Schächten

THE CHAIM KORNFELD z”l MEMORIAL FILM

Director Thomas Roth based his screenplay on a true story. As a child, 8-year-old Victor Dessauer, a Jew born in Vienna in the 1930s, witnesses his grandparents being murdered by Nazi thugs and his parents and sister hauled off to Mauthausen concentration camp. From this moment on, Victor is completely alone hiding where his family was discovered. Somehow, he survives the rest of the war. Twenty years later, Victor and his father Paul, the only two survivors of their entire extended family are now in business together. They get word that Kurt Gogl, the killer of Victor’s mother and younger sister is still living in Austria, working as a school headmaster and was never brought to justice. Paul approaches the Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and asks him to track Gogl down.

In due course, Kurt Gogl is found and charged with crimes against humanity. However, Austria, at this time in history, is still filled with former Nazis and Gogl is acquitted. When all further legal attempts end in failure, Victor goes to see Gogl himself, hoping to persuade him to make a confession.

SPONSORED BY:
Aliza, Tova, Ron, Leora, Danny, Revital, Maya, Ma’or and Itamar Kornfeld

Festivals and Awards

• Nominee: Best Costume Design, Austrian Film Award, 2023
• Nominee: Best Production Design, Austrian Film Award, 2023