Watch Trailer

Operation Wedding

  • Israel, Latvia
  • Documentary
  • 2016
  • 62 / 58 min.
  • Director(s): Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov
  • Producer(s): Sasha Klein, Guntis Trekteris, Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov

Synopsis

Leningrad, 1970. A group of young Russian Jewish dissidents plots to hijack an empty plane and flee the USSR. Caught by the KGB, two of them were sentenced to death and the rest were sent to the Gulag forced-labor camp. 45 years later, filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov reveals the compelling story of her parents, regarded as “heroes” in the West and “terrorists” in Russia.

Book a Screening

Credits

Director(s)

Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov

Producer(s)

Sasha Klein, Guntis Trekteris, Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov

Cinematography

Andrejs Verhoustinskis (Latvia), Franz Koch (Russia),, David Stragmeister (Israel), Scott Sinkler (New York), Daniel Miller (Israel), Sergei-Israel Freedman (Israel), Itzik Portal (Israel), Mike Bogatyrev (London), Rami Katzav (Israel), Emmanuelle Mayer (Israel)

Editor

Bracha Zisman-Cohen

Original Music

Karlis Auzans, Didi Erez

Original Language

Hebrew, English, Russian

Subtitles

Hebrew, English, Russian, Latvian, Spanish

Produced with the help of

IBA, National Film Centre of Latvia

Broadcaster

IBA

Sound designer

Rotem Dror

Festival Highlights

  • Winner

    Best Feature Documentary
    International Filmmaker Festival of New York
    2018
  • Winner

    Award of Excellence
    Cinema World Fest Awards Winter
    2018
  • Winner

    Best Feature Film
    Ogeechee International History Film Festival
    2018
  • Winner

    ury Award for February Best Documentary
    Eurasia International Film Festival
    2018
  • Winner

    Silver Award
    World Human Rights Awards
    2018
  • Winner

    Best Documentary - Mindie
    Miami Independent Film Festival
    2018
  • Winner

    Best Writing
    History film festival
    2018
  • Winner

    Young Jury award for Best Documentary
    The Rasnov Histories and Film Festival
    2018
  • Winner

    Documentary of the Month
    Danish Film Institute
    2018
  • Winner

    Best Documentary, Audience Choice
    Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema
    2017
  • Winner

    Globe Award
    Around Film Festival competition
    2017
  • Winner

    Audience Choice Award
    DocuTiff
    2017
  • Winner

    Award of Recognition
    Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards
    2017
  • Winner

    Merit Award
    International Film Festival Spirituality Religion and Visionary
    2017
  • Selected

    Opening Night Film
    Israel Film Days - Latvia
    2017
  • Semi-finalist

    Tribute Film Festival
    2018
  • Semi-finalist

    Gold Movie Awards
    2018
  • Semi-finalist

    Hollywood Screenings Film Festival
    2018

Sydney Lift-Off, Australia , 2019

First-Time Filmmaker Sessions, UK, 2019

MicroCinema , Israel, 2019

Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2018

Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema, USA, 2018

Jewish Film Festival Berlin and Potsdam, Germany , 2018

Carmel Jewish Film Festival, USA , 2018

Jewish Motifs International Film Festival, Poland , 2018

Copenhagen Jewish Film Festival , Denmark , 2018

WinterFest , USA , 2018

World Human Rights Awards, Indonesia , 2018

New Jersey Jewish Film Festival, USA , 2018

Oz International Film Festival, Australia, 2018

History film festival, Croatia, 2018

OUT OF THE CAN FILM FESTIVAL, England, 2018

Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema, USA, 2018

Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival, , 2017

Philadelphia Israeli Film Festival , USA , 2017

Maine Jewish Film Festival, USA , 2017

San Diego Jewish Film Festival , USA , 2017

Israel Film Festival, Women Directors Week, Israel , 2017

UK Jewish Film , UK, 2017

Manaki Brothers International Cinematographers' Film Festival , Macedonia , 2017

NY Russian Documentary Film Festival, USA, 2017

Toronto Jewish Film Festival, Canada , 2017

Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival, USA , 2017

Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival, USA , 2017

CineFest, USA , 2017

DocuTirana, Albania, 2017

Washington Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2017

ArtDocFest, Russia , 2016

Copro, Women in Documentary Cinema, Israel , 2016

Show More
Show Less

Reviews

  • "Watching this film gives us the sense of looking through a magical, miraculous window on a time the likes of which we may never see again. We can, however, experience it through Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov’s powerful, emotional, exhilarating film and come away filled with both satisfaction and hope..."
    - San Diego Jewish World
  • "It is not a just-the-facts documentary, as it wears its heart on its sleeve, and the emotional pull will leave the audience breathless"
    - Film Threat
  • "Anat’s 'Operation Wedding‘ docufilm, filled with much smiles and humor is a true winner. It speaks volumes if a documentary brought me to tears of joy, victory and sadness all in one viewing, as this docufim did"
    - NewsBlaze
  • ""Operation Wedding is worthy evidence of epoch, not only for viewers who directly remembers a period but perhaps even more for those who don’t have any concrete personal experiences about it"
    - Radio-Television of Serbia
  • "One of the best films I’ve seen at Kew Gardens, it is an eye opener..."
    - UnseenFilms