In his documentary film, Klaus Stanjek explores the family mystery surrounding his uncle. His uncle Willi was a professional musician and performed all over Germany for over five decades, including in Passau. He was always in a good mood and popular with everyone. In his family, however, he was considered a black sheep whose life was little talked about. It was not until he was 40 that Stanjek learned that his uncle had spent eight years in a concentration camp because of his sexual orientation. How did it come about? How did he manage to survive the imprisonment? Why was it never talked about in the family? Stanjek explores these and other questions in his film. He takes the audience on a search for clues that not only sheds light on the life of his uncle and his family, but also provides clues about the way society as a whole dealt with National Socialism, concentration camp imprisonment and homosexuality.
The film, which has won several awards, impresses not only with its courage in bringing this intra-family theme to the screen, but above all with its creative and varied, partly animated film language. This gives the family silence the sound that served as Willi Heckmann’s elixir of life.
The director Klaus Stanjek will be available for questions and discussion after the film.
Start: 8.15 pm
Place: ProLi Cinema, Passau
Admission online: Floor 9 € / Box 11 € / Premium 14 €
Admission box office: Stalls 10 € / Loge 12 € / Premium 15 €
