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GULAG VORKUTA (2016)

Love between two GULAG dissidents Anastasia and Alexander grows and drives them escape towards freedom. In the greatest genocide in History, the Marxist USSR genocide of 50 million people from 1917-1991, artists, writers, Christians, journalists, dissidents, workers, were exterminated because they believed in freedom of speech and freedom of thought. Dialogue lines include: "Political Correctness leads to genocide", and "The truth is a hate crime against Marxism". Their friends try to help gather supplies for their escape, and several pay the price of friendship in their executions. USSR Gulag death camp. Anastasia must face the horrific consequences of her escape. She must answer the eternal question on the meaning of sacrifice: Does she sacrifice her friends, who will certainly be killed if she escapes, or does she sacrifice her people if word of the Gulag does not make it out? From the greatest depths of human suffering to the greatest heights of human love and kindness, we follow the heroic story of love against the gulag. Of what great love and courage they are capable of, and that the greatest love of all is not only for each other, but for their people.

  • Runtime:
    1 hour 38 minutes 25 seconds
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • celtic-films.com
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography

Michael Kingsbury comes from a background as an award winning fine artist, in figurative and portrait painting, drawing, sculpting, having won medals, awards and exhibited in Boston, NYC, Chicago, Denver, Aspen. He started film studies in 1994 and after several narrative shorts in 16mm film "Hazel's Portfolio", "Independence Pass" from 1995-97, directed a 16mm feature film in 1998 "Crazy River". Transitioning into digital he continued to shoot short digital films, "Rulision Files" (short, series), "Gulag Barashevo" (short), "Gulag Vorkuta" (short), then back into features with "Gulag Barashevo" (2015) (feature) and "Gulag Vorkuta" (2016) (feature).

As a fine artist Michael has always been drawn to emotional social commentary subjects, human rights, child sexual abuse, underground political resistance, environmental activism. The human Conscience has always been a driving force.

His GULAG films stem from the emotional impact on him of personal stories of eye-witnesses who heard the screams from Russians locked in cattle cars, being sent to Gulag death camps, which compelled Michael to enter the USSR occupied Eastern Europe, without permission, without Visa, chased by the STASI through rail yards, and evading them, heading deeper into Soviet occupied territory, hiding, evading, where he carried out undercover photography of the last months of the Soviet occupation. The sights witnessed, pictures taken, the human suffering, had a profound impact on him which led him to become focused on the human rights violations of the Marxist USSR Gulag.

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Director Statement

The GULAG subject matter has, in my view, the greatest range of human emotion of any film genre. From extreme depth of sorrow to great heights of joy. Never have I found a more emotionally moving subject material. The extreme emotions of the social conscience of dissidents under Marxist USSR is to me the most powerful and moving of all cinematic subjects.

- Michael Kingsbury