Eight decades after Auschwitz, this film records the extraordinary meeting between Hans Jurgen Höss, the son of the camp Commandant, and Jewish prisoner Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who survived because she was a cellist for the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz. By delving into several generations of each family, the documentary reveals the long shadows that Auschwitz still casts over so many lives.
POST FILM DISCUSSION
Chair: Nick Robinson is a BBC journalist and broadcaster.
Daniela Völker is an Argentine/ German/ British documentary Producer and Director. She has made films for Netflix, CNN, PBS, BBC, ITV, National Geographic, ZDF and France Television. Her feature documentary The Commandant's Shadow, made over four years, was acquired by HBO and Warner Bros and has had a wide theatrical release.
Maya Lasker-Wallfisch is a psychotherapist specialising in transgenerational trauma. She is the daughter of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch.
Gabriel Chwojnik, a musician and composer based in Buenos Aires, composed the music for The Commandant's Shadow. His work is incredibly varied, comprising documentaries, independent cinema, opera, musical theatre, contemporary dance and advertising. Gabriel enjoys a collaborative way of working and has composed music for many of Daniela's documentaries over the years.