200 Steps Underground

Synopsis

E“Hold On To Your Music – a mother’s legacy,” is powerful

multi-generational film that brings to life American concert pianist

Mona Golabek’s internationally acclaimed book and play, “The

Pianist of Willesden Lane”.

At its heart, this is the story of Mona’s mother, pianistLisa Jura, a musical prodigyin pre-war Vienna, whose promising future is shattered by the rise of the Nazi regime. In an impossibly difficult “Sophies Choice” decision, her parents send 14-year-old

Lisa to London on the Kindertransport.

Lisa clings to the last words her mother says toher at the train station in Vienna:

“holdon to your music, it will be your best friend.” Against all odds, she earns the opportunity to study at the Royal Academy of Music, debuts on the London stage, marries a decorated French resistance fighter, and guides her two

daughters to become concert pianists themselves.

Spanning three generations – from pre-war Europe through the London Blitz to the present day, the film is a sweeping testament to survival, the power of music, and the enduring strength of a mother’s love. The film features interviews of towering Jewish scholars, including the late Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Dr. Michael Berenbaum, and Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat.

About the Director

ANDREY KUDINENKO graduated from the Belarusian Academy of Arts in 1998, then completed postgraduate studies. During his studies he received a scholarship of the special fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus to support talented young people with creative achievements. Andrei Kudinenko is one of the last students of Viktor Turov, the legend of Belarus film. After graduating from the Academy, he shot short films and advertisements. In 2002 Kudinenko shot his feature debut ‘The Battle of the Five Hosts’. The film ‘Occupation. Mysteries’ (2004) received the Jury Prize at the Rotterdam Festival. in 2010 the first Belarusian mystical horror film “Masakra” was presented, filmed at Belarus film. At the end of 2013 the shooting of the psychedelic thriller ‘Hard Reboot’ was finished 

Since 2014 curator of the multimedia project ‘CHRONOTOP’ – laboratory of film anthropology (Film Festival ‘Kinoshock’ 2015 – Grand Prix in the programme ‘Omnibus’ – the best film album of the CIS countries for 2015, second prize ‘Sensacyjna lato filmow’ (Poland). 

Artistic Statement

The film “200 Steps Underground” was created in the style of a documentary drama.  

It is always difficult for a director who is working on a historical theme to make a choice in which style of artistic images to realize a real story… 

If we make it as a feature film, we must avoid and sometimes move away from accurate information from accurate documents in favor of an artistic image. 

If we make a purely documentary film, it will be it is always very difficult to lack artistic images and artistic solutions and to find the golden mean, therefore.  The style of documentary drama was chosen for this story, where is the drama it is built on the basis of real historical events facts of real characters and with the reconstruction of individual scenes that are in principle possible to reconstruct convincingly so that it is true. 

 The main task is to convey the truth of the story. 

The story that we told in this film “200 steps underground” it shocks with its incredible intrigue and ultimately gives people who are in a hopeless situation hope for a happy ending. 

-Andrey Kudinenko, Director