Singing in Oblivion

Eve Heller / Austria / 2021 / Czech Premiere / 13 min.

synopsis

This black and white film is a wordless meditation on death, memories, and their absence. The Währinger Jewish cemetery is bathed in sunlight and permeated by the singing of birds. Photos of unknown people, which the director discovered at a flea market and transferred from glass negatives to film stock, capture the past in its boundless anonymity. The film also recalls the genocide that attempted to erase Jewish culture from human memory.

“In honor of refugees past, present and future, facing the loss of life, loved ones, language, and homeland, in kindred empathy with their children, and in thanks to all those who offer compassionate sanctuary.” (Eve Heller)

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Source: https://www.sixpackfilm.com/en/catalogue/2772/

biography

Director, lecturer, and translator Eve Heller (* 1961) is an American of Austrian origin. Her parents fled the Nazi regime to the USA in 1938, but now Heller lives in Austria again. She often works with 16mm film stock and found footage materials.