Dramatic fates

The Vatican looks to Burgenland with fascination

Producer Norbert Blecha (right) with former Chancellor Franz Vranitzky at the premiere in Kobersdorf.(Bild: Grammer Karl)

Norbert Blecha's moving Lackenbach documentary is in the hunt for the Silverfish award at the major Catholic film festival in February. Excerpts can be seen today at 4.30 pm on ORF2.

Contemporary history that gets under your skin and deep into your heart: the highly topical Terra-Film documentary "Lackenbach. Meine Kehillah" by producer Norbert Blecha takes a profound look into a cruel past. Based on very personal fates, it shows the Holocaust and its dramatic consequences.

Concrete insights
Lackenbach was once the largest Jewish community in Burgenland until National Socialism brutally destroyed the flourishing culture. Before the much-acclaimed documentary comes more into focus internationally, TV viewers now have the special opportunity to gain concrete insights into a past that is still far from being dealt with historically. Today, Sunday, "Lackenbach. Meine Kehillah" can be seen in an abridged version on ORF2 at 4.30 pm as part of the program "Erlebnis Österreich".

Numerous guests of honor attended the presentation and were deeply moved.(Bild: Grammer Karl)

Presentation in Budapest
In February, the moving documentary will be shown at the Vatican Film Festival "Mirabile Dictu". Norbert Blecha will therefore not be on the high-caliber jury this time. The Silverfish, inspired by the symbol of the first Christians, will be awarded in several categories. Another presentation of the documentary will take place in Budapest, Hungary, at the end of January, featuring actors such as David Joseph, a British crown prosecutor.