Poster for the documentary “Did You Forget Mr. Fogel?”. Submitted Photo

Time.

The documentary “Did You Forget Mr. Fogel?” — which screened Thursday night in Butler — let the audience glimpse the devastating effects of the imprisonment of Marc Fogel in a Russian penal colony — isolated in a land where he doesn’t even know the language.

Time weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of Fogel’s family as his sisters, niece and nephew watch the days tick away. Fogel will have spent 1,078 days in prison on Saturday, July 27, after being convicted of possessing less than an ounce of medical marijuana. He was sentenced to serve 14 years.

And time slips away for his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, and 63-year-old Fogel himself, whose health issues are impacted by his incarceration. The family feels Marc’s sentence could result in his death.

The documentary revealed to a crowd of Butler County residents a family in an almost unimaginable situation desperately trying to keep Marc’s spirits up and his hope alive.

Viewers stepped into the Butler Township home of his mother during Christmas as she shared his favorite cookies and his niece and nephew tried to put their thoughts on a card, wanting to make Marc smile and feel their love.

The sound of Marc’s voice on a phone call — cut painfully short as he talked to his sister, mother and niece — resonated with pain, loneliness and love for his family.

Following the documentary, speakers outlined how having Marc Fogel declared wrongfully detained would change his life immediately. The designation is not a golden ticket to freedom, but it offers the protection of the U.S. government with health care, resources to help the family advocate for his release and the knowledge the Department of State is working to gain his release.

We applaud the students who created the documentary. They achieved much more than shining a light on Marc Fogel and his plight. Instead of focusing on the elements of international politics or arguing injustice, they focused on the heart. The documentary connected us.

The Fogel family is Marc’s lifeline, and they will do anything to bring him home.

Now they have a growing number of heartfelt supporters with them.

— DJS