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On March 28, 2024, the continuation of the “WON TOGETHER” Film Marathon took place at the I.S. Turgenev Library-Reading Room in Moscow. Films from the Kinomarathon are winners of the Vladimir Menshov International Documentary Film Festival “WON TOGETHER”, which was held in November 2023 in Sochi.
A meeting with director Ekaterina Toldonova took place at the Reading Library. She fell in love with the audience of Turgenevka with films about famous intelligence officers. The communication turned out to be bright, rich - emotionally and informationally.
The screening of the documentary series “Love and Espionage” is timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the USSR Foreign Intelligence Academy.
The film "The Mole" is dedicated to the fate of the American communist Judith Coplon, convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. It is amazing how sincerely she believed in the ideals of communism in her selfless work as a “mole” in Soviet intelligence. Her trials, convictions and successful appeals in her favor became widely known during the early period of the Cold War.
Another film, Africa the Queen of Espionage, tells the story of the legendary Patria, the only woman with the rank of intelligence colonel named Africa de las Heras, an employee of the Soviet illegal intelligence service. She suffered the most difficult trials, which other men cannot endure. Having completed her mission, she came to the USSR, where she passed on her knowledge and experience to future intelligence officers.
“The Secret Life of Olga Benario” tells the story of a Munich native who is tasked by Soviet intelligence agencies to assist Luis Carlos Prestes, a charismatic left-wing army captain nicknamed the Knight of Hope, widely known since the 1920s, on his illegal trip to Brazil. Olga's fate turned out to be tragic.
All three films made a great impression on the audience; they literally bombarded the director with questions about the work of the brave intelligence officers.
Ekaterina Toldonova, an active participant and winner of the “WON TOGETHER” film festival, told many interesting details about her meetings with intelligence officers of the highest rank, who became participants in her films and, along with historians, gave their assessment of the role of women in intelligence.
Organizers of the International Documentary Film Festival “WON TOGETHER” and the Film Marathon: the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly and the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio, with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
