Every Face Has A Name
The moment of freedom captured in a film reel. Who are the people? What are their names and their stories?
Watch the trailer and the full film here:
On April 28, 1945, life begins again. Hundreds of survivors from the German concentration camps arrive to the harbour of Malmö, Sweden. While they take their first steps in freedom Swedish news photographers film them. Now, 70 years later the survivors are watching this archive footage for the very first time and as they discover themselves they re-experience the emotions from this special day.
Bernard Kempler was 9 years old when he came to Malmö. He survived the war by dressing up as a girl. Elsie Ragusin from New York City was visiting her grandparents in Italy when she was accused of being a spy. She was put in a boxcar and sent to Auschwitz.
These and many other emotional stories are evoked for the first time in Every Face Has a Name and the archive reveals an extraordinary blend of stories coming from Jewish survivors, Norwegian resistance men, Polish mothers with newborn babies and British spies. All united in the moment of freedom. Moments and scenes also taking place all over the world today. Endless streams of war survivors arriving to a new country. All anonymous. Faces without names.
CREDITS
Director: Magnus Gertten
Editor: Jesper Osmund
Produced by: Magnus Gertten and Lennart Ström, Auto Images, Sweden.
Documentary. Running time 76 minutes. 2015.
AWARDS
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, 2015: Winner of The FIPRESCI Award – The international federation of film critics
Filmfest Hamburg, 2015: Winner of Best Political Film
Göteborg Film Festival, 2015: Winner of The Angelos Award
EDOX, Lithuania, 2015: Winner of The Audience Award
Jerusalem Film Festival, 2015: Special Mention
FOCAL, London, 2016: Winner in the category Best Use of Historical Footage
Eric Forsgren Prize, 2016: Best Swedish TV Documentary
SELECTED FESTIVAL LIST
Every Face Has a Name has screened at over 50 festivals around the world.
September, 2016. DMZ Docs, South Korea
March, 2016. One World Romania, Bucharest, Romania
November, 2015. IDFA, The Netherlands
October, 2015. Sao Paolo Mostra Internacional De Cinema, Brazil
July, 2015. San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, USA
July, 2015. Jerusalem International Film Festival, Israel
April, 2015. American Premiere: Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, USA.
March, 2015. International Premiere: Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greece.
January, 2015. Swedish Premiere: Gothenborg International Film Festival