghetto uprising in World War II, losing his entire family in the process. Out of nearly 2,350 Jews that lived in the ghetto, Kolpanistky was one of 90 that survived the war. After hiding in a nearby forest for several months, he joined a partisan unit and eventually moved to Israel. In one of his last visits to Lachwa before his death in 2011, Kolpanistky tells his story with chilling candor as he recalls both his fond childhood memories and the horrors he endured.

In his company were some who had never been to Lachwa before. The effect this experience had on them was life changing. The Three Vows follows Kolpanistky’s companions as they revisit their former homes and villages, and pay respects to memorials and burial grounds where nearly 1200 Jews were massacred during the uprising.

The camera captures every intimate moment; the raw intensity of the group’s reactions is juxtaposed with the serene backdrop of the Belarusian landscape. Amid this contrast, The Three Vows illustrates an intimate portrait of a survivor’s retrospective, a journey come full circle as they rekindle their history.

bielski Partizans

 

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