Lahva: The Price of Freedom

Synopsis

Before the war, Lahva was a typical Polesie town: a church, a catholic church and two synagogues… As elsewhere, a considerable part of the population were Jews. In the Nazi-occupied territory, all of them were doomed to destruction. At first they were humiliated, forced to work hard, then driven into a ghetto, where 50 people huddled in one house… And then came the time of the “final solution of the Jewish question.”On the morning of September 3,1942Lahva was surrounded by punishers. SS men and policemen planned to do their job as quickly as in the neighboring Kozhantown, where the ghetto was liquidated in just a couple of hours. But suddenly one house caught fire, then the others. Residents of Lahva attacked the punishers with axes under heavy machine gun fire. It seemed that there was no chance of success: the forces were too unequal. But the leader of the rebels, Yitzhak Rokhchin, said: but we will protect our Jewish honor. Yes, most of us will die, but at least someone will be able to break through and stay alive. Thanks to the uprising, 150 Jews from Lahva were able to survive. More than two thousand died. The film is based on the memories of the participants of the events. Local residents of the village of Lahva took part in the reconstruction of the events.

–Vladimir Bokun, Scriptwriter

About the Director

Lutsky Vladimir Iosifovich was born in Kazakhstan, Novoilinovka settlement. In 1993, he graduated from the Belarusian Theater and Art Institute, majoring in theater directing. His over 150 film and TV credits include:

263 Nights. Miracle of Salvation (2021) – Belarus

The Chronicle of the Minsk Ghetto, Special Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus (2019), 2015 TELEVERSHINA Award Nominee – Best Director

Code of Ancestors (2019) – Belarus-Ukraine

Straw Bison, Prize of the Guild of Film Experts and Film Critics of the Belarusian Union of Cinematographers

Malevich (2018) – Ukraine-Italy, Grand Prix at the 17th Kiev International Film Festival

Kinoletopis (2020) – Second Grand Prix at the open-air festival ON ART Film Festival, Poland

Help to Survive (2017) – Ukraine

Chronicle of the Minsk Ghetto 3

Born Twice (2016), Belarus

Little Heroine of the Great War (2015), Belarusfilm Studio

Pavel Sukhoi. The Runway (2015), Belarusfilm Studio

Chronicle of the Minsk Ghetto 2

For Honor and Freedom (2015) – Belarus

Special Settlers (2014) – Belarus

GOLDEN SABLE (2014) – Best Documentary, International Military and Historical Film Festival in Warsaw, TELEVERSHINA Award for Best Documentary

Together (2014) – Best Documentary, Yalta Film Forum

Chechen Trap, Episode 5 (2004, REN TV) – Russia

Shadows of State Importance (2004, REN TV) 2005 TEFI Nominee, Russia

Chernobyl. 20 Years After Life (2006, REN TV) – Russia

Russian SS Division (2006, REN TV) – Russia

Wolf Messing. I See People’s Thoughts (2005, FORMAT TV by order of Channel One (ORT)

Hostages of Depth (2007, REN TV) – Russia, Grand Prix of the International Film Festival

The Sea is Calling

Artistic Statement

This is an unusual story about the Ghetto Uprising in the small Polesie town of Lakhwa. The prisoners, driven to despair, revolted and set fire to their own houses in order to break free. The fire caused confusion among the Nazis, allowing them to break free. Such a story requires an unusual form of realization. The movie was shot on a reallocation in the town of Lakhwa. The movie was filmed in the ghetto during the war, with a lot of children and teenagers. All of them are not professional actors. The main technique is the open camera technique. We show openly how the filming was prepared and how it was done. How the actors are made up, dressed-some as prisoners, some in the uniforms of the punishers. And then step by step we follow the traces of this tragedy. The movie was filmed as long as the uprising and the preparation for it was only 3 days. It’s a creative experiment, thanks to the open technique we managed to achieve the main goal-a sense of truth.

–Vladimir Lutsky, Director

Festivals, Screenings, & Awards

Broadcast on ONT (BY)