Q&A with A Film Unfinished director Yael Hersonski at night screenings 8/19-21/10

At the end of WWII, 60 minutes of raw film, having sat undisturbed in an East German archive, was discovered. Shot by the Nazis in Warsaw in May 1942, and labeled simply 'Ghetto,' this footage quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record of the Warsaw Ghetto. However, the later discovery of a long-missing reel, inclusive of multiple takes and cameraman staging scenes, complicated earlier readings of the footage. A FILM UNFINISHED presents the raw footage in its entirety, carefully noting fictionalized sequences (including a staged dinner party) falsely showing 'the good life' enjoyed by Jewish urbanites, and probes deep into the making of a now-infamous Nazi propaganda film. (From the film's synopsis).

"A Film Unfinished first emerged out of my theoretical preoccupation with the notion of the "archive", and the unique nature of the witnessing it bears." - Yael Hersonski

A Film Unfinished, which won this year's World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award and was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, is playing in Manhattan at Film Forum, 209 W Houston Street, and at Lincoln Plaza Cinema, 1886 Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets. Tonight, tomorrow and Saturday night at the 8:20 PM Film Forum screenings there will be a Q&A with director Yael Hersonski. Tonight's Q&A is sold out online, but there may be tickets available at the box office. Read an interview with Yael Hersonski, a meet the artist article on Sundance's website, and my Los Angeles colleague's review of the film. Scroll down this page to see the film's trailer.

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For more info: David Cooper