Tovarisch, I am not Dead
Synopsis
The unique story of how Dr Garri Urban, the film maker's father, went back after the fall of the Soviet Union to recover the evidence of his imprisonments by, and escapes from, the Soviet secret police, and also to discover how his family died in the Holocaust.
The film comprises video diaries shot over 14 years by Stuart Urban and an interview with Dr Garri Urban who also presents and narrates the story.
We experience sorrow and joy as his 25-year search, to find out if anyone from his family survived the Holocaust, brought about the discovery of his brother in Israel in 1964.
We see Garri find the woman who had been his fiancée and discover that she was imprisoned for eight years because of him.
Less than one in a hundred men who were tortured by the KGB were able to withstand the pressure to make a false confession or work for the organisation.
Even fewer survived and almost none escaped.
Garri Urban is thus a unique survivor, but also a humanitarian and a distinguished doctor whose work brought him awards from Soviet authorities.
After Garri's death in 2004, Stuart probes more and more fascinating mysteries and secrets to the man who survived what so few did. There are even allegations that Garri went on a dangerous mission for the KGB in Nazi Germany.
Details
- Year
- 2008
- Type of film
- Features
- Running Time
- 83 mins
- Format
- S16mm,DV Cam
- Director
- Stuart Urban
- Producer
- Stuart Urban
- Editor
- Emily Harris
- Music
- Dirk Campbell
Genre
Production status
Complete
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Last updated 22nd October 2007
