Kurt Gerron,German war hero, was a well-loved Jewish actor, singer and director in Berlin in the 1920s and 30s until his world came crashing down. He was sent to Terezin (Theresienstadt), a concentration camp where numerous other artists, writers, and musicians were also held. He was forced to direct a propaganda film for his Nazi captors, portraying the camp as a happy, healthy place where the arts flourished.
Prisoner of Paradise, shot on location in Berlin, Paris and Terezin, interweaves Gerron's Faustian personal story into the setting of these grim times, with archival footage and interviews. See the story behind Terezin, which inspired Journey of Butterfly, and see footage of the children's opera Brundibar.
100 min.
