''Silent Witness'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by

Harriet Wichin Harriet(t) may refer to: * Harriet (name), a female name ''(includes list of people with the name)'' Places *Harriet, Queensland, rural locality in Australia * Harriet, Arkansas, unincorporated community in the United States * Harriett, Texas, ...

and released in 1994.Bill Brownstein, "Unusual, subtle Holocaust documentary devoid of horrific images". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', October 29, 1994. The film documents the efforts of

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

survivors to preserve the sites of death camps such as

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

and

Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

as museums. One of the most unusual features of the film, relative to most Holocaust-related documentaries, is that it features no imagery taken directly from the Holocaust itself, instead depicting the camps entirely in their modern form and allowing the testimonies of Wichin's interview subjects to convey the horrors of the original events. The film premiered at the

1994 Toronto International Film Festival The 19th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 8 and September 17, 1994. '' Whale Music'' by Richard J. Lewis was selected as the opening film. The festival's name changed from ''Festiv ...

. The film received a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

nomination for Best Feature Length Documentary at the

16th Genie Awards The 16th Genie Awards were held on January 14, 1996, to honour films released in 1995."Two films divide Genie spoils". ''The Globe and Mail'', January 15, 1996. The ceremony took place in Montreal at Société Radio-Canada's Studio 42. For the fi ...

in 1995."Nominees for the 1995 Genie Awards".

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

, November 7, 1995.

References

External links

* 1994 films 1994 documentary films Canadian documentary films Documentary films about the Holocaust Jewish Canadian films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films {{1990s-Canada-documentary-film-stub