JFF- Curt Lowens: Life Changes / Secrets of War

Secrets of War
Suitable for young audiences – This film is recommended for ages 12 and up

Inseparable childhood friends in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands find their loyalty severely tested in the family-friendly, coming-of-age story. Summer 1943, 12-year-old best friends Tuur and Lambert are all but oblivious to the dangers of the war. Days are spent going to school and playing in the woods and caves outside their idyllic village in Limburg. Reality soon intrudes and begins to divide families. Tuur’s family joins the resistance movement, while Lambert’s parents, allied with the Nazi party, force him to join the Nazi Youth. Their relationship becomes particularly strained, however, with the arrival of Maartje, a dark-haired girl with a mysterious identity. As the boys compete for her attentions, jealousy and betrayal set in motion a series of high-stakes events that will alter their lives forever.

Official Selection for Toronto International Film Festival

Preceded by:
Curt Lowens: A Life of Changes
Short/USA/6 minutes/2014

The High school students in the Righteous Conversations Workshop bring to the screen Holocaust Survivor Curt Lowens’ story of escape and resistance during World War II in Holland, where he placed and cared for hundreds of Jewish children in hiding.

• Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 pm
Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills

Q&A with Holocaust survivor/Dutch resistance fighter and veteran actor, Curt Lowens