The Burning Wall
Written and Directed by Hava Kohav Beller, Edited by Larry Silk and Markus Peters

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Synopsis:
Documentary that examines life and dissent in East Germany from 1949-1989.

Reviews:
"Inescapably touching"
--New York Times

"Ignites screen...especially pertinent today"
--New York Post

"Fascinating..."
--Washington Post

"Brilliant..."
--Suddeutsche Zeitung

"Absorbing, unflinching look at dissent and repression."
--New York Magazine

"Riveting! The final moments are as exhilarating as any you'll see in a theatre this year."
-- Daily News

"Remarkable...gripping...exhilarating emotional ride."
--The Buffalo News

"The Burning Wall has an air of mystery as it ponders the fundamental question of the 20th century."
--The Onion

"Focused and fascinating...picture really grips."
--Variety

"A stirring history of repression and resistance."
--Chicago Reader

"Scorching, engrossing..a mesmerizing film."
--Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

"A compelling...haunting journey."
--Time Out, NY

"Impressive, insightful...superbly documented...Hava Kohav Beller was awarded the 'Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit' by President Richard von Weizsäcker in 1993. You might say she should receive it again for "The Burning Wall".
--FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

"Sensitive...intelligent..."
--Leipziger Volkszeitung

"Do you worry the USA Patriot Act may be used for more than fighting terrorism? This gripping, new documentary about the history of Communist East Germany's Stasi might provide a cautionary tale. The tight narrative digs into territory never before explored on film, using extensive research to focus on the secret police that (between 1949 and 1989) kept tabs on the populace with a force of 100,000 agents. Beller takes us into a world of heroism and brutality, finding those who were part of the system and those who resisted."
--Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Three Rivers Film Festival

"A spectacular movie by Hava Beller about the Berlin Wall, "The Burning Wall" won the Best Documentary Award at the Anchorage International Film Festival's Oosikars ceremony Dec. 14."
--Anchorage Daily News

Awards:
Best Documentary, Hollywood Film Festival, 2002;
Best Documentary, Anchorage International Film Festival, 2003

Film Festivals:
Berlin Film Festival, 2002; Hollywood Film Festival, 2002;  Anchorage International Film Festival, 2003