Script File

«ZUGZWANG OF OBER LIEUTENANT BRUNO THEVS» literary script

«Zugzwang is a chess term meaning forcing a disastrous move».

— The story about a young ober-lieutenant of the Bundeswehr of Germany, Bruno Thevs, who serves in the KSK special operations forces unit.
Bruno was one year old when his father, a Soviet soldier, was killed in Afghanistan in 1986.
— In 1989 Bruno, along with relatives from the Volga Germans, was moved from the USSR to Germany for permanent residence.
— Having grown up and become a professional soldier, despite the spell of his mother, Bruno appeals to the command with a request for rotation in the special anti—terrorist unit «TASK FORCE-47» TF-47 in the German ISAF forces in Afghanistan, fighting the radical Taliban movement.
— After rigorous testing and selection, Bruno arrives at the Mazar-I-Sharif military base in Afghanistan.
He is motivated, assertive, and brusque; everything about Bruno is subordinated to a single goal — fighting the rebels and avenging his father.
— While solving anti-terrorist tasks in Afghanistan, Bruno involves his friend, Otto Grinberg, a reporter for a leading Western publication, whom Bruno released from Taliban captivity, in one of the special operations, during which Otto pays for the cynicism of the TF-47 command with his life.
— The death of a comrade shocks Bruno. Bruno will not be able to prevent the death of his beloved Afghan girlfriend Seeta Ahmadzai, who dies in an ISAF airstrike on the hospital of the MSF Doctors Without Borders humanitarian mission.
— Participating in special operations against the Taliban, Bruno is in the midst of dramatic events, the epicenter of the mass casualties of the Afghan population.
— A recent apologist for Western values, convinced of the rightness of the actions of the ISAF fighting international terrorism, Bruno will experience a psychological breakdown and a transformation of his worldview, blaming the victims on Afghan civilians — ISAF and his commanders.
— Not wanting to remain a part of the brutal military machine anymore, Bruno resigns from the Bundeswehr and goes to his historical homeland in Russia. There, Bruno searches for his late Father's friends who survived the battles.
— The events in Russia will fill Bruno's life with new meaning.

  • ILIYAS DAUDI
    Writer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    «ЦУГЦВАНГ ОБЕР-ЛЕЙТЕНАНТА БРУНО ТЕВСА»
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    129
  • Language:
    Russian
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - S.A. GERASIMOV'S ALL-RUSSIAN STATE UNIVERSITY OF CINEMATOGRAPHY (VGIK)
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • * «12th DELHI SHORTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL» DSIFF-23
    New Dayli, India
    October 29, 2023
    «HONORABLE JURI MENTION»
  • * «NITIIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL» NITIIN-2023
    Penang, Malaysia
    November 7, 2023
    Winner «BEST WRITER», «CRITIC'S CHOICE AWARDS: BEST FEATURE SCRIPT/SCREENPLAY»
  • * «VESUVIUS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL» VIFF-2023
    Vesuvie, Italy
    November 3, 2023
    Finalist «BEST SCREENPLAY»
  • * «SWEDEN FILM AWARDS» «SFA-2023»
    Stockholom, Sweden
    November 16, 2023
    Winner «BEST SCREEN PLAY»
  • * «LIBER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL» LFIFF-2023
    Athens, Greece
    November 5, 2024
    Winner «BEST SCRIPT UNPRODUCED»
  • * «INDO MALAYSIA FILM FESTIVAL» IMFF-2023
    Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia
    December 11, 2023
    Winner «BEST FEATURE SCRIPT/SCREEN PLAY»
  • * «THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION» TSIC-2023
    Singapore
    December 22, 2023
    Winner «BEST FEATURE SCRIPT», «BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SCRIPT», «BEST UNPRODUCED SCRIPT»
  • * «CAMBRIDGE SCRIPT FESTIFAL» CSF-2023
    Cambridge, England
    January 23, 2024
    Finalist «FEATURE SCREENPLAY»
  • * «BRANDENBURG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL» BIFF-2024
    Brandenburg, Germany
    February 13, 2024
    Winner «BEST FEATURE SCRIPT»
  • * «LOS ANGELES CINEMA FESTIVAL OF HOLLYWOOD» LACFН-2024
    Los Angeles, USA
    March 26, 2024
    Winner «BEST SCRIPT»
  • * «SWEDISH ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE AWARDS» SAMPA-2024
    Stockholm, Sweden
    April 11, 2024
    Winner «BEST FEATURE SCRIPT»
  • * «CAMBRIDGE SCRIPT FESTIVAL» CSF-2024
    Cambridge, England
    May 1, 2024
    Finalist «BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY»
  • * «CAMBRIDGE SCRIPT FESTIVAL» CSF-2024
    Cambridge, England
    May 1, 2024
    Finalist «BEST WAR SCREENPLAY»
  • * «BERLIN MOTION PICTURE AWARDS» BMPA-2024
    Berlin, Germany
    June 10, 2024
    «CRITIC'S CHOICE AWARD»
  • * 12th ANNUAL «INDIAN CINE FILM FESTIVAL» ICFF-2024
    Mumbai, India
    September 15, 2024
    Winner «BEST FEATURE SCRIPT»
  • * «RED FLIGHT PICTURES SCREENPLAY AWARDS» RFPSA-2024
    Philadelfia, USA
    October 11, 2024
    SEMI-FINALIST
  • * «WriteMovies 2024 Screenwriting Contest» WMSC-2024
    Los Angeles, California, USA
    December 6, 2024
    «QUARTER-FINALIST»
  • * «The WeScreenplay Feature Lub» TWFL-2025
    Los Angeles, California, USA
    February 28, 2025
    «Quarter-Finalist» Feature Screenplay (130 page)
  • * «Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards» LAISA-2025
    Los Angeles, California, USA
    February 21, 2025
    «Quarter-Finalist» Feature Screenplay
  • * «Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition» BAFF&SC-2025
    New York, USA
    April 30, 2025
    HONORABLE MENTION AWARDS
  • * «Creative World Awards Screenwriting Competition» CWASC-2025
    Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, California, USA
    May 8, 2025
    PRELIMINARY FINALIST
  • * «The WeScreenplay Feature Screenwriting Competition» TWFSC-2025
    Los Angeles, California, USA
    June 1, 2025
    QUARTER-FINALIST — «Standard Entry »
  • * «Scriptation Showcase Script Competition» SSSC-2025
    Los Angeles, California, USA
    September 10, 2025
    QUARTER-FINALIST — «Feature Screenplay»
  • * «Red Flight Pictures Screenplay Awards» RFPSA-2025
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
    November 11, 2025
    QUARTER-FINALIST — «Feature Screenplay»
  • * «Scriptation Showcase» SS-2025
    Los Angeles, California, USA
    December 18, 2025
    QUARTER-FINALIST — «Feature Screenplay»
Writer Biography - ILIYAS DAUDI

