Word of the Righteous
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- 2017 (premiered)
- Ukraine
- Israel
- US
| Word of the Righteous | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Svitlana Levitas and Margarita Yakovleva |
| Produced by | Svitlana Levitas and Margarita Yakovleva |
Release date |
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| Language | Ukrainian |
Word of the Righteous (Ukrainian: «Слово Праведника», romanized: Slovo Pravednika) is a 2017 documentary series directed and produced by journalists Svitlana Levitas and Margarita Yakovleva, co-authors of a Ukrainian-Israeli-US project dedicated to the Righteous Among the Nations.
The film features Ukrainians who rescued Jews from the Holocaust during World War II.
The film chronicles the valor and sacrifice of teenagers from Ukrainian cities and villages who, despite the life-threatening conditions, saved their Jewish friends, classmates and neighbors from the Holocaust during World War II. In commemoration of their unexampled heroism, they were awarded the honorary title "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center based in Jerusalem, Israel.
The film consists of documentary interviews with the Righteous Among the Nations and the Righteous of Ukraine. Their accounts are illustrated by courtesy photos, coupled with the photos and videos provided by The Pshenychnyi Central State Film, Photo and Sound Archives of Ukraine.
The first three episodes of the documentary series premiered in 2017 and were dedicated to Olena Malova-Zavadska, Anna Morozova, and Vasyl Nazarenko. In 2018-2019, more episodes were released to tell the stories of Sophia Boyko, Nina Bohorad and Nina Gudkova. In 2020, a new film about the Glagolev family was released.
These people are the living eyewitnesses to the terrible times of the Nazi occupation of Ukraine. Despite being elderly and ailing, they agreed to make their revelations on camera solely for the purpose of preserving the national memory of both Ukrainians and Jews. The Ukrainian-born interviewees who are officially recognized by the State of Israel as the Righteous Among the Nations share their stories in Word of the Righteous in an effort to promote international peace and understanding.
Many of the Righteous Among the Nations who have featured in the film come from Lviv Oblast, in particular:
- Ivan Vovkotrub (city of Zolochiv)
- Stefania Petrushko (city of Lviv)
- Katerina Kleban (city of Rava-Ruska).
Other heroes risked their lives to rescue Jews in Kyiv's Babi Yar and elsewhere in Ukraine, such as Anna Bebekh and Sofia Yarova. The filmmakers also interviewed many other Ukrainians who saved Jews during the Holocaust.