HIFFA 2024 Timeframe 4: Great War – Contemporary History

A group of people reunites years after the end of the First World War to submit a compensation claim to the new government. They all claim to have been unjustly imprisoned by the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, as they recount their experiences, a disturbing truth emerges. Director Biography - Andrea Benato Born in 1990, always passionate…

In 1969, the peaceful village of Dekan in the Qasrok district, located 95 kilometers east of Duhok, fell victim to a ruthless attack by the Ba'ath regime. Amidst the chaos, the villagers sought refuge in a nearby cave. As the conflict escalated, the Iraqi armed forces launched a relentless assault on the area. The ensuing…

This original story takes place in 1947, as Detective Ernest Hendley is sent to investigate the home of a wanted WWII spy known as 'The Chameleon', but the suspicion start when he encounters the traitor's wife, Mary Rose Barker...how much does she really know? The film is a tense historical detective drama that will keep…

Borderland Memories explores post-Holocaust German identity, merging historical images with contemporary discourses around kinship and belonging. What began as an exploration of post-WW2 forced migrations and the filmmaker’s family history in these events, the work is contemporized by Germany’s current role in cultures of migration and immigration. Performing most of her own cinematography, Ms. Steiner’s…

Part of a 5 episode series on ‘Hidden Histories’, telling unknown stories connected to war. Alongside the use of RADAR in World War Two, a special wing of the RAF was set up to intercept, disrupt and 'bend' radio signals from Germany. Luftwaffe planes from Germany followed these signals in order to drop bombs effectively…

A documentary telling the story of an ordinary man from Northern Bulgaria who goes to Nazi-occupied Austria in 1939 to escape grief by working. Atanas goes to Linz, the hometown of Hitler, and works in the small mining town of Eisenerz. The film demonstrates how an ordinary person's life fits within the socio-political context of…

WINNER OF THE AUDIENCE AWARD AT SLAMDANCE 2023, American Pot Story: Oaksterdam is a documentary about how change transpires in America. The account of "a small group of concerned committed citizens" (to quote Margaret Mead) who took a huge risk in order to bring about a massive shift in public perception. It all happened at…

“After Ike” retraces Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower's pivotal 3,251-mile journey from Washington to San Francisco along the Lincoln Highway in 1919. This experience shaped his vision for U.S. highways that profoundly impacted small-town America and communities of color. The 60-minute film delves into the convoy's challenges and transformative effects. Director Biography - Gregory F Maassen,…

How do you get pupils to engage with one of the darkest chapters in German history? How do you create points of contact with a place whose horror is no longer immediately apparent today? How do you draw attention to the legacy of a prisoner who did everything in his power to ensure that his…

The film tells not only about the heroic actions of Edmund Malinowski, commander of the Home Army Deaf Platoon in the Warsaw Uprising in World War II, but also about the extraordinary involvement of deaf people in this historic event. In the history of World War II, there was no other unit like it. The…