“Survival Guide”
“By Ivan Denisovich Shukhov – S 854-“
Written by:
Horacio Romo
Carlos Zozaya
=====================================================================================
FADE TO
Sec 1. Images of gulags.
Alternation of images and videos of Russian gulags.
NARRATOR (V.O)
Gulag originally was the name of a government agency, however the acronym acquired the qualities of a noun, denoting: the Soviet system of prison-based, un-free labor — including specific labor, punishment, criminal, political, and transit camps for men, women, and children. Thus, "Gulag" means the repressive Soviet "meat-grinder" procedural system and its consequences — arrests, interrogations, transport (in unheated rail road cattle cars), forced labor, familial separation, exile, and early death
Images change to archeologists digging up stuff at what was once a Gulag.
NARRATOR (V.O)
In 1998 a group of historians were doing some research on what was once a Russian Gulag. When investigating a prisoner’s room they found a book. It was hidden in a hole in the wall. It was a diary, written by someone called Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. In this diary were describes 4 basic survival rules for living in the gulags. They show the nightmare people experienced in there.
FADE TO BLACK
TITLE
Survival Guide
By Ivan Denisovich Shukhov – S 854-
FADE TO
TITLE
RULE 1
Sec 2. INT. Interviewing Room. Day
Interview to historian “Alexander Solzhenitsyn”.
ALEXANDER
IN the diary Shukhov set us four main rules to surviving in thes gulags. The first one was, as he says, the most important one: Respect the guards and do what they tell you to do.
FADE TO
Sec 3. Images of guards with prisoners.
ALEXANDER (CONT’D) (V.O)
Ivan tells us that guards are in control. If you didn’t follow orders, or disrespect them, you would be punished.
CUT TO
Sec. 4 Images of Guards killing Prisoners
Various fast paced videos of guards killing prisoners in a comic “dark humor” way.
Sec. 5 Images of prisoners
NARRATOR
There were different types of punishment such as extra work, lock-ups or death
Sec. 6 Images of Guards killing Prisoners
Various fast paced videos of guards killing prisoners in a comic “dark humor” sort of way.
Sec. 7 INT. Interviewing room. Day
An old former prisoner of the gulags called Gopchik Ibrahimovich sits in the light.
GOPCHIK (Talking slowly and tired)
We were severely punished. They gave us days and days of extra work! They took away our food rations and most of the time they just killed us of…
Sec.8 Images of guards abusing prisoners.
GOPCHIK (CONT’D) (V.O)
Sometimes I saw others being taken away with promises of food or something like that, but they never came back. My best friend was killed like this
CUT TO
Video of someone secretly filming a guard and a prisoner. The guard lifts up gun and kills the prisoner in cold blood. We hear screaming in Russian language. Everything becomes chaos. The Guards shout to the prisoners to get back to work. A guard spots the camera and start screaming at the man holding it.
CUT TO
Sec. 9 Black Screen
TITLE
Rule 2
Sec.10 Interview room
Interview to historian “Alexander Solzhenitsyn”.
ALEXANDER
Rule 2 states that food is essential, therefore you should only eat what you need at the moment. If you had eaten enough to survive, you should save the rest for later, you never knew when you would be denied a meal.
CUT TO
Sec 11. Images of prisoners eating
ALEXANDER (CONT’D) (V.O)
Shukhov explains how food rations varied every day, sometimes you were given a decent meal, other times barely any, and sometimes none at all. You had to take care of your food because it was your life.
CUT TO
Sec. 12 EXT. Gulag. Day
Old interview with a guard of the gulags. The interview is in Russian, but the subtitles are in English
GUARD (subtitled)
They are given more than enough food and are treated like humans! Sure, they have to work but after every hard day’s work, a warm meal awaits them.
CUT TO
Sec. 13 INT. Interviewing room. Day
Another old man, ex-prisoner. His name is Fetiukov Shurlyvich
FETIUKOV
I was considered a lowlife in the camp, no one respected me, but that was the guards’ fault. They didn’t give us enough food, so I had to beg for it. They treated us like lowlife pieces of shit.
