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999: The Forgotten Girls

  • USA
  • Documentary
  • 2024
  • 55 / 86 min.
  • Director(s): Heather Dune Macadam
  • Producer(s): Heather Dune Macadam, Jane Schonberger, Jay Heit, Beatriz M Calleja

Synopsis

Best-selling author and historian Heather Dune Macadam has adapted her acclaimed book 999 into a powerful documentary that sheds light on a wrenching true story. In March 1942, nearly 1,000 young Slovak Jewish women, mostly teenagers, told by their government that they were embarking on a volunteer work assignment, were instead illegally deported to Auschwitz on what was the first Jewish transport to the Nazi death camp.

 

Rather than strictly focus on the suffering and death experienced by most of the girls, Macadam tells stories of a small group who survived against all odds, even under unimaginable conditions that lasted more than three grueling years. A film of deep research and vivid detail, 999 THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS ensures that these women will no longer be a historical footnote.

Note: some images may be disturbing.

 

(Credit: Greenwich International Film Festival)

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Credits

Director(s)

Heather Dune Macadam

Producer(s)

Heather Dune Macadam, Jane Schonberger, Jay Heit, Beatriz M Calleja

Script

Heather Dune Macadam

Cinematography

Stephen Hopkins

Editor

Beatriz M Calleja

Original Language

English, German, Slovak, Hebrew

Subtitles

English

Co-Director

Beatriz M Calleja

Produced with the help of

Rena’s Promise Foundation, Sam Spiegel Foundation, Claims Conference, NY State Council on the Arts, Women Make Movies

Sound Design

Miguel Calvo “Maiki”

Narrator

Ramita Navai

Festival Highlights

  • WINNER

    Human Rights Award
    Hamptons Doc Fest
  • WINNER

    Audience Award
    Miami Jewish Film Festival
    2024
  • WINNER

    Best Social Impact Film Award
    Greenwich International Film Festival
    2024
  • WINNER

    Audience Award for Best Documentary
    Film Pittsburgh JFilm Festival.
    2024

Greenwich International Film Festival, USA, Official Selection, 2024

Austin JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

Detroit JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

New York Jewish Film Festival, USA, Official Selection, 2024

Naples JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

New Hampshire JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

Palm Beach JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

Rehoboth Beach JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

Vancouver JFF, Canada, Official Selection, 2024

Toronto JFF, Canada, Official Selection, 2024

Hartford JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

Chicago JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

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Reviews

  • "Unbelievably powerful and moving..."
    - Peter Coyote (Narrator), The U.S and the Holocaust
  • "An enduring testament to these brave girls' fortitude and their will to live by helping each other. Beautifully done. "
    - Catherine Tambini (Director/Producer) Academy Award nominated "Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse"
  • "A critical addition to the annals of the Holocaust..."
    - Susan Lacy, creator of American Masters; Producer, Spielberg and Jane Fonda In Five Acts
  • "A sweeping, intimate, and often devastating account of young Slovakian women's experiences under Nazi occupation. Sure to be remembered and discussed."
    - Simone Gigliotti, Deputy Director, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, UK
  • "It is almost unbelievable that the story of this transport has never been told before."
    - Angela Andersen, Director/Producer. “Utopia” and ”Inviolable - The Fight for Human Rights”
  • "An Incredible Story. Unique. Powerful. A Sophie’s Choice of a story. The total female perspective makes 999, unlike any film I have ever seen on the Holocaust."
    - Catherine Tambini, (director/producer) Academy Award®-nominated "Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse”
  • "A terrific film, beautifully structured, so moving. It is amazing that you got all of those photographs of the women and their families."
    - Stephen O'Connor, Author
  • "A brilliantly produced Holocaust story that needs to be told. [...] one of the most important Holocaust films ever produced. [...] Hearing this story through their voices is something that I will always remember. Very powerful and impactful. "
    - Radenka Maric, President, University of Connecticut