Rachel Griffiths in Strangers to the World.
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The dramatised documentary Strangers to the World will have a world premiere online release with the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival from the 30th of June 2020.
The diaries of two people living through the Second World War come to dramatic life, affirming the power of conscience amidst political supremacy.
Crowdfunded with the Australian Cultural Fund, the film is a dramatised recount of the diaries and letters of Franz Kaegerstaetter and Etty Hillseum, two strangers living through the Second World War.
Strangers to the World is producer Jannine Barnes (Downriver) and is written, directed and produced by Grant Fraser.
Strangers to the World examines individual moral courage in the face of almost overwhelming pressure from the world to conform, and in doing so, act against the collective conscience. Etty Hillesum and Franz Jaegerstaetter are portrayed by Rachel Griffiths (Ride Like a Girl, Six Feet Under) and Oscar Redding (Puberty Blues, Van Diemen’s Land) respectively.
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These two seasoned actors bring to life deeply challenging issues in narrated and dramatised sequences. Each story is rendered more start and powerful for being drawn from their own words, through letters and historical material.
“This film is about two people, Etty Hillesum and Franz Jaegerstaetter, who stood their ground at great personal cost by weighing the demands of conscience against the most profound longings of their humanity,” said Fraser. “It is structured as a narrative documentary in which the stories are told in the context of their times, enhanced by dramatic scenes from their lives focusing on the times in which each character’s humanity was most confused and tested: the times when they are called to account to those they most love.”
“It truly is a privilege to be a part of telling the story of Franz, someone who I believe is truly heroic,” says Redding. “If there were more people like him in the world, it’d be a much better place.”
Tickets are available now via http://mdff.org.au/films/strangers-to-the-world, available to watch from the 30th of June.
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