In Roz Mortimer’s “The Deathless Woman,” a main competition entry at the 23rd Ji.hlava docu fest, a British woman becomes increasingly obsessed with answering the call of a Roma Holocaust victim whose soul is seemingly reaching out from an unmarked mass grave in Eastern Europe.
The film, which mixes interviews with Holocaust witnesses, evocative Romani-language voice-over, archival material and performance, sets out to provide closure to the restless spirit of one woman who refused to die easily when gunned down by the SS. “I’ve been here for a long time,” the Deathless Woman intones – “plenty of time to think. To feel my rage swell.”
So how did you decide on this particular war crime as the subject and this particular victim to drive the project?
She found me. I was doing some field research into unmarked Roma graves from World War II and a strange series of...
The film, which mixes interviews with Holocaust witnesses, evocative Romani-language voice-over, archival material and performance, sets out to provide closure to the restless spirit of one woman who refused to die easily when gunned down by the SS. “I’ve been here for a long time,” the Deathless Woman intones – “plenty of time to think. To feel my rage swell.”
So how did you decide on this particular war crime as the subject and this particular victim to drive the project?
She found me. I was doing some field research into unmarked Roma graves from World War II and a strange series of...
- 10/29/2019
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Nine international documentary films and one judge. That’s the unique competition format for Opus Bonum, the section dedicated to international documentary titles at Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival (Oct. 24-29).
Films from France, the U.K., Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, India, Madagascar, Egypt and Palestine play in the competition section, and the winner will be chosen by famed Romanian director Cristi Puiu. Known as the father of the Romanian New Wave, Puiu’s credits include 2005’s Cannes Un Certain Regard prize winner “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.”
Launched in 2006, the format for Opus Bonum was conceived as a way of countering the compromises that are inherent in the functioning of traditional film festival juries. “We ask one really significant cinematic person to decide which is the best film – it is a really personal choice,” says festival director Marek Hovorka.
He explains that Puiu was selected as...
Films from France, the U.K., Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, India, Madagascar, Egypt and Palestine play in the competition section, and the winner will be chosen by famed Romanian director Cristi Puiu. Known as the father of the Romanian New Wave, Puiu’s credits include 2005’s Cannes Un Certain Regard prize winner “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.”
Launched in 2006, the format for Opus Bonum was conceived as a way of countering the compromises that are inherent in the functioning of traditional film festival juries. “We ask one really significant cinematic person to decide which is the best film – it is a really personal choice,” says festival director Marek Hovorka.
He explains that Puiu was selected as...
- 10/23/2019
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
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