Fetiukov tries to cover up his tears.
FADE TO BLACK
TITLE
Rule 3
Sec. 14 Images of Guards
NARRATOR (V.O)
If you wanted to live, you had to let yourself get pushed around. If you didn’t the guards would get angry, there would be consequences. You had to please the guards.
CUT TO
Sec. 15 INT. Interviewing room. Day
ALEXANDER
This is a quote from Denisovich’s diary, it is something he was told by one of the guards while he was scrubbing their floor.
ALEXANDER reads from a book.
ALEXANDER (reading)
“That’s the way scum wash…They don’t know how to do a fucking thing and they don’t want to learn.
Sec. 16 Images of guards interacting with prisoners
ALEXANDER (CONT’D) (V.O)
“They’re not worth the bread we give the. We ought to feed them on shit.”
CUT TO
Sec. 17 INT. Interviewing room. Day
A man is sitting in front of the camera but his face is in shadows, the subtitle reads “Anonymous Prisoner of the Gulags”
ANONYMOUS PRISONER
If you pleased the citizen chiefs, they would very rarely reward you. Maybe they would give you a piece of bread, or an easier job for the day, but only very special prisoners got rewarded. I remember Ivan once should have gotten like 3 days of extra work, but because he was on good terms with the citizen chiefs, he got off with just scrubbing the floor for the day. I personally never got rewarded…
FADE TO BLACK
TITLE
Rule 4
Sec. 18 Video of archeologists in a Gulag
NARRATOR
“Don’t keep personal possessions, and if you do, keep them safe and secret” This is what Ivan Denisovich tells us in and extract of his diary.
CUT TO
Sec.19. INT. Interviewing room. Day
ALEXANDER
Prisoners weren’t allowed to have personal belongings in the camps. If any of these were found, they would be punished and their possessions taken from them.
CUT TO
Sec. 20 INT. Room of a gulag. Day
Historians show how different things were hidden.
A brick is removed from a wall; inside there is a hollow space.
HISTORIAN
So in their free time someone did this hole and hid his personal possession in it.
CUT TO
A pillow is teared open.
HISTORIAN
Inside the pillows they hide things such as photographs or notes.
A photograph is found inside.
HISTORIAN
Look (shows photo) like this. (Smiles)
CUT TO
HISTORIAN talking to camera.
HISTORIAN
The diary was founded inside a pillow and was really hard to put together because it was mixed up and aged.
Sec. 21. INT. Interviewing room. Day
GOPCHIK is sitting in the chair.
GOPCHIK
I kept a picture of my wife and kids inside my mattress. I ripped open a hole on the side of it and inside I managed to hide their photo. I was never caught. (LAUGHS)
As he explains this he shows how hi did it with hand motions.
FADE TO BLACK
Sec 22. INT. Interviewing room. Day
GOPCHIK is talking.
GOPCHIK (Talking slowly and tired)
I am happy that they founded this diary. This way people can see how horrible this time was for us…
Sec 23. Images of dead people in gulags.
Images of Russian soldiers carrying dead people.
GOPCHIK (CONT’D) (V.O)
We lived in a place were you had no friends. (Pause) Not because you didn’t want them but because if you got one you knew it would not last longer than a year…
Sec. 24. EXT. Wall of a Gulag. Sun set.
A prisoner is leaning on a wall as he smokes a cigar. Another prisoner comes and asks for a cigarette. He lights his cigar with the other cigar. He inhales a lot of smoke and exhales it really slowly.
GOPCHIK (CONT’D) (V.O)
(As the scene progresses.)
Either you died or he died. It was a life none of us wanted but were forces to live in. Half my life was a torture but it seemed like no one cared for you. Like if you were no one. After a wile you believe it.
FADE TO BLACK
CREDITS
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment