Second Hand War (WT)
Třeboň, Occupied Czechoslovakia: a Nazi soldier points a gun at a mother, demanding milk and bread; a girl watches as the 4000 German soldiers camping behind her house are replaced by as many Soviets; a little girl pretends to be a mannequin in her grandmother’s shop to hide from SS officers.
The animated short documentary “Second Hand War” foregrounds wartime snapshots that didn’t make it to the history books, focussing on women’s experiences. The version of history portrayed is fragmentary and contradictory, privileging the fragile poetry of human subjectivity over verifiable facts.
Survivors’ memories are pieced together to create a subtle overview of daily life under occupation and what it meant to be a woman, while at the same time revealing the gaps in our collective memory.
The animated short documentary “Second Hand War” foregrounds wartime snapshots that didn’t make it to the history books, focussing on women’s experiences. The version of history portrayed is fragmentary and contradictory, privileging the fragile poetry of human subjectivity over verifiable facts.
Survivors’ memories are pieced together to create a subtle overview of daily life under occupation and what it meant to be a woman, while at the same time revealing the gaps in our collective memory.
Dear Helen - I'm already them
I am the only member from my family who is able to travel with my Holocaust survivor grandmother from Budapest to the yearly Generation Forums in Ravensbrück former Concentration Camp. We stay there at houses, which used to serve as female SS guards’ accommodation. Artists come to perform, young people listen to survivors, we remember, days are devoted to memories. Although I am there to support my grandmother, it seems she is much stronger than me. But how do I deal with this location, spending summers in a death camp? How can I balance my feelings in between hate for this place and overcoming the unbearable memories of my grandmother’s past that all became part of mine?
I grew up with the knowledge of a horrible trauma that happened to my family 80 years ago. Almost everyone perished of my family in concentrations camps. One of the only survivors is my grandma. I know every single detail. She is 97 years old. We have a very special bond between us since my childhood. I follow her everywhere she goes even if it is painful for me. I hoped our last visit together at the Holocaust Memorial event in 2021 of Rechlin KZ would end to my painful journeys and let me live in the present, but I ended up with a different conclusion.
"Dear Helen" is a film-letter, an experimental docu-diary, dedicated to my great-grandmother Helen, who perished in Rechlin KZ, in the arms of my grandma.
I grew up with the knowledge of a horrible trauma that happened to my family 80 years ago. Almost everyone perished of my family in concentrations camps. One of the only survivors is my grandma. I know every single detail. She is 97 years old. We have a very special bond between us since my childhood. I follow her everywhere she goes even if it is painful for me. I hoped our last visit together at the Holocaust Memorial event in 2021 of Rechlin KZ would end to my painful journeys and let me live in the present, but I ended up with a different conclusion.
"Dear Helen" is a film-letter, an experimental docu-diary, dedicated to my great-grandmother Helen, who perished in Rechlin KZ, in the arms of my grandma.
Oh, Heart Don't Be Afraid
Dachi is a young and lonely dreamer, a queer person from a very conservative and religious place - Lechkhumi, in the highland of Georgia, and Dachi dreams of leaving their hometown. together with the 84-year-old spell caster Vardo, who holds the knowledge of Georgian traditional magic, Dachi feels seen, cared for, and understood, and by learning her magic techniques, they aim to use the magic to escape the daily social oppression and to create a reality where they can be themself.
As Dachi and Vardo become very close, Vardo helps Dachi overcome pain and find space to explore who they are and who they want to be. Their bond becomes even stronger, as they share stories and practice magic. But Dachi still struggles to empower themselves and begins looking for ways to escape Lechkhumi.
As Dachi and Vardo become very close, Vardo helps Dachi overcome pain and find space to explore who they are and who they want to be. Their bond becomes even stronger, as they share stories and practice magic. But Dachi still struggles to empower themselves and begins looking for ways to escape Lechkhumi.