A war drama about the heroism of child soldiers to be shown at the National Centre RUSSIA

A special screening of the war drama "Blood Type", telling the story of orphans who dared to escape from a Nazi death camp during the Great Patriotic War, will be held at the National Centre RUSSIA on 3 November. The event will take place as part of the "Peoples of Russia and the CIS" International Festival, organised under the auspices of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

"I would like to highlight this film in particular. It shows the horrific conditions of survival during the war and the incredible heroism of children who were not broken by the cruelty of the Nazis or by the fear of inevitable punishment. The film is based on true events and reveals the true face of fascism, which takes away the most precious thing any nation has – its children," said the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu.

"Blood Type" is a film by Russian director Maxim Brius. It tells the story of a children's "death camp" that operated in the Leningrad region during the Great Patriotic War. According to the plot, the Nazis brought a group of Soviet orphans to Vyritsa, where they set up a so-called children's shelter in a former pioneer camp. The conditions were unbearable: cold, hunger, forced labour, and solitary confinement for disobedience. Any attempt to escape was punished by execution. The most horrifying of all was that the children in the camp were used as blood donors for wounded German soldiers. Despite the terror they faced, the children found the strength to resist, united, and decided to flee.

The film was shot in the Leningrad region, near the place where the real events took place. The main roles are played by Mark Alexandrov, Andrei Rudyka, Karina Andolenko, and Alexei Nilov. After the screening, the audience will be able to learn about the film's production, ask questions to the filmmakers, and share their impressions.

The screening will be a key part of the Film Forum programme — a cultural event bringing together filmmakers from the CIS countries and various regions of Russia within the framework of the "Peoples of Russia and the CIS" festival.

The Film Forum is organised in coordination with the Security Council of the Russian Federation by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, the Moscow Department of Culture, ROSKINO, the Regional Film Support Foundation, Gazprom-Media Holding JSC, the Internet Development Institute ANO, and the Russian Geographical Society.