The Man Who Saved the World

The Man Who Saved the World
Directed by Peter Anthony
Produced by Jakob Staberg
Christian D. Bruun
Mark Romeo
Raphael Avigdor
Svilen Kamburov
Written by Peter Anthony
Starring Stanislav Petrov
Nataliya Vdovina
Sergey Shnyryov
Cinematography Kim Hattesen
Anders Löfstedt
Edited by Morten Højbjerg
Release dates
Premiered October 2014
Woodstock Film Festival
Country United States
Language English and Russian

The Man Who Saved the World by Danish director Peter Anthony is a 2014 feature film about Stanislav Petrov, a former lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces. Other stars appearing in the film include Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, Ashton Kutcher and Walter Cronkite.

The film premiered in October 2014 at the Woodstock Film Festival in Woodstock, New York, winning; "Honorable Mention: Audience Award Winner for Best Narrative Feature" and "Honorable Mention: James Lyons Award for Best Editing of a Narrative Feature."[1]

Synopsis

For a few crucial moments on September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov held the fate of the world in his hands.

When an alarm suddenly went off at Soviet nuclear early warning center Serpukhov-15, Stanislav was responsible for reacting to a report that five American nuclear missiles were heading toward the Soviet Union. Rather than retaliate, Stanislav followed his gut feeling and went against protocol, convincing the armed forces that it was a false alarm. His decision saved the world from a potential devastating nuclear holocaust.

Three decades later, this forgotten hero went on a spectacular journey to the United States, where he was finally acknowledged for his historic deed and found the strength to reconcile with his past. On his journey, he was greeted by Walter Cronkite as "The Man Who Saved the World" and met Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, and Ashton Kutcher.

Shot on location in the former Soviet Union and the United States, The Man Who Saved the World shines a light on nuclear disarmament. It shows how precarious our world has become in the nuclear age and how our own belief in humanity and each other is the hope that we must foster in order to survive and thrive.

Production Notes

Re-enactments are intertwined with modern documentary footage of Stanislav to create a hybrid film that feels and looks like a narrative feature film rather than a traditional documentary.

References

  1. Bernstein, Rachel (21 October 2014). "2014 Woodstock Film Festival Honors Darren Aronofsky, Announces Audience Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 26 April 2015.

External links