HARBOUR OF HOPE / HÅBETS HAVN
One-off documentary, 75 min. + 56 min., 2011
In the Swedish town Malmö in the spring of 1945, lifelines connected when 30.000 exhausted survivors of the war arrived at the harbour.
Harbour of Hope (Hoppets hamn) is a heartbreaking, but life-affirming documentary about the beyond belief life stories of Irene Krausz-Fainman, Ewa Kabacinska Jansson and Joe Rozenberg. In 1945 they were among the 30.000 survivors that were rescued from German concentration camps and brought to the peaceful harbour town of Malmö, Sweden. There life began again. Coming to Sweden in 1945 is a defining moment in the lives of Irene, Ewa and Joe. In Harbour of Hope they reveal their stories – from the complicated moments of freedom to the mysteries and questions still haunting them today.
Director Magnus Gertten
Producer Vibeke Vogel, Lennart Ström, AutoImages
Script Magnus Gertten
Editor Jesper Osmund
In co-production with SVT, Film i Skåne, KinoPravda, Bow and Axe Entertainment, Telewizja Polska, WDR Cologne,Eikon Media
Awards Special Jury Mention at Krakow Film Festival
TRAILER
Magnus Gertten
Magnus Gertten has a background as a TV and radio journalist. He lives and works in Malmö. Since 1998, he has directed a large number of documentaries for SVT and international TV stations. Several of them have had cinema premieres and have been shown at festivals around the world. Among Magnus Gertten's most high-profile films are "Blådårar, Vägen väggen" (True Blue 2), "Gå loss" (Get busy), "Rolling Like a Stone" and "Long Distance Love". The award winner "Rolling Like a Stone", the film won the "Best Music Documentary" award at Silver Docs, USA, in 2006. "Long Distance Love" had its international premiere at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in March 2009. The jury at the Planete Doc Review in Warsaw gave the film a "Special Mention" along the way in May 2009 with the motivation: "A beautiful and universal film about love and hope under rough circumstances". In 2008, Gertten received the prestigious grant of SEK 1 million from Stiftelsen Artister Mot Nazister for his initiated work with "Harbour of Hope".