Kurt Gerron's Karussell

This haunting film, which includes cabaret performances by some of today's young German stars and rare archival material from Weimar and Nazi Germany, tells the story of the Jewish actor who played the original Mack the Knife. Kurt Gerron was the toast of Berlin for his performance in the first Brecht/Weill stage production of THE THREE PENNY OPERA. The effervescent Gerron also made more than 70 films, working with the greatest German talent of the 1920s, including Marlene Dietrich. His cabaret was legendary throughout Europe. Spared from deportation until 1943 in exchange for entertaining, he was finally sent to Theresenstadt with many other Jewish artists and intellectuals. There he produced Kurt Gerron's Karusell, a world-class event, with a surreal cast of many of Europe's best performers. At Hitler's command, he also directed THE FUHRER GIVES THE JEWS A CITY, a propaganda film for which Gerron remains infamous. Austrian Jewish documentary filmmaker Ilona Ziok paints a masterful portrait of a wildly talented, blustery and conceited artist who needed a stage or a film set as much as he needed breath.

Born in Gliwice/Poland 1968 Emigrated to England, Secondary education there and in Frankfurt/M. 1975-1977 Theatre and film studies in New York (Columbia Univercity) 1977-1982 Attended the Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main; Masters Degree in International Relations, Slavian Literature as well as Theatre and Film Studies 1982-1985 Being exclusively mother 1985-1989 Schoolarship of the German Academy of Arts (DAAD) to the Film School in Moscow (VGIK), theme of the doctorate: Interpretation of Victor Rosows’ film scripts and plays (f.e. Letjat zuravli by Kolotozov, SU 1956) 1989 Director and writer for the German TV 1990 Established the feature and documentary company TV-Ventures Since 1995 also: Consultant for script development and European Co-Productions 1995 Co-laboration with Ciak Film, Thomas Mertesn 1999 both established CV Films Writer and director of documentary films a.o.: 1989 Der zweite Sieg des Jurij Vlasov“, 15 min., HR The heavyweight olympic challenges the KGB 1990 Du mein Kazimierz, shalom...“, 30 min., Rias TV Tracing Jewish culture in Cracow Hier sind wir daheim, with Frauke Sandig, 30 min., Rias TV Alientation and the homeland Die Juden von Minsk, 15 min., HR, About Jewish history in Minsk 1991 Wo ist die Straße, wo ist das Haus, 28 min., Rias TV A journey to Silesia through the eyes of a daughter 1992 Und dann mußten wir noch wat schwören - Special Olympics in Minneapolis, with Jacek Blawut, 45 min., SR/ARD 1993 Die Reise nach Tunesien - Psychisch Kranke machen Urlaub“, with Jacek Blawut, 45 min., SR, Mentally ill people go on holidays to Tunesia 1999 Kurt Gerrons KARUSSELL, 65/83 min., ARTE/SFB, Filmmuseum Amsterdam, Vera Vista Praha; starring Ute Lemper, Ben Becker, Max Raabe a.o. about the man who wasn’t only the magician in The Blue Angel Participation in more than 50 international film festival since 1999 (international awards and German OSCAR-nominee); among the festivals: Berlin, Telluride, St Petersburg, Sydney, Munich, San Francisco, Riccione, Lissabon, New York, Jerusalem, London, Leeds, Los Angeles, Hong-Kong, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paolo, Mexico, Madrid, Stockholm, Buenos Aires, Johanisburg etc.