In her early 20s, Irene Gut Opdyke was hired by Wehrmacht Major Eduard Rügemer to work as the housekeeper in the Polish villa he had requisitioned. Risking her life, Irene hid 12 Jews in the cellar… and when Rügemer found out, she bought his complicity by agreeing to become his mistress. Opdyke later won the Nations Medal for her immense courage, and her story became a Broadway play by Dan Gordon in 2008, and now a film, directed by Louise Archibault (And the Birds Rained Down; Gabrielle).
Former child actress Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief; Yellowjackets) truly comes of age, here, with her heartrending portrait of a young woman whose moral conscience compels her to risk everything to thwart the evils of fascism. Dougray Scott (Ever After: A Cinderella Story; Mission: Impossible II) portrays the German officer. It’s a fascinating complement to Jonathan Glazer’s Zone of Interest, also screening at VIFF.
October 1: Q&A with director Louise Archambault
Sophie Nélisse, Dougray Scott, Andrzej Seweryn, and Maciek Nawrocki
Canada/Poland
2023
Panorama
English
Violence, Antisemitism
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Noah Segal, Laurie May, John K MacDonald, Eleanor Wiebe, Don Depoe, Michael Feehan and Sharon Azrieli
Producer
Nicholas Tabarrok, Beata Pisula, Tim Ringuette, Berry Meyerowitz, Jeff Sackman
Screenwriter
Dan Gordon
Cinematography
Paul Sarossy
Editor
Arthur Tarnowski
Production Design
Joanna Białousz
Original Music
Alexandra Stréliski
Director
Louise Archambault
Screenwriter and director Louise Archambault made her debut with the internationally acclaimed film Atomic Saké. Her first feature film Familia won Best Canadian First Feature Film at TIFF and received a Genie Award. Louise launched her second film Gabrielle at Locarno and won the Audience Award. The film, selected to represent Canada at the Oscars and the Golden Globes in 2014, won many international prizes. In 2019, Louise released two feature films, And the Birds Rained Down, and Merci Pour Tout. These films both got considerable box office, ranking respectively 2nd and 3rd position in Canada. Louise just finished shooting the tv series Survivre À Ses Enfants, a comedy for Radio‐Canada.
Filmography: Familia (2005); Gabrielle (2014); And the Birds Rained Down (2019); Merci pour tout (2019); Le temps d’un été (2023)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Giant
This was the Yellowstone of its time: a big, sweeping modern Western built around an imposing ranch and family dynamics -- except Giant is much more subversive. James Dean strikes it rich as Jett Rink, much to the disgust of his former boss, Rock Hudson.
Familiar Touch
A loving portrait of an octogenarian transitioning into an assisted living facility, this award-winning first feature by choreographer Sarah Friedland has a simplicity and warmth that's exceptionally poignant.
Super Happy Forever
This beguiling film depicts a man’s return to the Japanese seaside town where he met his now-deceased wife five years earlier. He tries to relive the past, and in the film's final section -- a flashback to 2018 -- the audience is afforded that privilege.
A Streetcar Named Desire
"I don't want realism. I want magic!" declares Blanche du Bois, the tragic heroine who meets her nemesis in her sister's husband, Stanley Kowalski, in Tennessee Williams' great play. Brando's performance as Stanley is a turning point in American acting.
Georgia O'Keeffe: the Brightness of Light
Drawing on her copious correspondence and the world's leading scholars, this is a definitive documentary on the life and work of "the mother of American Modernism."
