Fulwell73, the indie behind I Am Bolt, Hitsville: The Making of Motown, Sunderland ‘Till I Die and Class of ‘92, has announced its latest documentary series commission Auschwitz Untold In Colour for More4 in the UK.
The series features the testimony of more than 15 Holocaust survivors including the seldom heard voice of a Romani holocaust survivor and a member of the Jewish underground who participated in armed resistance against the Nazis as her entire family was being murdered in a death camp.
These survivors in their 80s and 90s provide first-hand accounts in the dark shadow of Auschwitz and the Final Solution. Against this backdrop, the series will reveal Nazi plans for cultural genocide against Jews and the Romani people.
The series also shows, for the first-time, colourisation of black and white archive footage including of the Nazi concentration camps.
The Fulwell73 series is being produced and directed by BAFTA winner David Shulman (Basquiat: Rage to Riches, Gettys: The World’s Richest Art Dynasty), development producer Sheldon Lazarus, Fulwell73 (Auschwitz: The Final Witness, The Last 100 Days of Princess Diana, The Billion Pound Hotel, Liberty of London) and executive produced by Fulwell73 partner Leo Pearlman and BAFTA winner Neil Grant (The Murder Detectives, Is Labour Anti-Semitic? and The Paras: Men of War).
The 2 x 60 mins series will be broadcast on More4 in the UK this month as part of the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The films will have a selected theatrical release.
Fulwell73’s Sheldon Lazarus, development producer of Auschwitz Untold In Colour, said: “The 16 survivors who feature in this series tell their extraordinary accounts of survival and resistance against all odds in their own voices, and accompanied by remarkable colourised footage from the archives, we hope this series will help remove a barrier that separates contemporary audiences from the reality of the Holocaust so that we never ever forget the atrocities of the past.
With the 75th anniversary to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz in 2020 we felt it was really timely and important to bring to life the untold stories of the Holocaust in a new way.”
David Shulman, Producer/Director of Auschwitz Untold In Colour said: “My ambition in making Auschwitz Untold was to have as much contemporary resonance as possible. The colourisation of black and white archive is one aspect of making this history more accessible to a younger audience and giving greater humanity to the people seen in the footage.
Also, by including a Jewish resistance fighter from Vilna and a Roma holocaust survivor from France I think Auschwitz Untold In Colour adds unique perspectives typically overlooked by most documentaries about the Holocaust.”
Picture credit: Serge Klarsfeld Lily Jacob-Zelmanovic Meier
Staff Reporter
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