‘Cabaret of Death’ by Andrzej Celiński was honoured with the Prix Italia award in the artistic film category. The festival took place in Turin, Italy between 19th and 24th September 2015.
The Cabaret of Death
‘Cabaret of Death’ is a feature documentary presenting war stories of artists of Jewish descent. The characters of the documentary were fighting for survival with the only means available to them, namely music, theatre, film and cabaret.
The way those people coped with inhumane reality of war was to make use of jokes, cabaret performances, skits, songs and concerts organized in concentration camps and ghettos. They stressed that apart from fighting for life they were fighting for their own souls and the last shreds of dignity.
The ’symbolic’ guide in the production is a legendary Jewish jester – Rubinstein. The man presents the world full of paradoxes, unbelievable dramatic events, camp cabaret men, actors, singers, musicians and performers popular and appreciated before war. The camera visits a number of places among others Warsaw Ghetto, camps in Kurowice, Jaktorów, Buchenwald, Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Ravensbruck... The commentary is provided by the last living prisoners and witnesses of those tragic events as well as contemporary artists and writers who are working on the issue of arts behind the barbed wire.
The documentary was also acknowledged at the 58th New York Festivals World’s Best Tv & Films 2015 where it won a Gold Medal for documentaries. Two other productions were also nominated for Prix Italia for best fiction. The first one was ‘Karski’ by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, a coproduction of TVP and the Chimney Pot company and in the category of documentary – ‘Promise of a Happy Childhood’ by Piotr Kaczyński and Ryszard Morawski.
The way those people coped with inhumane reality of war was to make use of jokes, cabaret performances, skits, songs and concerts organized in concentration camps and ghettos. They stressed that apart from fighting for life they were fighting for their own souls and the last shreds of dignity.
The ’symbolic’ guide in the production is a legendary Jewish jester – Rubinstein. The man presents the world full of paradoxes, unbelievable dramatic events, camp cabaret men, actors, singers, musicians and performers popular and appreciated before war. The camera visits a number of places among others Warsaw Ghetto, camps in Kurowice, Jaktorów, Buchenwald, Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Ravensbruck... The commentary is provided by the last living prisoners and witnesses of those tragic events as well as contemporary artists and writers who are working on the issue of arts behind the barbed wire.
The documentary was also acknowledged at the 58th New York Festivals World’s Best Tv & Films 2015 where it won a Gold Medal for documentaries. Two other productions were also nominated for Prix Italia for best fiction. The first one was ‘Karski’ by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, a coproduction of TVP and the Chimney Pot company and in the category of documentary – ‘Promise of a Happy Childhood’ by Piotr Kaczyński and Ryszard Morawski.