Script File

«ZUGZWANG OF OBER LIEUTENANT BRUNO THEVS» 120 b

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34160208/?ref_=nm_flmg_knf_t_1

Bruno Thevs, military intelligence officer, Ober lieutenant of the special operations forces of the KSK Bundeswehr (FRG), who submitted a report to the command to send him to serve in Afghanistan at his own request, is undergoing rigorous selection and testing at the KSK base in Karlsruhe, FRG.
— The authoritative commission approves the castling, Bruno arrives at the Mazar-I-Sharif airbase in Afghanistan, where he enlists in the special anti-terrorist «Task Force 47» TF-47 unit of the German forces in the ISAF joint grouping, the North zone, the city of Kunduz.
— From the very first days of service in Afghanistan, Bruno, the commander of the TF-47 special forces group, has been involved in dangerous special operations against the radical Taliban movement, manifests himself as a brave, determined warrior.
— In the first operation, Bruno prevents a terrorist attack involving suicide truck drivers loaded with explosives who broke into the TF-47 garrison in Kunduz.
— In other operations, Bruno performs with the group the task of capturing and eliminating Taliban leaders, frees hostages, among whom is a wounded reporter, the correspondent of a major European publication, Otto Greenberg (Otto).
— Bruno delivers the wounded Otto to Kunduz, MSF — the hospital of the international humanitarian mission Doctors Without Borders.
— An old notebook and a photo of a soldier of the Soviet Army are unexpectedly found in Otto's personal belongings.
— Bruno is shocked — after all, this is a notebook and a photo of his father who died in Afghanistan…
— Father, Konstantin Thevs from the Volga Germans, a native of Southern Kazakhstan, USSR in the mid-1980s served as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and together with his comrades fought with the Mujahideen.
Konstantin Thevs has more than one dangerous operation on his account.
— In one of the heavy battles, Konstantin is seriously wounded and dies. Konstantin's wife, Rosa, Bruno's mother, emigrated to Germany (Freiburg) together with their young son in 1989.
— There Bruno grows up and, under the influence of his mother's stories about his father, becomes a professional military intelligence officer.
— Bruno's decision to file a report on being sent to serve in Afghanistan is related to where his father fought and died.
— Friendly relations are established between military intelligence officer Bruno and reporter Otto.
— Otto promises Bruno that when he recovers, he will take him to a former mujahideen who gave him a notebook and a photo of the deceased Soviet soldier Konstantin Thevs.
— At the MSF hospital, Bruno meets a beautiful, modest Oriental girl, Seeta Akhmadzai.
— Seeta Akhmadzai is a Pashtun woman born in Germany, a family of Afghan immigrants, who serves as a doctor at MSF in Kunduz.
— Bruno is fascinated by Seeta, shows signs of attention in every possible way. Seeta accepts Bruno's courtship with restraint.
Seeta, although born and raised in Germany, is still brought up in strict Muslim traditions, observes the canons.
— The probability that Seeta's family will allow her to marry a non-believer Bruno is negligible, but the approaching Bruno and Seeta do not lose hope.
— The wounded Otto goes to MSF to recover, as promised, takes Bruno to a remote mountain village to the former mujahideen Ismatullah.
— Ismatullah tells Bruno under what circumstances he had a notebook and a photo of the deceased Konstantin Thevs.
— Ismatullah agrees to take Bruno and Otto to the mountains — to the site of the last bloody battle, where Konstantin Thevs was mortally wounded.
— In the narrative of Mujahid Ismatullah, Bruno reconstructs the picture of that battle, and realizes that Ismatullah is obviously the one who fatally wounded his father.
— Ismatullah, who lost his arm in that battle and almost lost his life, sincerely empathizes with the relatives who lost their relatives in the Afghan war in the 1980s, speaks with respect about the Soviet soldiers, brave and worthy.
— Ismatullah admits to Bruno that he has largely revised his previous views, and would not fight with Shuravi now, but despite his advanced age, he is still ready to take up arms again to beat the occupiers from the ISAF coalition.
— Bruno is puzzled by Ismatullah's position, because ISAF, in his opinion, is fighting international terrorism, protecting Afghan civilians!
— During his service, Bruno becomes an eyewitness to the death of a large number of civilians in ISAF operations, and with each case he becomes more and more convinced of the harm of the presence of the ISAF coalition in Afghanistan.
— Bruno will be especially shocked by the ISAF airstrike in the village of Daftani on a mosque and madrasah during the celebrations on the occasion of a religious holiday, awarding the winners of the competition of Qur'an reciters — Hafiz (boys aged six to fourteen years).
— The result: hundreds of innocent victims, hundreds of seriously injured — all children.
Is this a deliberate blow or a tragic mistake?!
— Reporter Otto, fulfilling his journalistic duty, despite the deadly danger, uses his contacts with the Taliban to shoot a live report in the village of Daftani, the site of the tragedy, to interview the parents of the dead children.
— On the frames of the video camera, Otto captures horrific scenes with fragments of bodies scattered on the site, rows of children's shoes left at the place of prayer, mournful memorial services in the courtyards for the dead children, grief-stricken relatives, a damaged mosque, destroyed residential buildings.
— Otto's truthful revelatory material about the tragedy in Daftani, published in the world's leading publication, caused a wide public outcry and condemnation of ISAF's actions in the world, strengthening Otto's authority among the Taliban.
— Contrary to the horrifying facts, heralds from the official Afghan media and the ISAF coalition call what happened in Daftani the destruction of the Taliban training center together with the leaders.
— The Taliban respond to the tragedy in Daftani by kidnapping the son of the commander of the Bundeswehr garrison, Colonel (Oberst) Georg Jung, Bruno's immediate superior, Alfred, who flew from Munich to visit his father.
— Bruno volunteers to help in the release of Alfred Jung, turns to Otto with a request to talk to the Taliban about the exchange of Alfred.
— Otto is staunchly opposed, because he is shocked by the victims of Daftani and does not want to deal with an officer who gave orders for the use of military force against civilians.
— Bruno pushes Otto, argues that he owes his rescue from Taliban captivity to TF-47 special forces and directly to Oberst Jung. As a result, he persuades to reach out to the Taliban, to ask for exchange conditions.
— The Taliban's terms are accepted by TF-47. For Alfred Jung, the Taliban demand 5 of their regional leaders from captivity.
— As a guarantee of security, the Taliban demand that Bruno and Otto be taken hostage before the exchange is completed. The conditions are accepted.
— Loving Seeta is heartily worried about Bruno. The young are waiting for the blessing of the marriage of Seeta's parents. The mother, who understands Seeta in a feminine way, persuades her husband Ayub to agree. Ayub, firmly against the gentile Bruno, but after learning that he is the son of a Soviet soldier who died in Afghanistan, surrenders under persuasion. Bruno and Seeta are immensely happy, preparing for the wedding.
— But happiness is not destined to come true: an airstrike by the American ISAF Air Force on the MSF Doctors Without Borders hospital leaves over a hundred dead under the rubble, including Seeta. Bruno is heartbroken. Hates the culprits.
— The exchange of Alfred Jung and the Taliban leaders in action — the parties exchange prisoners, Otto and Bruno are released.
— Oberst Jung and Alfred with senior TF-47 officers get into armored personnel carriers, drive off. Bruno's SWAT team is waiting for him and Otto. Before Otto and Bruno have time to leave the exchange site, ISAF helicopter gunships appear in the sky and begin hitting the Taliban with rockets.
— The Taliban are returning fire on helicopters and special forces. Their automatic burst hits Otto. Dying, Otto forcefully says «it was impossible to believe Oberst Jung».
— Bruno is furious: who called the aviation and ordered to open fire?!
— Bruno breaks into Oberst Jung, harshly reprimands the claim.
— Bruno, completely disappointed in the ISAF mission, cynical, inhumane methods, returns to Germany, resigns from military service and goes to the city of birth — Dzhambul.
There he pours a handful of earth from the place of the disastrous battle on his father's grave and, in fulfillment of the purpose of the old notebook, flies to Moscow.
— Using phone numbers, Bruno searches for his father's surviving friends.
— Legless invalid Rust introduces Bruno to Masha, the daughter of one of the three survivors of the war, but who died at the walls of the House of Soviets in October 1993 Koster (Ivan Kostrov). United by a common misfortune — the loss of their father-friends, Bruno and Masha are connected by a relationship.
— The events in Russia will fill Bruno's life with meaning, hope for the future.

