Dark Lullabies

Thursday, August 01, 2019

The moral potency of Dark Lullabies awakens our sleeping conscience and renders the film unforgettable.

— Bernice Eisenstein, The Canadian Forum

Thirty years later, haunted by questions raised by reading her father’s manuscript, Irene Lilienheim Angelico embarks on a quest to understand her parents’ experiences in the feature documentary, Dark Lullabies.

Dark Lullabies is a film about a generation possessed by a history in which they played no part. The filmmaker Irene Lilienheim Angelico brilliantly explores the impact of the Holocaust on a generation of Jews and Germans born after the war. Now, years later, many children of Survivors feel deeply affected by their parents’ ordeal in the war, just as their German contemporaries have to live with the burden of guilt, or often denial, about the crimes of their parents’ generation.

Dark Lullabies has drawn large audiences and critical acclaim throughout the world and has brought home six top international film prizes, including First Prize at the International Film Festival in Mannheim, Germany, and First Prize for The Most Memorable Film at The World Television Festival in Tokyo.

Film information

Genre	Documentary
Released	1985
Duration	57 min./82 min.
Version française	Berceuse pour des ombres
Production	DLI Productions and the National Film Board of Canada
Produced by	Irene Lilienheim Angelico, Abbey Jack Neidik, Edward Le Lorrain, Bonnie Sherr Klein
Directed by	Irene Lilienheim Angelico, Abbey Jack Neidik
Written by	Irene Lilienheim Angelico, Gloria Demers
Director of photography	Susan Trow

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Tags: children of Nazis, children of survivors, Dachau, descendants of Holocaust survivors, Holocaust, Holocaust survivors, Liberation75, second generation Holocaust survivors, third generation Holocaust survivors, world gathering of Jewish Holocaust survivors and their children

Movie clips

Photo gallery

Awards
Screenings
Quotes
Reviews
Interview(s)
Testimonials
Credits

Prix du Public at the NFB’s “Salute to the Documentary” (Dark Lullabies selected as one of 50 best documentaries of all time)
Most Memorable Film – World Television Festival, Tokyo
Special Prize, Most Socially-Politically Engaging Film – International Film Festival of Mannheim
First Prize, Ecumenical Jury award – International Film Festival of Mannheim
Second Prize – Continuing Education Jury
Red Ribbon – American Film Festival
Torino International Festival of Young Cinema, Prize of the City of Torino – Best Feature Film Nominee (1986)