2024 Filmmaker in Residence
In 1933, the dream-life of many Germans changed - almost overnight. Like seismographs of unfolding terror, their dreams became vivid and cinematic, grotesque and darkly humorous. Bedside lamps “turn traitor” denouncing the people who own them, a factory owner is unable to raise his arm to salute Goebbels who hobbles away in disgust, dragging his club foot; Hitler is dressed in ballooning purple-satin clown’s trousers; a concentration camp doctor discovers he is wearing seductively high boots that sparkle like diamonds. These dreams bear witness to the Nazi invasion of the collective unconscious, and they only survive because one woman risked her life to record and preserve them.
Drawn from hours of rare audio-interview, alongside a newly-discovered archive of letters, manuscripts and photographs, ‘The Third Reich of Dreams’ documentary tells the captivating life-story of Jewish-journalist Charlotte Beradt, prominently featuring the almost-forgotten dream-collection she published in exile in the 1960’s. (Out of print in English for over 40 years, it will be republished by Princeton University Press after the US Election in 2024).
Exploiting the poetic language of dreams by playing with concepts of the real and imagined, the film seamlessly interweaves Charlotte’s biography together with impressionistic dream-reconstructions to immerse the audiences in a surreal cinematic landscape both illusory and historically engaging. Exploring how ordinary citizens, subjugated by political power, struggle for a form of expression in their dreams, it uncovers the hidden history of a country sleepwalking its way into evil.
Amanda Rubin is a documentary/specialist factual director who works across arts/music, history, current affairs, and science on scripted and observational documentaries, topical magazine, and short form. Her film credits include: 21st CENTURY MYTHOLOGIES (about the life of French philosopher Roland Barthes for BBC Four), DANCEWORKS (behind the scenes of great modern dancers) for BBC Four, two very high-rating ob-docs for Channel 4's flagship CUTTING EDGE Series (NURSES and A-is-for-ACCIDENT) A LATE SHOW Special: RUNAWAY WIVES AND HOME-ALONE KIDS for BBC 2, BROS: The DOCUMENTARY for SKY Tv, THE NEW RUSSIA (5-part geography series) for Channel 4, THE UNEXPLAINED for The History Channel, INSIDE THE HEIST for Discovery +.
Project description and bios courtesy of the Residents