Why I'm Alive

La SS : L'État barbare

July 2019 •French

Leningrad. Stimmen einer belagerten Stadt

January 2024 •German

It was one of the great crimes of the Second World War: from 1941 to 1944, a total of 872 days, the siege and starvation of Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht on Hitler's orders lasted. Over a million people fell victim to the blockade, most of them dying of hunger. Countless of these starving people wrote diaries with the last of their strength, and cameramen filmed in the paralyzed city. Evidence from the hell of the siege, many of the film recordings, but above all the written memories on which this documentary on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation is based, remained under lock and key after the war. The voices of those who had suffered through this terrible time should not be heard by anyone, because they did not fit the pathos of the Leningrad heroic song that was officially sung. Most of the recordings come from women. The writers feared neither the enemy nor the Communist Party or Stalin, who often proved incompetent in providing for the population.

My Zero Hour

April 1970 •German

Germany in 1943. The Berlin worker Klaus Hartung is deployed as a soldier to the Eastern front during World War II. During a tour, he is captured by a Russian patrol. While in captivity, Hartung comes to the conclusion that he has to come through and actively take part in the effort to end the war. He consents to abduct a German officer together with two Russian soldiers. During their adventurous mission, the men who at first had been enemies, become sincere friends.

The Battle of the Last Panzer

January 1969 •Italian

The Allied D-Day invasion is a success, and German forces begin leave Normandy. After an ambush takes out a set of Panzer tanks led by German Lt. Hunter, he finds himself alone with his unit in what may be the last Panzer that's still operational. While traveling through the French countryside, Cooper meets Jeanette, a woman who offers to lead the troops back to Germany, but his feelings for her get in the way of his survival instincts.

O.S.S.

May 1946 •English

The (O)ffice of (S)trategic (S)ervices' Cmdr. Brady (Patric Knowles) forms Operation "Applejack" (based on a composite of actual incidents during WWII) and sends Lt. (j.g.) Philip Masson, U.S.N.R. aka John Martin as spy Philippe Martine (Alan Ladd) along with Miss Ellen Rogers posing as her college roommate, Madame Elaine Duprez (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and Robert Bouchet, Tech Sgt., A.U.S. as Albert Bernardito (Richard Benedict) to acquire secret Nazi plans. After nearly getting caught they succeed and get new identities. However they discover a secret that could change the war and risk their lives to get the information back to London before it jeopardizes their lives.

My Way Home

January 1965 •Hungarian

During WWII, a young Hungarian captured by the Soviets is left in the custody of a young Soviet soldier to assist him on a dairy farm.

Porcelain Unicorn

September 2010 •German

In 1940s Germany, a young boy stumbles upon a Jewish girl in hiding.

Heleno

September 2011 •Portuguese

José Henrique Fonseca crafts an ambitious and long overdue homage to a central icon in Brazil’s 20th century history. Reminiscent of film noir classics, the biopic tells the glorious and tragic story of the legendary football striker Heleno de Freitas. The sumptuous black and white cinematography reflects the chic life of Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s as it fell under the spell of sports royalty. Heleno was no doubt one of the most popular players of his time for his bravura in the field and magnificent goal-scoring that lead the Botafogo team to the top and himself into a vicious downward spiral.

The Sun

February 2005 •Russian

A re-imagination of Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s final days in power as WWII draws to a close.

Berlin Correspondent

August 1942 •English

Dana Andrews plays Bill Roberts, an American radio commentator station in Berlin in the months before Pearl Harbor. Having witnessed Nazi brutalities first hand, Roberts hopes to alert his listeners of impending dangers, and does so by sending out coded messages during his broadcasts. The Gestapo begins to suspect something and assigns glamorous secret agent Karen Hauen (Virginia Gilmore) to spy on Roberts. When she discovers that her own father (Erwin Kaiser) is supplying Roberts with vital secrets, she turns her back on the Nazis and joins our hero in his efforts.

Atlantic Convoy

July 1942 •English

American naval forces are using a port in Iceland as a base for anti-submarine patrols to protect North Atlantic convoys from Nazi subs. The Nazis send undercover agents into the port in a scheme to blow up the entrance to the harbor and keep the patrols blocked in. The officers in charge of the patrols have to find the spies and stop them before they achieve their objective.

Manila Calling

October 1942 •English

During WWII, a group of brave Americans spy on the Japanese after their invasion of the Philippines and became the first U.S. Guerrilla fighters.

Yesterday's Enemy

September 1959 •English

Set during the Burma Campaign of World War 2, this is the story of courage and endurance of the soldiers struggling at close quarters against the enemy. The film examines the moral dilemmas ordinary men face during war, when the definitions of acceptable military action and insupportable brutality become blurred and distorted.

Sundown

October 1941 •English

Englishmen fighting Nazis in Africa discover an exotic mystery woman living among the natives and enlist her aid in overcoming the Germans.

Don't Believe that I'm No Longer Here

December 1975 •Georgian

The film is based on a real story. Climbers found the purse of a military postman killed during World War II, letters sent 30 years later.

Inside the Third Reich

May 1982 •English

A dramatization of the life of Albert Speer, Hitler's young architect and onetime confidant, and his meteoric rise into the Nazi hierarchy. Based upon Speer's own monograph of the same title.

Örlogsmän

January 1943 •Swedish

The trio Erik, Arne and Ingrid have been friends since childhood, the two boys always competing for the affection of Ingrid. At the naval academy Erik gets into a fistfight and is expelled, to instead become a captain of a trading ship. Before he leaves Ingrid and Erik are engaged in secret. Later, when Erik is believed to be lost at sea, Ingrid instead gets engaged with Arne.

The Navy Comes Through

October 1942 •English

A U.S. Navy crew aboard a merchant marine ship battle Nazis.

15 Lads

January 2011 •French

Summer 1944, France. Racine is a carefree 19-year-old first-aid worker, his secret desire is to be able to sleep with Isabelle, the girl he's in love with. One evening they are about to take the plunge, but a resistance fighter comes to ask for help. Racine goes up to the maquis to impress the young girl and joins a group of fifteen immature boys. But up there, nothing goes as planned. The war catches up with them, brutally marking the end of an innocence and Racine finds himself caught in the crossfire.

My Way

December 2011 •Korean

During the invasion of Normandy the photograph of a slim Korean man in German uniform was found. It transpired that the man had served as a soldier in the Japanese, Russian and German armies. His incredible story inspired director Kang Je-Gyu to create this epic war drama.