Four acclaimed actors – Henry Goodman, Kerry Shale, Geoffrey Streatfeild and Fenella Woolgar – perform a live staged reading of Martin Jameson’s powerful radio play The Film, bringing to life the extraordinary story behind one of the most important cinematic records of the Holocaust.
April 1945: a Ministry of Information film crew enters Bergen-Belsen to document atrocities many still refuse to believe. Shaken by what has been captured on camera, unit head Sidney Bernstein wrestles with how to present such suffering to the world and turns to his friend Alfred Hitchcock for guidance. Presented script-in-hand, this staged reading offers a rare chance to experience the drama through the voices of four distinguished performers whose work spans major UK stages, film, television and radio.
Following the performance, writer Martin Jameson is joined by historian Toby Haggith, Senior Curator at the Imperial War Museums and a leading authority on Holocaust film footage, and award-winning filmmaker Jane Wells – daughter of Sidney Bernstein – in conversation with documentary-maker Tim Samuels. Together they reflect on the historical record, the making of the play, and the enduring power of film to bear witness.
