"My parents and the plane hijacking"
The CREATORS
"Operation Wedding", documentary
Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov,
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Born and raised in Israel, Anat studied film-making in Israel and England before embarking on a film career, where she had success in both popular media and promotional productions. Anat’s most recent documentary, Operation Wedding, was released in 2016 in Israel, and has since appeared in film festivals around the world, winning awards for best documentary and best story. Although the documentary is complete, Anat feels the need to make sure that the next generation is familiar with the struggle of Soviet Jewry. She produced a film of archival materials for historians on the struggle, began pushing out materials about Soviet Jewry through social media, and developed an educational online program with Israeli Prime Minister Office- Nativ (in English and Hebrew) Let My People Go.
Currently Anat co Producing a feature film based on her father's book "Prison Diaries" and her documentary "Operation Wedding".
Credit: Krists Luhaers
"I carry both my parents’ names.
Growing up, everybody knew about this event, but over the years it started to fade away from the public's collective memory. Though there are many films trying to describe this fascinating story, they only give a short 5 minute description and a full length film about this event that was made in Russia 2009, calling the group members "terrorists" and try to re-write history – false imaginary history, or as my father calls it "documentary fairytales".
I found rare archives, interviewed former KGB key members that claimed that: "…There was no problem of Jewish immigration in the USSR.
Only about 20 people in the whole USSR were denied exit visa." (Philipp Boblov, former KGB deputy chairmen)
I realized that the faith of public memory is on my shoulders. This is an inspiring story that remind us all that civilians have power and even one person can change history, but would have to be willing to pay the price…"
In loving memory... ז"ל
Sasha Klein, PRODUCER
Winner of Israeli Academy Award, Sasha Klein has been working as a Director and Producer since he immigrated to Israel from USSR in 1974.
Sasha Klein is the founder and the CEO of Sasha Klein Productions (1986) – one of the leading production companies in Israel. For more than 30 years Sasha Klein Productions LTD has developed and produced tens of narrative and documentary feature films and television programs.
Sasha teaches TV & Cinema production at COMAS – the College of Management Academic Studies, Israel.
Films by Sasha Klein Productions have received numerous awards on several Israeli and international Film Festivals.
Guntis Trekteris PRODUCER
Experienced Latvian producer of more than 30 documentaries and 10 fiction films including many award winning international co-productions. Ego MediaRiga-based Ego Media was established by Latvian producer Guntis Trekteris to produce documentaries and fiction for local and international audiences. Credits include: documentaries Beyond The Fear by late Herz Frank (co-directed by Maria Kravchenko), which had its international premiere at HotDocs, 2015; Chronicles of the Last Temple by Davis Simanis and Viestur Kairish's new and ambitious story about the life after the end of world The Invisible City shot on location in Chernobyl.Development slate include Vitaly Mansky’s documentary Close Relations, Stanislavs Tokalovs’ debute feature What Nobody Can See, animated documentary by Ilze Burkovska-Jakobsen My Favorite War and many other projects.
Simone Baumann CO-PRODUCER
Simone Baumann is the Executive Producer Dokumentaries of Saxonia Entertainment:
Since its foundation in 1999, Saxonia Entertainment GmbH has primarily stood for non-fiction TV productions. It is one of the most successful TV production companies for fiction and animation in central Germany.
We offer a wide range of productions which span prime time shows, infotainment series, entertainment features, concert recordings, comedies, docusoaps and the telegenic realization of gala-events. Over the years we have expanded our product portfolio with reportages, corporate videos and documentaries, and have subsequently been awarded the German Television Award 2014 in the documentary category for our film "Putins Games,” amongst others.
With our head office in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt and offices in Leipzig and Berlin we are represented in the key media locations of central Germany.
It is our goal to reach and entertain a broad audience with innovative ideas and content. To reach this goal we work cost-efficiently and reliably with highly skilled and motivated associates to bring productions of all kinds to maximum success.
We predominantly produce TV formats for MDR, but we also count ARD, ZDF, ARTE, BR and Goldstar TV among our satisfied customers.
Bracha Zisman-Cohen EDITOR
Winner of Israeli Documentary Creators Forum 2014, Lector in the New Israeli Films and Television Foundation and a Film studies Professor at Sapir collage and Minsher School for Arts.Among her films: "The Chaplin's" (Director and Editor / Israel Channel 8, Haifa Film Festival), "Voices from Budka" (DocAviv Film Festival, Sichuan Festival, Best editor award Documentary Forum). "Good Garbage" (Jerusalem Film Festival, Channel 2 Israel, First award at Chinghai Festival and Rio de Janeiro Festival), "It Was or Wasn't" (Best TV Drama Israeli Academy award 2003, Warsaw Film Festival), "A Trumpet in the Wadi" (Golden Arrow - Best film "Faces of Love Festival" Moscow, First place at Haifa 17th International Film festival, Best TV Drama Israeli Academy award, more than 20 film festivals screenings) and many more films...