Sobibor, to get Exclusive NY Screening

An exclusive screening of Russia’s 2019 Academy Award Best Foreign Film candidate, Sobibor, will be held at the National Arts Club on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. The film’s director and star, Konstantin Khabensky, will attend the event and participate in a Q&A afterward, followed by a special panel on the uprising’s historic significance and why it remains little known.

Released in Poland on April 23, 2018 the film commemorates the 75th anniversary of the uprising at the Nazi death camp Sobibor. Led by Soviet Jewish officer Alexander Pechersky, it was the only successful uprising of the prisoners during the World War II and became a symbol of the strength of the human spirit and to the ability to fight evil amid horror. However, the uprising never gained wide public attention, in part because Sobibor itself was among the smallest of the Nazi death camps.

The film featured actors from Russia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, and France. In an effort to maintain the film’s authenticity, the characters speak Russian, German, Yiddish, Polish and Dutch. The film was screened at the United Nations on May 4 and at the Cannes Film Festival May 10.

Located in Poland, Sobibor operated from spring, 1942 until Oct. 15, 1943. During this time, 250,000 Jews were exterminated at the hands of German and Ukrainian officers. In October 1943, 300 Sobibor prisoners managed to kill 12 SS officers and break through the gates to hide in the nearby forest. The original plan was to covertly kill all the officers and walk out the main gate. However, after killing 12 officers, the rebellious prisoners were discovered and had to leave the camp under fire. By the end of WWII, only 50 prisoners had survived, including the leader of the rebellion, Soviet officer Alexander Pechersky.

In 2016, Pechersky was posthumously honored with the Order of Bravery by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The heroes of Sobibor also received official recognition, with trains and streets named after them and their story added to history books. Today, the story ofSobibor is becoming a symbol of strength and human resilience for future generations.

About Sobibor:

Director: Konstantin Khabensky

Cast: Konstantin Khabensky, Christopher Lambert, Michalina Olszanska, Philippe Reinhardt, Mariya Kozhevnikova, Felice Jankell, Dainius Kazlauskas, Gela Meskhi, Sergey Godin, Roman Ageev.

Producers: Elmira Aynulova, Gleb Fetisov, Maria Zhuromskaya