A film about an unfinished film which portrays the people behind and before the camera in the Warsaw Ghetto, exposing the extent of the cinematic manipulation forever changing the way we look at historic images.
Yael Hersonski's powerful documentary achieves a remarkable feat through its penetrating look at another film-the now-infamous Nazi-produced film about the Warsaw Ghetto. Discovered after the war, the unfinished work, with no soundtrack, quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record, despite its elaborate propagandistic construction. The later discovery of a long-missing reel complicated earlier readings, showing the manipulations of camera crews in these "everyday" scenes. Well-heeled Jews attending elegant dinners and theatricals (while callously stepping over the dead bodies of compatriots) now appeared as unwilling, but complicit, actors, alternately fearful and in denial of their looming fate. - Sundance Film Festival
"Moving, mysterious and intellectually provocative!" — New York Times (Critic's Pick)
“A profound and vital documentary.” — Entertainment Weekly
Hot Docs Film Festival - Best International Feature
Sundance Film Festival - World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award, Grand Jury Prize Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards, Nominated
Satellite Awards, Nominated
