2010 06 11 - Movie - SHOAH BY CLAUDE LANZMANN

11 JUNE 2010 - 12 JUNE 2010


SHOAH BY CLAUDE LANZMANN

1985 / FRANCE / 550 MIN / 35MM / PG

IN GERMAN, HEBREW, POLISH, YIDDISH AND FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

(CINEMA)

FRANCE

"I would never have imagined such a combination of beauty and horror... A sheer masterpiece" – Simone de BeauvoirTwelve years in the making, Claude Lanzmann's Shoah is a monumental nine-hour film about the Holocaust. Considered as one of the most powerful documentaries ever made, it awakened a new consciousness about this great evil.

Eschewing historical footage and re-enactments, Shoah is comprised of interviews with witnesses, survivors and former Nazi camp commanders who experienced the Holocaust first hand. Through the filmmaker's patient and sometimes relentless questioning, the testimonies reveal an emotional truth that covey an unparalleled and harrowing immediacy to the horrors of the Holocaust. Interspersed with the interviews are shots of the now empty and tranquil sites of Auschwitz and Treblinka, where the genocide took place. Flowers and grass now cover the mass graves, and the concentration camps themselves look like disused factories. Even the tracks that were used to transport the prisoners are still being used today.

Although it contains not a single image or footage of the actual event, the film evoke a far more powerful and devastating image of the Holocaust than any historical document. It achieves this by situating the memories of the past firmly in the present, and allowing the viewers to imagine and reconstruct the horrors of what happened. A haunting and unforgettable testament, Shoah is essential viewing for anyone who wishes to understand one of the greatest tragedies of contemporary history.

Venue: National Museum of Singapore Cinémathèque, Gallery Theatre

Time: 7.30pm, 10.30am, 2.30pm

Ticket Prices: S$16 Adult

Ticket Bookings : Tickets are available at www.sistic.com.sg, SISTIC hotline (65) 63485555, SISTIC counters islandwide or National Museum Stamford Visitor Services Counter.

Free admission for Singapore Film Society Members.

20% off online and counter sales for National Museum Members, National Museum Volunteers, MICA Staff, NHB Staff, NSF Men, Senior Citizens and Students.

Presenter: Ambassade de France à Singapour