Certificate of Life: A moving story about life after catastrophe

CERTIFICATE OF LIFE

A film version of Mikhail Bychkov’s stage production, followed by a meeting with Vera Babicheva, the actress who plays the lead role.

The play by playwright Ron Elisha begins in the mid-1990s and spans almost ten years. Klara Reich lost loved ones in a concentration camp, and now must prove every year that she is still alive: she has to present a “certificate of life” at the German consulate to receive a modest pension. Each time, Klara and her adult, unsettled daughter Hilda meet Erika, a consulate employee.

Klara’s fury and sarcasm clash with the official’s coldness. Each of the women has her own drama. Klara has chosen the role of eternal victim; Hilda is torn between her love for her mother and her desire to live her own life; and Erika is trying to unravel a family secret connected to echoes of the Holocaust. Yet the production is full of humour and irony, because they are needed to cope with pain.

You will see virtuoso acting in a production by renowned director Mikhail Bychkov, whose productions once enjoyed consistent success in Latvia. The cast features three outstanding actresses: Vera Babicheva, Yevgenia Simonova and Zoya Kaidanovskaya.

After watching the production on screen, audiences will meet Vera Babicheva to discuss the play, hear about how the production was created, and ask questions. An “inside look” at the complex genre of tragicomedy.

Translated and adapted from the play by Olga Varshaver.

Duration: 2 hours, no intermission.

The event will be held in Russian.