Synopsis
This film is about my grandfather, Michael Scherbak, and his memories of being an Ost-Arbeiter (German for Eastern Worker) during World War II. He and his family were taken from Ukraine, which at the time part of the USSR, to work in slave-labor camps in Germany. When the filming began, he had begun to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This deconstruction of his memories became an integral element of the story.
Awards & Screenings
- “Best Direction” – Festiv’elles Film Festival (2007)
- “Best of the Fest” – Mel Hoppenheim Film Festival (2007)
- “Short Film Corner” of the Cannes International Film Festival (2008)
- In Wolrd Competition at the Iran International Documentary Film Festival (2008)
- National Screen Institute Online Film Festival (2008)
- Montreal World Film Festival (2007)
- Radio-Canada Digital Diversity Competition (2007)
- Cinematheque Quebecoise (2008)
Press
“…where memory meets cinema” -sep7.ca
“…The narrative was deliberately fragmented, leaving the audience to create meaning out of the close-ups of the elder Scherbak’s face, the chessboard and his aged hands.” -Concordia Journal