  • Iliyas Daudi
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    120
  • Country of Origin:
    Russian Federation
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
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.

IMDb nm 15078873 — https://m.imdb.com/name/nm15078873/

Military writer, short story writer, essayist, publicist — author of works about the Afghan War (1979-1989) and the history of Afghanistan.
— Author of essays and publications in periodicals of the Russian press, headings «history», «military policy»: the magazine «Army Collection», the newspaper «RED STAR» — the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, «Independent Newspaper», the newspapers «Moskovsky Komsomolets», «Kazan Reporter», etc.
— Author of the military historical novel-trilogy «In the Kunduz Circle» (2020) - about the fate of six Soviet intelligence soldiers in the Afghan war and after it — stories published in Russian literary and art magazines. Copies of the book «In the Kunduz Circle» were taken to the libraries of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Main Military and Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Central House of the Russian Army named after M.V. Frunze.
— Winner of the «11th All-Russian Literary competition of the Central House of the Russian Army named after M.V. Frunze of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation» in 2017 in the nomination «Prose and drama» for «Essay of a wounded soldier» from the collection «Notes of a military intelligence officer».

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»; Music Video «SULTONI QALBAM» HIMN OF LOVE (2024), «THE BETROTHED» (2024), «SULTAN OF MY HEART» (2024), «ETERNAL LOVE» (2024). «EVERY MUSIC HAVE J.S. BACH» (2024).

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Writer Statement

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The narrative is based on real events that received high-profile coverage in the Western media. We are talking about the excessive use of military force by the ISAF group, which led to large casualties among the civilian population:
— in the village of Umar-kheil (Kunduz province) — to civilians who have accumulated at the fuel trucks. (Killed about 100 people)
— in the village of Daftani (Kunduz province) — with the mass death of Hafiz children who read the Koran from 8 to 14 years old on the day they were released from the madrasah. (About 100 children died)
— in the city of Kunduz, the hospital of the international humanitarian mission «Doctors Without Borders» — there were a large number of civilians and doctors in it. (More than 100 people died).

The prototype of Der Spiegel correspondent Otto Greenberg, who conducted a journalistic investigation of the inhuman actions of the ISAF, was the American New York Times journalist Stephen Farrell, kidnapped by the Taliban ...