A Film Unfinished
Encyclopedia
A Film Unfinished is a 2010 documentary film by Yael Hersonski, which re-examines the making of an unfinished 1942 Nazi propaganda film of the Warsaw Ghetto
two months before its liquidation in a Nazi operation known as the Grossaktion Warsaw
. The documentary features interviews with surviving ghetto residents and a re-enactment of testimony from Willy Wist, one of the camera operators who filmed scenes for Das Ghetto. Premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the "World Cinema Documentary Editing Award", the film was released theatrically in the US on 18 August 2010. The film's distributor, Oscilloscope, appealed to the MPAA over the film's R-Rating, but were unsuccessful in reclassifying the film. Oscilloscope says the R-rating is inconsistent with cultural norms because the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which is visited by school children, has more graphic footage.
, directed by Billy Wilder
. A PDF study guide is also available if the disc is inserted into a personal computer.
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
two months before its liquidation in a Nazi operation known as the Grossaktion Warsaw
Grossaktion Warsaw (1942)
The Grossaktion or Gross-Aktion in Warsaw was a Nazi German operation of mass extermination of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto beginning July 22, 1942. It was a key part of the countrywide Operation Reinhard headed by the SS- und Polizeiführer Odilo Globocnik...
. The documentary features interviews with surviving ghetto residents and a re-enactment of testimony from Willy Wist, one of the camera operators who filmed scenes for Das Ghetto. Premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the "World Cinema Documentary Editing Award", the film was released theatrically in the US on 18 August 2010. The film's distributor, Oscilloscope, appealed to the MPAA over the film's R-Rating, but were unsuccessful in reclassifying the film. Oscilloscope says the R-rating is inconsistent with cultural norms because the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which is visited by school children, has more graphic footage.
Home video
The film was released on DVD on March 8, 2011. Extras: interview with author and Holocaust film researcher Adrian Wood; interview with Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum; the U.S. War Department propaganda short film Death MillsDeath Mills
Death Mills, or Die Todesmühlen, is a 1945 American propaganda documentary film directed by Billy Wilder and produced by the United States Department of War. It was intended for German audiences to educate them about the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime...
, directed by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
. A PDF study guide is also available if the disc is inserted into a personal computer.
External links
- A Film Unfinished site for Independent LensIndependent LensAiring weekly on PBS through ITVS, the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens introduces new drama and documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of Independent Lens have been presented by hosts Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Howard, Maggie...
on PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.... - A Film Unfinished official web site