VOTING CONTINUES FOR BEST POLITICAL FILMS OF 2018
During January, members voted to narrow the list for the best films in the categories of HUMAN RIGHTS and EXPOSÉ: During February, members can vote for the ONE film that is the best of those on the final list:
For the category EXPOSÉ, which recognizes the importance of raising political consciousness by bringing to light little-known facts, the following films were nominated, so select the best ONE:
| FILM TITLE | ACCEPT | DROP | UNDECIDED | CONTENT (see full review on website) |
| BlacKkKlansman | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Police infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado |
| Boy Erased | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How clinics operate to deprogram gays and lesbians |
| Chappaquiddick | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Ted Kennedy fails to save his drowning girlfriend |
| 55 Steps | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Mental health patients treated as virtual slaves |
| On the Basis of Sex | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How Ruth Bader Ginsburg launched her career |
Vote for the best ONE among the three films nominated for raising consciousness of the need for greater HUMAN RIGHTS:
| FILM TITLE | ACCEPT | DROP | UNDECIDED | CONTENT |
| BlacKkKlansman | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Racism of the Ku Klux Klan and in a police department |
| Boy Erased | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation |
| 55 Steps | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | The rights of mental health patients |
Political Film Society members must return ballots by February 28, 2018. A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Political Film Society will convene at 8481 Allenwood Road, Los Angeles, CA on March 1, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. to count ballots. All Political Film Society members are invited to the meeting.
THE INVISIBLES BRINGS HIDDEN BERLIN JEWS OUT OF THE SHADOWS
Hitler rounded up most of the Jews in Germany for evacuation to death camps. From 1943, when the Nazis declared Berlin free of all Jews, about 7,000 remained in Berlin, hiding out as best they could, whereas only 1,700 survived by the end of the war. The Invisibles (Die Unsichtbaren), directed by Claus Räfle, focuses on 4 of the 150. Part documentary, the surviving four tell part of their stories from early 1941, while actors re-enact how they operated on the streets and in the homes of Berlin–Ruth Arndt (played by Ruby O. Fee), Eugen Friede (Aaron Alteras), Hanni Lévi (Alice Dwyer), and Cioma Schönhaus (Max Mauff). What is notable is that a variety of Germans help them hide, including Christians, Communists, and members of the Resistance, in particular Werner Sharff (Florian Lucas). In many cases, they are forced to move from one residence to another as the Gestapo gets information about them. In other cases, they are homeless and forced to walk along the streets at night. Events of the war, including bombing of Berlin, are part of the conditions exposed during the film. Aging documentary footage proves additional context. One gets rich by forging passports but ultimately bicycles to Switzerland. Another changes the color of her hair to blonde. The most emotional scene involves a Jewish member of the Soviet army, who demands proof from two survivors, who claim that they are in fact Jewish. The proof emerges when they sing a Jewish song, whereupon the officer hugs them in a scene so touching that tears may flow from the eyes of ordinary filmviewers. Actual Holocaust survivors are likely to attend opening performances of the film in the large cities of the United States, so attendance provides a dual spectacle. The Political Film Society has nominated The Invisibles for best film exposé of 2019 and best film identifying the human rights deficit of Nazi Germany. MH