PRESS KIT
"Based on a True Story"
In November 2010 filmmakers Gregory Erdstein and Alice Foulcher travelled to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum in Oświęcim, Poland.
They were both struck by the strange dichotomy of one of history's most horrific massacre sites now functioning as a tourist destination. Of particular note was the the behaviour of a young Norwegian woman in their tour group. She carelessly took photos of everything -- including in areas where photography wasn't permitted (e.g. a room of human hair recovered from Holocaust victims). While waiting for the bus back to Kraków, a young man travelling on his own from New Zealand confessed that during the tour the woman had also asked for his phone number.
"Is that appropriate?" he asked Erdstein and Foulcher.
PICKING UP AT AUSCHWITZ attempts to answer his question.
PRESS
Alice Foulcher and Gregory Erdstein at Flickerfest's Best of Melbourne Screening, February 2013
Interview on Film Buff's Forecast
Host Paul Harris
3RRR Melbourne Radio, Saturday 26 May, 2012
St Kilda Film Festival: final weekend highlights
By Fiona Villella
The Age, Melbourne, Friday 25 May, 2012, EG p.6
In a suburban park, a young woman shows her friend photos from her recent trip to Auschwitz. While baulking at various shocking images, the young woman gives her friend a schematic account of the history of Jewish extermination. The sweet irony comes when the young woman tells of how she ''picked up'' at Auschwitz. Is Picking up at Auschwitz a chilling reminder of the vacuity of Gen Y, or an utterly tasteless, unforgivable account of Jewish history? For St Kilda Film Festival director Paul Harris, it's one of those films that polarises audiences and gets people talking. More... |
St Kilda Film Festival
By Danny Gocs
The Australian Jewish News, Melbourne, Friday 25 May, 2012, p. 32
The program features hundreds of short films including two with Jewish themes -- Adam's Tallit a 16 minute drama directed by Justin Olstein set around Holocaust survivor Magda who isolates herself after the death of her husband; and the three-and-a-half minute film Picking Up At Auschwitz based on a true story witnessed by filmmakers Gregory Erdstein and Alice Foulcher during a visit to Auschwitz. |
Short shorts
By Hari Raj
The Weekly Review, Melbourne, Thursday 17 May, 2012
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So what stands out in 2012? Harris, as he has in years past, declines to pick which of his children he loves most, but brightens at the impact he is expecting one film to have. "It's called Picking Up At Auschwitz, and it's based on a true story," explains Harris. "It was made by a young Jewish filmmaker who was touring the concentration camp when he overheard a conversation between two tourists who were trying to pick each other up, treating this horrible place like an exotic holiday destination or a theme park. On one level it's a comedy, on another it's an indictment of how maybe we've forgotten history." More... |
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SPECIFICATIONS
Completion Date JANUARY 2012
Country of Origin AUSTRALIA
Running Time 03:37 MINS
Genre SATIRE
Language ENGLISH
Subtitles Available ENGLISH/FRENCH/POLISH
Aspect Ratio 16:9 F.H.A.
Shooting Format SUPER 16MM FILM
Sound STEREO
