Interview With Rex Bloomstein

Industry Editor Sandy Mandelberger sat down with documentary director Rex Bloomstein, whose film KZ screened in competition in the World Documentary section. KZ tells the story of the notorious concentration camp Mathausen, but in a new light....focusing on the present day residents and tourists who visit the memorial. How the lessons of history are passed down (or forgotten) is at the heart of Bloomstein's film.

Sandy Mandelberger: With so many films on the holocaust having been done already, what new approach did you decide to take with your film?

Rex Bloomstein: I get very agitated when I hear this term "holocaust fatigue", as if there are not innumerable stories still untold about this terrible event. However, after Steven Spielberg did his thing and so many documentaries have been made, I wanted to face the challenge of a new approach. In my film, I do not use any archival footage or historical photographs, nor is there any dramatic music to heighten the emotions. The film is more interested in how the past intrudes on the present, and ultimately, the future.

SM: In your film, you interview current residents of Mathausen, which is an idyllic town set in the mountains. What were some of the unexpected responses you encountered?

RB: The main message is that life goes on, even in the shadow of such horrors. People continue to live and the past recedes further into memory. In the film, I interviewed a young couple who are living in a house that was once the home of a top SS officer. They did not feel strange about that at all. And the main bar where the top concentration camp officials would come to eat and drink is still the most popular place in town. It is chilling.

SM: You made the decision not to use any testimonies from actual survivors or show any archival footage or photographs in the film. What was behind this?

RB: Well, of course, I felt that we have seen this before, and all it would produce is a kind of numbing shock. In many ways, to hear the tour guides recite the horrors to visiting tour groups put a mental image in the audience's mind that was more disturbing than any photo would be. I did film many testimonies from survivors, but as I proceeded with the film, I became more interested in the stories of the tour guides who live with these horrors in the present, and the tourists who come to learn more and experience an understanding of what happened in that place.

SM: I understand that you showed the film to a class of high school students in Salt Lake City. What was their reaction to the film?

RB: I was a little nervous that my film, which does move slowly and deliberately, would lose the interest of young people who are more used to the fast pace of videogames and music videos. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that they not only understood the messages of the film, but that they were deeply moved by the experience. In this way, I feel that my film has succeeded and remains relevant.

SM: What are your hopes now for the film?

RB: We have secured a sales agent with Jan Rofekamp of Films Transit and the film will be screening at the European Film Market next month. My hope is that we find a courageous theatrical distributor and that it will have a long life in the video/dvd and educational markets. My personal hope is that the film inspires people to be sensitive to issues of intolerance and prejudice and to make sure that these events do not get lost in history.

Comments

[Jennifer Forde]

I am trying to get in touch with Rex Bloomstein regarding a film that he made some years ago, entitled something liek, 'What to you expect, Paradise?'. I realise that you probably won't be able to pass out contact details but I would be very grateful if you could pass this inquiry on to him.
Many thanks.

[bruno chatelin]

I will try
bruno

[savyon liebrecht]

dear rex bloomstein,
i hope this mail will somhow get to you. i have just seen KZ on israeli tv and it is one of the most striking documentaries i have seen. probably because it is so different from what we are used to seeing. like one of the guides i'm obssessive about the subject of the holocaust. i'm an israeli writer and this is one of my main topics.
i just wanted to thank you for the film.
and shana tova' too.
savyon

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