PJFM In Conversation
Roman Shumunov, Director of BERENSHTEIN
Lindy SpringFest 2023
Tali Segal, Member of the PJFM Screening Committee, interviews Roman Shumunov, Director of BERENSHTEIN, about his gripping docudrama.
As commander of a partisan battalion, Leonid Berenshtein helped locate and thwart Hitler’s “wonder weapon,” the dictator’s V2 missile development facility, at the height of the Second World War. Years later, Berenshtein, a frail, elderly man in his final years, bravely recounts his time in the battalion. From fighting Nazis in the cold forests of Eastern Europe to rescuing Jewish prisoners behind enemy lines, the memories are as vivid to him as if they were from yesterday.
Juxtaposed with interviews of Berenshtein and action-packed reenactments devoid of Hollywood camp, this heart-pounding thriller is not just a testament to the commander but all the partisans of World War II. With echoes of classic war films like Saving Private Ryan and All Quiet on the Western Front, this massive technical achievement, featuring an outstanding performance by Yaroslav Kucherenko as the titular hero, will entertain and move you in its power and scope.