email Join our email list! divider Register Login cartCart
Icarus Film
Films from independent
producers worldwide.
32 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201divider(718) 488 8900
Amateur Photographer
Directed by Irina Gedrovich
 Text Size  Increase Font Size   Decrease Font Size   divider Printable VersionPrintable Version

As a young man in Germany during the Thirties, Gerhard M. was an amateur photographer who preserved his work in a photo album. In 1941, when he was sent to the Eastern Front as a German soldier, he took along a camera to record his combat experiences in the Soviet Union.

film still

Based on his wartime diary and photo album, AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER recounts Gerhard M.'s experiences with his unit, which was engaged in "retaliatory measures in captured areas." Eager to document his wartime exploits, Gerhard took numerous photos, including both quickly-recorded snapshots and carefully composed portraits His subjects included fellow soldiers, Soviet prisoners and other civilian victims of the war, the Germany army's expropriation of livestock and other food supplies from the local populace, and a temporary leave spent happily in Berlin with his fiancée.

film still

After the war, as a citizen of the German Democratic Republic and a dues-paying member of the Soviet-German Friendship Society, Gerhard M. came to regret his enthusiasm for photography. The discovery by East German Communist authorities of his incriminating diary and photo album, replete with horrific images of executions and other atrocities, no longer regarded as personal souvenirs but as legal evidence, led to Gerhard M.'s conviction by a Soviet court and his execution by firing squad in 1952.

"Provides a unique insight into the reality of war, where shooting has become trivial, where killing is a duty."—The International Culture Forum in Sweden

"Highly intelligent… striking."—George Robinson, Jewish Week

"A riveting story."—Jana Prikryl, The Reeler.com

2005 Grand Prix, Humanity in the World Film Festival
2005 Best Short Documentary, Jewish Eye Film Festival
2005 Award for Artistic Reflection of Reality, Ekaterinburg Film Festival
2005 Berlin Film Festival

26 minutes / Color
Russian
Release: 2007
Copyright: 2004

For colleges, universities, government agencies, hospitals and corporations

This DVD is sold with a license for institutional use and Public Performance rights.

Subject areas:
Black & White, Eastern Europe, Germany, History (World), Human Rights, Photography, Russia, World War II

Related Links:
View a PDF of the Film's Press Kit

Related Titles:
Home | New | Titles | Subjects | Ordering   
About | Best Sellers | Filmmakers | Screenings   
address
  Follow Us! On...
Facebook Follow Icarus Films on Twitter Instagram Vimeo YouTube
Copyright (c) 2024, Icarus Films
Last Updated January 25, 2024 [Build 3.0.a060-d7]
Privacy Policy