This film is part of Free
Resistance
Artist-activist Liz Crow's haunting film about the Nazis' Aktion-T4 programme during World War Two. In 1939 Germany, a secret institution has sinister plans for its disabled inmates.
Overview
In September 1939, the Nazis instituted their first official programme of murder. Known as Aktion-T4, it targeted disabled people and became the blueprint for the Final Solution to wipe out Jews, gay people, gypsies and other social groups. With a rise in hate crime, disabled children still excluded from mainstream schools, and over 340,000 disabled people living in institutions, disabled people still experience those historical values as a daily threat.
In 2008 writer and director Liz Crow developed Resistance, a 12-minute short film, to highlight these issues for a modern audience. Set in Germany in 1939, it follows Elise, a patient who sweeps an institution for disabled people. She doesn’t speak and the staff assume she doesn’t understand, but she watches everything, including the buses of patients that leave full and return empty. Resistance initially toured with its companion film Resistance Conversations, forming part of Resistance on Tour, a moving image installation project, which travelled from 2010-14 to key cities in the UK, Dublin and Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. Beginning with Hitler’s authorisation of the Aktion-T4 programme, the installation chronicles the journey to today, where hate crime, increased pre-natal screening and abortion and a race to assisted suicide challenge the worth of disabled people’s lives and their right to exist. In August 2009, Resistance extended its reach to a durational performance on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth as part of Antony Gormley’s One & Other project. Seated on her wheelchair, Liz donned full Nazi regalia to draw attention to the anniversary of this hidden history and the message it holds for people today. The performance was featured in The Guardian’s Trafalgar Top Ten on the plinth, whilst a spokesperson for One & Other said Twitter had “gone ballistic”.
Related
The End The End
Science Fiction 2011 24 mins
A moving speculation on the future decline of Deaf culture
Hands Solo Hands Solo
2009 15 mins
A Deaf man becomes a world-famous porn star thanks to some advanced skill with his hands.
Smallest Woman in the World Smallest Woman in the World
News 1972 8 mins Location: Bromsgrove
Living in a world that makes no concessions for her size: Joyce Carpenter is Britain's smallest woman.
Trapped Rhythms Trapped Rhythms
Music video 2016 4 mins
Powerful music video that demands respect for difference.
Education of the Deaf Education of the Deaf
Documentary 1946 51 mins Location: Manchester
A brisk look at the tests and education practices for deaf people in 1940s
Artificial Limb Making Artificial Limb Making
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent
Occupational therapy turns full circle, as amputee soldiers learn to make artificial limbs for others
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Luke Bean of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Samantha Arnold of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.
Horace Ové on Pressure Horace Ové on Pressure
Inside Film 2005 36 mins
The acclaimed director discusses his landmark film in this interview from 2005.