On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the ACFDC presented the moving documentary Mauthausen – Two Lives by the Austrian director Simon Wieland. The film was streamed through Vimeo from January 25 through January 31, 2021.
In addition to the film, a pre-recorded conversation between the filmmaker, Simon Wieland and the director of the ACFDC, Eva Schoefer, can be seen.
CW // The film contains strong images that some viewers may find disturbing.
You can watch the prerecorded conversation below.
When: Monday, January 25 through Sunday, January 31, 2021
Where: online | Vimeo
Ticket: Free admission, registration obligatory
ABOUT THE FILM
MAUTHAUSEN – TWO LIVES
Directed by Simon Wieland
Austria, 2020
70 min, in German with English subtitles
The documentary MAUTHAUSEN – TWO LIVES tells the story of two people situated in the Mauthausen Concentration Camp during the Nazi regime: Stanisław Leszczyński, born in Lódź, Poland, was there as a prisoner, while Franz Hackl, from the village of Mauthausen, worked there as a locksmith apprentice. Two fates that could not have been more contrary – and yet they have so many disturbing things in common. Austrian director Simon Wieland managed to portray the two protagonists and their confrontation with Mauthausen, an important symbol for the Holocaust and thus for guilt and cruelty, in a sensitive and multifaceted manner. The result is a strong and moving documentary about humanity and also, above all, inhumane behavior in the face of evil.
More information on the movie is available in the official Press booklet here.
“What happened back then still resonates today. One can see it in the protagonists’ faces, it is reflected in the landscape, the camp, the village. The film tries to trace the soul of the topography in vivid pictures.”
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
SIMON WIELAND | Director
Photo © Simon Wieland Films
Simon Wieland, born in Austria in 1963, studied at the University of Film and Television in Munich and founded his own production company in 2008. He worked for various productions for Austrian and German TV channels such as ORF, 3Sat, BR, NDR, SFB, WDR, ARTE and received a German Film Prize nomination, several special prizes as well as outstanding reviews at the San Francisco Film Festival and Tel Aviv Film Festival for his activities. The author, cameraman and director has been dealing with contemporary history topics.
His filmography includes among other documentaries “OUR STRUGGLE. One family. Three generations. Nine wars.” (Austria 2017), “NEMCI VEN! GERMANS OUT! The Brno Death March - The Story of an Expulsion” (Austria 2015), “HEIL HITLER – THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! Between the Swastika and the Red Star” (Austria 2011).