Indelible Shadows Film and the Holocaust.pdf

This page intentionally left blank

Indelible Shadows

Indelible Shadows investigates questions raised by ﬁlms about the Holocaust. How does one

make a movie that is both morally just and marketable? Annette Insdorf provides sensitive

readings of individual ﬁlms and analyzes theoretical issues such as the “truth claims” of the

cinematic medium. The third edition of Indelible Shadows includes ﬁve new chapters that cover

recent trends, as well as rediscoveries of motion pictures made during and just after World

War II. It addresses the treatment of rescuers, as in Schindler’s List ; the controversial use

of humor, as in Life Is Beautiful ; the distorted image of survivors; and the growing genre of

documentaries that return to the scene of the crime or rescue. The annotated ﬁlmography offers

capsule summaries and information about another hundred Holocaust ﬁlms from around the

world, making this edition the most comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of ﬁlms about

the Holocaust, and an invaluable resource for ﬁlm programmers and educators.

Annette Insdorf is Director of Undergraduate Film Studies at Columbia University, and a

professor in the Graduate Film Division of the School of the Arts (of which she was chair

from 1990 to 1995). She is the author of books, including Double Lives, Second Chances: The

Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski and Francois Truffaut . Her articles have appeared in numerous

newspapers and magazines – especially the New York Times – and she is the television host of

Cannes Film Festival coverage for BRAVO/IFC. Creator and host of the popular “Reel Pieces”

series at Manhattan’s 92d Street Y, Dr. Insdorf was a jury member of the Berlin Film Festival,

and served as executive producer for prize-winning short ﬁlms.

Indelible Shadows

Film and the Holocaust

Third Edition

Annette Insdorf