A Film by Shahar Rozen
(Israel, 1999, 56 Minutes, Color, Hebrew/English/German, English subtitles)



This is the story of a friendship between two very short women. Perla, an actress, is the last living member of a Jewish family of dwarfs that survived Dr. Mengele’s experiments in Auschwitz. Hannelore, a Christian, was born in postwar Germany.

Hannelore sets out on a quest which could well fulfill one of Perla’s greatest dreams. She is searching for a lost Nazi film of Perla’s family, standing naked on stage before a group of high-ranking SS officers. Dr. Mengele stands next to them explaining their unusual physiognomy to the bemused onlookers. As she hunts for the film in German and Polish archives, Hannelore corresponds with Perla to report on her progress. These letters provide a poignant description of the many people Perla meets who can’t help staring because of her height.

“So many people think that life is meaningless if you have a disability—that it would probably be better if I wasn’t even alive.” The film raises issues of birth and death, anger and forgiveness, and the basic rights of someone who is "different".



AWARDS & FESTIVALS

 Best Script Award, Haifa Film Festival,  1999
 ‘Masua’ Award for Best Documentary Dealing with the Holocaust, Israel 1999
 Magnolia Award for Most Innovative Film Dealing With Human Rights, Shanghai Film Festival, 2000
 First Prize for Best Documentary, Tursk Film Festival, 2000
 Margaret Mid Festival, New York 2000
 Superfest Berkley California, 2000


TV SCREENINGS

 Channel 2, Israel
 NDR, Germany
 WTN, Canada
 SBS, Australia
 DR TV, Denmark
 Lifestyle Television, Canada
 RTV, Slovenia
 TVP, Poland


QUOTES

“An intelligent, original film that is both restrained and intriguing. The film is very daring in its choice of subject matter and the original cinematic methods it uses, which break away from all the standard techniques and familiar clichés that appear in films of this genre.”
(‘Masua’ Award jury, Israel 1999)




Price Valid for DVD screening only.