ILIYAS DAUDI — Russian writer, member of the «Union of Writers of Russia», screenwriter, film director, clipmaker, producer, soldier of the Afghan War (1979-1989), Hero of the Russian Federation. Laureate of International Film festivals and International screenwriting competitions.
IMDb nm 15078873 — https://m.imdb.com/name/nm15078873/
ISA — https://www.networkisa.org/profile/iliyas-daudi
— Author of novels about the Afghan War (1979-1989).

Bibliography
• «In the Kunduz Circle» military historical novel-trilogy
• «The Great Game in Afghanistan» monograph
• «We'll all be back!» novel
• «Not by the front corridor» military novel
• «The Zugzwang of Ober lieutenant Bruno Thevs» a military novel.

— In 2024 he graduated from the 2-year Higher Courses of directing and producing films and television of the S.A. Gerasimov's All-Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK). At the same time, he continued his studies at the VGIK, in the master's degree of the screenwriting and Film studies faculty.
— The author of the script, director and actor of the Short Films — «SELF-PORTRAIT», «THE BLIND». The author of the Screenplays and Web/TV series «MY exciting AFGHANistan», «KIPLING'S SOLDIER», «BACK TO BASICS», «AFGHAN SYNDROME», «ZUGZWANG of Ober-Lieutenant BRUNO THEVS», «IN THE CIRCLE OF KUNDUZ», «THE LONG ROADS OF WAR», «AFGHANISTAN IS NOT LETTING US GO», «AFGHANISTAN HURTS IN MY SOUL», «THE BLIND», «YOU'LL SEE, IT WILL HAPPEN!» and other. The clipmaker of the Music Videos — «SULTONI QALBAM» HIMN OF LOVE (2024), «THE BETROTHED» (2024), «SULTAN OF MY HEART» (2024), «ETERNAL LOVE» (2024), «EVERY MUSIC HAVE J.S. BACH» (2024), «DEDICATION» to JALALADDIN RUMI trilogy (2025), «SHOUDY» by JALALADDIN RUMI (2025), «OSHIQONAKHO» by JALALADDIN RUMI (2025) , «NAI NOUMIE» by JALALADDIN RUMI (2025), «EY YARE MAN» by ANOUSHIRVAN ROHANI (2025), «THE PALADIN» (2026), «About CINEMA and life... general SHAMANOV» documentary (2025), «About CINEMA and life... general OCHIROV» documentary (2026), «About CINEMA and life... Sadyq IDRISOV» documentary (2026)

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