FRIEHEIT
Freiheit is a thematic journey of sacrifice and hope told through a young Jewish boy entering a concentration camp in World War II. With his mother by his side, we follow the traumatic events that threaten their survival and hope to be together.
Director's Statement
The holocaust. A terrifying tribulation that left not only one of the deepest cultural scars within the last century, but throughout all of humanity. The horror of such an ordeal, though impact-full through films and photographic glimpses, is dwarfed in comparison to the retelling by those who lived it. Those who survived unspeakable atrocities made it a point to tell their traumatic stories to anyone willing to listen. Anyone willing to remember in hopes of never allowing a similar ordeal in their lifetime or the next.
The Story
Freiheit begins on a train, as it carries several people to Auschwitz camp including Helga and her son Joseph. As the prisoners disembark the train, they are disoriented by multiple dogs barking and soldiers yelling at them. Helga and Joseph are separated whereas many children with their mothers are sent to the gas chambers. Helga manages to slip a ring to a young guard with the hope that he can protect Joseph, and luckily Helga is not sent to the gas chambers yet. Joseph continues on as he and many others get their heads shaved, tattooed, and disinfected. Several more atrocities occur as Joseph witnesses people being tested, people getting dragged after falling from exhaustion, new prisoners entering the camp, sleeping in over stuffed cabins on straw beds, and eating small portions of soup. While Joseph gets his bowl of soup, the young guard from earlier gives him a piece of bread. Joseph takes the bread back to his mother, only to find her empty bed.
Behind the Scenes
The Crew
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| Hansjeet Duggal Director/Producer |
Coming from a colorful land of diverse culture, Hansjeet first fell in love with animation at the age of 8, when he would scribble sketches from life and books. During this time, he took professional training in animation and went on to earn his Masters in Animation in 2013 where he rediscovered his love for French Animation and has rendered his skills to many government bodies in India, and clients from Japan, Denmark, Australia, and Canada. He even setup an e-learning Non Governmental Organization to impart education to the children. His animations got awarded in USA which brought him to California to finesse his skills in story telling and polished his skills at Chapman University emphasizing in Editing.
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| Jonathan Hirsch Writer |
Jonathan is an award winning writer coming from the southern shores of Cape May, NJ. With former jobs ranging from financial analyst to board game designer, he took the leap to California to follow his dream of being a writer for television. Having recently finished his MBA and MFA at Chapman, Jonathan is working as a development coordinator for APA where he provides development notes on studio features and client projects alike. But between story meetings and reading scripts, Jonathan is constantly honing his craft; looking to develop the next innovative way one tells a story.
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| Anton Jireck DOP |
From the colorful Pacific Northwest, Anton discovered his passion for the outdoors at a young age. He attended the University of Idaho where he majored in both Broadcasting and Music Composition. Anton has served both as a cinematographer and composer on various shorts. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the clarinet and hiking.
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| Shamola Kharkar Associate Producer |
From an early age, she was influenced by legendary and classic filmmakers from both Hollywood and Bollywood, inspiring her to take up theater in high school and eventually filmmaking. She is an individual who seeks different story angles and ideas, and wants to present them in a fresh, creative manner. Coming from a multicultural background, she intends on providing a different perspective towards content and filmmaking. She wants to be an all rounded filmmaker and be able to put different hats on, and be part in any way possible to create great content for viewers.
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| Rachel Bassett Sound Engineer |
Rachel Bassett (sometimes called Super-Sound- Girl) didn’t discover the magic of sound design until 6 years go, but once she did she fell in love with it so much that she changed her major (so long astrophysics!) and ultimately received her B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Design & Technology (emphasis in Sound Design) from the University of Central Oklahoma. Rachel hopes to one day be a teacher so she can share her love of sound with anyone and everyone she encounters while still having the time to create new aural worlds of her own.
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| Anne Jimkes Sound Designer |
Anne is a sound designer, composer, scholar, and visual artist from the Netherlands, who is passionate about creating original, immersive sound, music, and images to tell inspiring and moving stories. She loves to learn about new technologies such as Virtual Reality and dreams about creating fantastical sound design for animation.
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| Risabh Banshkar Stereographer |
Risabh Banshkar is an Indian independent Animation Artist. He got his animation training from National Institute of Design . Apart from his love for animation he loves to make music and is a Indian classically trained percussionist. Risabh Has worked on two animation short films “dhann-jani” and “the tribute” which has been well received by many film festivals. His dream is to become an Animation film director.
