[Editor's Note: Header image is our best guess on how the film was recovered.]
A film previously believed to have been destroyed by Nazis and lost forever has been re-discovered.
The film is called Europa and according to The Guardian, it's an anti-fascist film that was seized by Nazis and later deemed lost forever. However, a copy of the film was discovered recently in the Bundesarchiv, one of Germany's national archives.
"This is truly one of the most important film rediscoveries of recent years, a major lost work of the European avant-garde and an important affirmation of Stefan and Franciszka Themersons' important contribution to cinema history," Benjamin Cook, director of UK arts agency LUX, told The Guardian. Europa is set to receive a proper premiere next month at the London film festival.
Europa was created in 1931 by the Warsaw surrealist husband and wife director duo, Stefan and Franciszka Themerson. That it may have been lost forever gave Europa an almost mythical status in the world of cinema, according to The Guardian.
With it being lost, many have tried to remake the film based on what was known about it but obviously, that doesn't solve the whole "this movie was seized and seemingly lost by Nazis" problem. However, in 2019, the Pilecki Institute explained to Themerson's niece and heir, Jasia Reichardt, that its own research led it to believe a copy might be in the Bundesarchiv.
Europa is based on the 1925 poem of the same name written by Anatol Stern. The film uses photograms, which are film prints created by laying things on top of photography paper and exposing the print to light, and collages, as well as standard imagery. According to The Guardian, these techniques gave Europa the sense of horror and moral decline the directors were witnessing in real life in Poland, and today, the film is considered an "avant-garde masterpiece."
The Themersons moved to Paris in 1938 but before moving, they left Europa and four other films in the Vitfer film laboratory for safekeeping. Nazis seized the films and the Themersons assumed it was lost forever.
Stefan Franciszka attempted to remake the film with the London Film-Makers Co-op in 1983. Five years later, the couple died and both died thinking Europa was never going to be found. While they won't get to watch the film's premiere next month, there's some solace to be found in the idea that something previously thought lost and destroyed by Nazis has been recovered.
Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
Continue reading...
A film previously believed to have been destroyed by Nazis and lost forever has been re-discovered.
The film is called Europa and according to The Guardian, it's an anti-fascist film that was seized by Nazis and later deemed lost forever. However, a copy of the film was discovered recently in the Bundesarchiv, one of Germany's national archives.
"This is truly one of the most important film rediscoveries of recent years, a major lost work of the European avant-garde and an important affirmation of Stefan and Franciszka Themersons' important contribution to cinema history," Benjamin Cook, director of UK arts agency LUX, told The Guardian. Europa is set to receive a proper premiere next month at the London film festival.
Europa was created in 1931 by the Warsaw surrealist husband and wife director duo, Stefan and Franciszka Themerson. That it may have been lost forever gave Europa an almost mythical status in the world of cinema, according to The Guardian.
With it being lost, many have tried to remake the film based on what was known about it but obviously, that doesn't solve the whole "this movie was seized and seemingly lost by Nazis" problem. However, in 2019, the Pilecki Institute explained to Themerson's niece and heir, Jasia Reichardt, that its own research led it to believe a copy might be in the Bundesarchiv.
Europa is based on the 1925 poem of the same name written by Anatol Stern. The film uses photograms, which are film prints created by laying things on top of photography paper and exposing the print to light, and collages, as well as standard imagery. According to The Guardian, these techniques gave Europa the sense of horror and moral decline the directors were witnessing in real life in Poland, and today, the film is considered an "avant-garde masterpiece."
The Themersons moved to Paris in 1938 but before moving, they left Europa and four other films in the Vitfer film laboratory for safekeeping. Nazis seized the films and the Themersons assumed it was lost forever.
Stefan Franciszka attempted to remake the film with the London Film-Makers Co-op in 1983. Five years later, the couple died and both died thinking Europa was never going to be found. While they won't get to watch the film's premiere next month, there's some solace to be found in the idea that something previously thought lost and destroyed by Nazis has been recovered.
Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
Continue reading...