The Children of Chabannes
a film by
Lisa Gossels and Dean Wetherell
2001 Emmy Award Winner: Outstanding Historical Programming
Best Feature Film (Audience Award), The Nantucket Film Festival
Special Jury Prize, The Avignon Film Festival
Best Documentary Film, The Hollywood Film Festival
Best Documentary Film, The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival
Best Feature Film, (Audience Award), The Hartford Jewish Film Festival
Certificate for Creative Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking,
The U.S. International Film and Video Festival
First Prize Award, The Seventh Annual Jewish Video Competition--
Holocaust Remembrance-History
Human Rights Award, The River Run Film Festival
Documentary Prize-Films from Commitment, The Wine Country Film Festival
Critics Prize, Sao Paulo Jewish Film Festival
The Children of Chabannes is available on dvd and vhs cassette for institutions of all kinds. If you are interested in purchasing the film and/or organizing a local screening, please contact Lisa Gossels or Dean Wetherell. Brief Synopsis:
A tale of courage, resilience and love set during WWII, The Children of Chabannes tells the story of how the people of Chabannes, a tiny village in unoccupied France, chose action over indifference and saved the lives of 400 Jewish refugee children. Filmmaker Lisa Gossels returns to Chabannes with her father and uncle, two of the 400 children who were saved. Through intimate interviews with her father and the other "children" of Chabannes, the filmmakers recreate the joys and fears of daily life in that village. We see how this oasis of hope is shattered in August of 1942, when the war reaches the doorsteps of the chateau where the children lived. Through accounts by the extraordinary teachers who taught and loved these children, this lyrical and moving film shows the remarkable efforts made by the citizens of Chabannes, who risked their lives and livelihoods to protect these children, simply because they felt it was the right thing to do.
| A moving record of the unassuming, uncompromising heroism of ordinary people. | |
| - A.O. Scott, The New York Times | |
| It's not about the mystery of evil; it's about an equally awesome subject, the mystery of good. | |
| - Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic | |
| One of the most heartening Holocaust films ever made... A splendid, informative and emotionally involving film about people, children and adults alike, who may seem ordinary but who rose to meet extraordinary demands that fate and circumstance demanded of them. | |
| - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times | |
| More Reviews... | |
For more information on this film contact Lisa Gossels and Dean Wetherell.