Teen Screen Films
HOLOCAUST FILMS
A Bag of Marbles
German, Yiddish, Russian, and French, with English subtitles
This is the true story of two young Jewish brothers in German occupied France who, with a mind-boggling mix of mischievousness, courage, and ingenuity, are forced to fend for themselves in order to survive the enemy invasion and bring their family back together.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
Sub-themes: perseverance, coping with adversity, bravery, bystanders versus upstanders, coming of age
Brundibar Revisited
German, with English subtitles
A Berlin-based youth group stages the opera Brundibar, which was originally performed more than 50 times by Jewish children in the Theresienstadt ghetto. Once immersed in rehearsals, they travel to Theresienstadt, meet a very special Holocaust survivor, and start questioning their complacent attitude towards German history.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
Sub-themes: propaganda, strength and resilience, art as an escape and as a teaching tool, relationships across generations
The Crossing
Norwegian, with English subtitles
Available December 1, 2020
This docudrama is based on a true story of 10-year-old Gerda and her brother Otto, whose parents are in the Norwegian resistance during World War II. After Gerda and Otto’s parents are arrested, the siblings are put in the position of helping two Jewish children flee from the Nazis into Sweden.
Recommended for all grades.
Sub-themes: courage, resistance, friendship, bystanders versus upstanders, coming of age
Fanny's Journey
French, with English subtitles
Thirteen-year-old Fanny grows up fast as she is forced to parent a group of younger children on the run from the Nazis. This beautifully shot, heartfelt film highlights a young person’s resolve, bravery, and compassion in the face of great risk.
Recommended for grades 6-12.
Holocaust Shorts
English, German, and Turkish, with English subtitles
A program of short films curated to introduce students to little known stories of the Holocaust, international film, and different filmmaking techniques. The selection includes documentary, narrative, and animated films.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
Sub-themes: the power of one person to make a change, coping with adversity, response to evil, survival
Inside Hana's Suitcase
Czech and English, with English subtitles
The arrival of Hana Brady’s battered suitcase to the director of the Holocaust Museum in Tokyo prompts the director and her students to uncover the details of Hana’s life. As small children, Hana and her brother, George, were sent to Theresienstadt for being Jewish after the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939. Children from Japan, Canada, and the Czech Republic, along with George Brady, who survived the Holocaust, describe Hana’s story, creating a film of astonishing power and hope.
Recommended for grades 6-8.
Sub-Themes: bullying, children and children’s rights, Japanese culture, persistence, teamwork, tolerance
Trailer
Light of Hope
Spanish, with English subtitles
This film tells the inspiring story of Elisabeth Eidenbenz, the director of the Elne maternity home—a refuge for pregnant women fleeing the Spanish Civil War and Vichy refugee camps in the 1930s and 40s. Based on a true story.
Recommended for grades 9-12.
Sub-themes: the power of one person to make a change, heroism, perseverance, survival, strong women
Nicky's Family
English
For nearly 50 years, Nicholas Winton kept secret how he saved the lives of 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Today there are more than 6,000 descendants of the children Winton saved, 26 of which are featured in this moving documentary.
Recommended for grades 7-12.
Sub-themes: the power of one person to enact change, heroism, perseverance
Once in a Lifetime
French, with English subtitles
A dedicated history teacher enrolls a group of unruly inner-city kids in a national competition whose theme is child victims of the Holocaust. The students are resistant, but a visit to the classroom by a Holocaust survivor moves the bar just enough for some of them to begin the journey to self-enlightenment.
Recommended for grades 9-12.
Sub-themes: role models and mentors, teamwork, overcoming differences, coping with adversity
La Rafle / The Roundup
French, with English subtitles
This acclaimed French epic depicts the true story of the mass arrest and detainment of the Jews of Paris in the summer of 1942, later known as the Vel d’Hiv Roundup. "La Rafle" is a sensitive exploration of this long taboo subject in France and its effects on the French authorities, Jewish victims, and city of Paris. The exquisite beauty of Paris during war time is brought to stirring life by French stars Mélanie Laurent and Jean Reno.
Recommended for grades 10-12.
Sub-themes: altruism, tolerance/intolerance, determination, victims/oppressors, hardship, survival
Trailer
Run Boy Run
Polish, German, Russian, and Yiddish, with English subtitles
This film tells the extraordinary true story of a Polish boy who seeks the kindness of others in his solitary struggle to outlast the Nazi occupation and keep alive his Jewish faith.
Recommended for grades 7-12.
Sub-themes: family ties, loss, bystander/upstander, perseverance, bravery, survival, resistance movement
Secrets of War
Dutch, with English subtitles
Three best friends pass their days playing soldiers and exploring local caves, mimicking a war that seems far removed from their everyday life. When the realities of war find them, it comes to light that one friend’s family sympathizes with the Nazi cause, another’s supports the resistance, and the third is Jewish, passing as a Christian to survive. Coping with these differences puts their friendship in jeopardy and their lives in danger.
Recommended for grades 7-10.
Sub-themes: friendship, loyalty, resistance movement
To Life!
German, with English subtitles
This film portrays a woman who is a Holocaust survivor. While set in the present, we learn about the woman’s story through flashbacks. Her history weighs heavily on her as she ages, but she unexpectedly receives help from a young man who has troubles of his own. This is a story about survival and support across generations.
Recommended for grades 11-12.
Sub-themes: lingering effects of survival, mental illness, post-traumatic stress, inter-generational relationships, self-worth
Genocide Films
Angkor's Children
English
After the Khmer Rouge regime tragically killed 90% of artists and intellectuals, the accomplishments of a group of artists provide hope for post-conflict Cambodia. Told through the voices of young women—a singer of Buddhist poetry, a circus artist, and garment workers who form a grassroots protest band—this film demonstrates the power of art to heal a nation after genocide.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
Sub-themes: traditions, national identity, Cambodian history and culture, women’s rights, free speech, healing through art
Sweet Dreams
English, Kinyarwandan, with English subtitles
Rwanda’s first and only all-female drumming troupe is made up of women from both sides of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, offering a place for reconciliation. When the troupe decides to partner with two young American entrepreneurs to open Rwanda’s first ever ice cream shop, these remarkable women embark on a journey of independence, peace, and possibility.
Recommended for grades 9-12.
Sub-themes: poverty, Rwandan history and culture, problem-solving, friendship, peace, team-building, personal growth
HUMAN RIGHTS / SOCIAL JUSTICE FILMS
Blood Brother
English
A young man from a fractured family and troubled past, Rocky Braat leaves his life, friends, and career to travel through India. There he meets a group of HIV positive children living in an orphanage—and his life changes forever. In an effort to find out what compelled Rocky to reject his life in Pittsburgh for a life of unspeakable hardship in India, his best friend traces Rocky’s story through this beautiful documentary.
Recommended for grades 9-12.
Sub-themes: altruism, coming-of-age, friendship, belonging, abandonment, survival
Civil Rights Short Film Program
The African-American Experience
English
We have curated a program of short films to expose aspects of African American life in the US, from the Jim Crow era through the present.
Recommended for grades 7-12.
Sub-themes: racism, injustice, overcoming life’s obstacles, hope
Day of the Western Sunrise
Japanese, with English subtitles
On March 1, 1954, the United States detonated the thermonuclear bomb Castle Bravo in the Pacific Ocean, catching the fishing vessel Lucky Dragon No. 5 in the blast. In this locally produced film, traditional Japanese animation methods illuminate the story, and Japanese survivors discuss their experience and how it has affected their lives.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
Sub-themes: nuclear proliferation, foreign policy, climate change, generational legacies
A Focus on Disabilities
Short Films that Highlight Diversity and Inclusion
English
Included in this short film program are stories of people with physical, intellectual, and mental disabilities. The viewer will understand the obstacles faced by and the resilience of people with disabilities and their communities.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
Sub-themes: accommodations for people with disabilities, acceptance of differences, perseverance, the human condition
Not My Life
English
Filmed on five continents and in a dozen countries, this film takes viewers into a world where millions of children are exploited every day, through an astonishing array of practices including forced labor, domestic servitude, begging, sex tourism, sexual violence, and child soldiering. In a beautiful collage of interviews and footage, this film elucidates a defining human rights issue of our time.
Recommended for grades 9-12.
Sub-themes: global awareness, human trafficking, modern slavery
Liyana
English
Five orphaned children in Swaziland work together to craft a fairytale drawn from their darkest memories and their brightest dreams. In their work, they create an inspiring tale of perseverance.
Recommended for all Teen Screen audiences.
Sub-themes: family ties, African Studies, arts, human rights, resilience, storytelling, HIV/AIDS
Refugee Shorts
English, Arabic Languages, and Spanish, with English subtitles
This program of short films highlights the refugee experience, from decisions to leave one’s home country, thorough travel to a final destination, to resettlement. There is a special focus on language—as a barrier to integration, its importance in integration, and various accommodations.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
Sub-themes: Syrian civil war, world peace, language and education, perseverance, the human condition
Without a Fight
English
Set in a slum in Nairobi, Kenya, against a backdrop of bloody political unrest, village youth put aside their often warring ethnic and religious tribalism to battle for supremacy on the soccer field. Both eye-opening and inspiring, this documentary illustrates the healing power of team athletics.
Recommended for grades 7-12.
Sub-themes: poverty, cultural awareness, problem-solving, friendship, peace, team-building, personal growth