Documentary film on deportations from Moldova to be screened on parliament's square

The documentary film, Siberia in Bones, directed by Leontina Vatamanu, will be screened on parliament’s square on July 20th, starting from 20:30. The outdoor screening is organized by the legislative body, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and OWH Studio.

Public access to the screening is free and citizens are invited to participate in a film evening dedicated to commemorating the victims of the Stalinist deportations and reaffirming human and democratic values.

The documentary film, Siberia in Bones, highlights the tragedy of the deportations of Bessarabians to Siberia, which occurred on the night of July 6-7, 1949 – a shocking moment in the history of Moldova. Made with sensitivity and respect for memory, the documentary is built on the testimonies of four survivors of the deportations, who recount their painful experiences and the traumas endured in exile. The scenes are completed by dramatic re-enactments performed by actors and children, conveying the emotion and gravity of being forcibly separated from home, family and freedom.

Director Leontina Vatamanu, a descendant of three generations of deportees, offers a profoundly personal approach to this topic, with one of the film's protagonists being her own mother, Elena Curecheru-Vatamanu. The film was launched on the occasion of marking 70 years since the deportations of July 1949 and reconstructs the harsh realities of the Siberian Gulag through real stories, painting a painful picture of human suffering in the face of totalitarian Stalinist repression.

The mass deportation of July 6-9, 1949, was the largest on the current territory of  Moldova. The operation involved 11,281 families, with the contingent of those forcibly displaced in cattle cars comprising 35,796 people, of whom 11,889 were children, 14,033 were women and 9,864 were men.