Well-known British actor John Hannah will come to Prague to present the premiere of Bebjak’s new film The Message
October 7, 2021 • 18:10
The film The Report, based on Alfred Wetzler’s autobiographical novel What Dante Did Not See, captures a real heroic deed and one of the most significant entries of Czechoslovak citizens in world history leading to the saving of tens of thousands of human lives. The film has already been shown in cinemas in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, France and Japan. It was sold in a total of ninety-nine territories – from large markets such as China to incomparably smaller ones such as Taiwan and Aruba.
“When you get your hands on such a great script as in The Movie, you’ll know what we have in common with those before us. Their strength and courage is a great inspiration for us. All the more so because in Europe, which is experiencing the longest period of peace and cooperation in history, a wave of hatred, division and fear has risen again. This film is really necessary, I’m proud that I was invited to shoot and I was able to contribute to the spread of such a story, “says John Hannah. His scenes were shot in decorations near Prague, the author of which was the Czech film architect Petr Synek. The audience will see Noel Czuczor and Peter Ondrejička from Slovakia in the main roles, the Czech actor Jan Nedbal will play the role of a fellow prisoner, and Ondřej Malý will appear in a smaller role.
After escaping from Auschwitz, Alfred Wetzler and Rudolf Vrba were able to convince the world of the horrific functioning of the concentration camp thanks to their subsequently written detailed reports and tireless efforts. Viewers will see John Hannah in the News in the key role of Warren, who is among the first to be confronted with what was really happening in Auschwitz, and to report this report on the functioning of the “death factory” to official places. Information from Vrb’s and Wetzler’s reports was published through the BBC or The New York Times. Pope Pius XII, US President FD Roosevelt and other authorities subsequently asked Hungary to stop the deportations, which took place on July 9, 1944, ie. about three months after the escape of the young prisoners. And yet the release of reports by the then 26-year-old Alfred Wetzler and the 20-year-old Rudolf Vrba was controversially delayed, and the 32-page document was not published until many weeks later, and it is estimated that some 200,000 Jews were saved by this act.
October 4, 2021 • 2:43 PM
The film Report is aimed at a symbolic film screen on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the deportation of Jews from the Czech lands, exactly two days before October 16, when the first Prague transport left the Bubny railway station. The public can still visit special previews with debates, currently on October 8 in the Warsaw cinema in Warsaw and on October 13 in the Teplice cinema in May, the creators also organize screenings for schools.
Director Peter Bebjak says that behind the making of the film The Report is also the hatred of people who made statements about the Jews’ deserving of death in gas chambers on social networks on the anniversary of the day Hitler came to power. Moreover, it was at the moment when the Our Slovakia party, which is not far from Nazi ideas, entered the Slovak parliament. At that moment, it occurred to him what people were capable of and why? And also the fact that uncertainty and fear are a breeding ground for extremist parties. In the end, Bebjak deliberately influences the speeches of politicians to the masses of people, of whom they repeat other sentences, and the hatred spreads. The film contains statements by Slovak politician Marián Kotleba, French politician Marie Le Penová or former US President Donald Trump.
Producers in Slovakia are DNA Production (Rasťo Šesták, Peter Bebjak) and RTVS, in the Czech Republic Evolution Films (Ondřej Zima) and Czech Television, in Germany Ostlicht Filmproduktion. The film Report was created with the support of the Slovak Audiovisual Fund and the German Mitteldeutsche Medienforderung. The film has already been shown in cinemas in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, France and Japan. It was sold in a total of ninety-nine territories – from large markets such as China to incomparably smaller ones such as Taiwan and Aruba. In the Czech Republic, the film will be introduced to the distribution company Falcon.
October 1, 2021 • 13:23
September 30, 2021 • 10:45