Operation Wedding
Directed By: Anat Zalmanson Kuznetsov (First Feature Film) /
63 Minutes
Israel, Latvia /
2016 /
English, Hebrew, Russian (English Subtitles)
Documentary / Biography
Territory Rights: WORLD-WIDE
Exhibition Format: DCP
Option for Live Appearance: Q&A
Name of guest: Anat Zalmanson Kuznetsov
Role of guest: Director & Daugther of main protoganits
Original Title: מבצע חתונה
Synopsis
Leningrad, 1970. A group of young Soviet Jews who were denied exit visas, plots to hijack an empty plane and escape the USSR.
It started as a fantasy; under the disguise of a trip to a local wedding, the “hijackers” would buy every ticket on a 12-seater plane, so there would be no passengers but them.
Seized by the KGB just a few steps from boarding, they were subjected to a chilling show trial, while the whole world watched.
But they remained undaunted. Most of the group received lengthy sentences in the Gulag. The pilot and group leader received a one-word sentence: death.
45 years later, filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov reveals the compelling story of her parents, leaders of the group, “heroes” in the West but “terrorists” in Russia, even today.