Route to Paradise
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| Route to Paradise | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Thomas Gardner |
| Written by | Thomas Gardner |
| Produced by | Trevor Avery Thomas Gardner |
| Cinematography | Thomas Gardner Dylan Kirby-Smith |
| Music by | Con Daniels |
Production companies | LDHP Another Space |
Release date | May 17th 2020 |
Running time | 33 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | English German |
Route to Paradise is a 2020 British short documentary film written, produced and directed by Thomas Gardner.[1][2] The films follows a team of archaeologists from Staffordshire University as they attempt to uncover the former Calgarth Estate, the site where 300 Jewish children were re-located to after being liberated from Nazi Germany's concentration camps during the Holocaust.[3]
The film generated positive reviews from the Jewish community and critics for its depiction of the survivors stories as a narrative in the film. The title of the film is based on a quote from one of the survivors during an interview, where they described coming “from hell to paradise”[4], with an exhibition of the story being titled "the paradise route".[5]
Development
During Christmas 2018, artist and curator Trevor Avery approached filmmaker Thomas Gardner to make a film about the excavation and surveying of the former Calgarth Estate.[6][7] An appeal was later released into the press for stories and photographs pertaining to the survivors from local residents who had been around during their time in the Lake District.[8][9] The planned dig had been given the go ahead after being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.[10][11] When Gardner agreed to direct, the film gained funding from Great Places: Lakes and Dales and the Acorn Initiative, as well as further funding from Another Space, South Lakeland District Council and the LDHP.
Production
Principal photography began early February 2019 in Oświęcim, Poland at Auschwitz concentration camp.[12] Production was then moved back to the UK, where the crew spent two weeks filming on the grounds at The Lakes School with the archaeologists when the excavation began on July 15th 2019[13], then travelled to Nottingham to interview Norman Shepherd, a flight engineer with RAF Squadron 196. He was on the flight that brought the Windermere Children to England and is the last surviving member of the crew for that flight. The film was shot over a period of 5 months, featuring interviews with Arek Hersh and Sam Gontarz, two of the 300 children who had been liberated from concentration camps and re-settled in England. The main bulk of the footage came from survivor testimonies intertwined with footage from the excavation/survey of the Calgarth Estate, headed by forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls[14][15] who is most famous for her forensic examination of the Treblinka extermination camp.[16]
Principal photography ended on July 27th, 2019. The film went through a series of edits over the course of nine months to achieve the best possible structure to tell the story of the archaeological survey and to stay true to the story of the Windermere Children. The film was shot in 1080p High Definition.
Release
The film was originally scheduled to be released sometime earlier in the year, however it was pushed back due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. It was released onto YouTube on May 17th 2020[17].
References
- ^ Taylor, Dan. “Documentary to capture stories of Lake District links to Holocaust survivors” North West Evening Mail. 21 June 2019
- ^ IMDb."Thomas Gardner Biography"
- ^ Thomas, Andrew. “Story of Holocaust link to area to be retold” The Westmorland Gazette. 29 June 2019
- ^ Avery, Trevor. “We came from hell to paradise”. Lake District Holocaust Project. 17 June 2019
- ^ Atkins, Chris. “Paradise Route”. Lake District Holocaust Project. 17 June 2019
- ^ Zeller, Mike. "Documentary on Calgarth Estate announced" BBC Radio Cumbria. 21 June 2019
- ^ Smith, Rosemary. “Holocaust documentary planned for The Windermere Boys” Lake District Holocaust Project. 5 February 2019
- ^ BBC News Live. “Filmmaker appeals for memories of 'Windermere Boys'” BBC News. 21 June 2019
- ^ “Documentary filmmaker appeals to local residents for stories on Holocaust survivors” The World News. 30 June 2019
- ^ ITV Report. “Project funded for World War Two excavation”. ITV News. 11 January 2019
- ^ Garnett, Rachel. “Heritage Lottery gives £48,000 to Holocaust archaeology dig”. The Westmorland Gazette. 27 January 2019
- ^ Smith, Rosemary. “Filming begins for Holocaust documentary”. Lake District Holocaust Project. 17 February 2019
- ^ “Planned excavation of Calgarth Estate gets underway”. Staffordshire University. 20 July 2019
- ^ “Staffordshire achaeologists to help unearth story of Holocaust survivors”. Staffordshire University. 15 January 2019
- ^ JC Reporter. “Survey to take place at Second World War site”. The Jewish Chronicle. 18 January 2019
- ^ Lebovic, Matt. “British Forensics Expert shapes the future of Holocaust research”. Times of Israel. 7 April 2015
- ^ “Documentary Route to Paradise released”. The Jewish Chronicle. 26 May 2020
External Links
Category: British documentary films
Category:Documentary films about the Holocaust
Category:English-language films
Category:Holocaust films
| This article, Route to Paradise, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
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