Interview: Mark Rosenblatt, Director of Award-Winning Short Film Ganef

What are the key messages of Ganef? 
It’s focusing on the aftermath of the Holocaust. It’s set in 1962, so obviously a couple of decades after the end of the war, and part of the thinking is to say, “Look, the war didn’t stop in 1945 for the people that went through it.” In the sixties people weren’t going to therapy and talking about the hell they went through, they weren’t even talking to their partners about what they went through. So it’s about examining and exploring a moment in time where the trauma is deep, there’s no outlet, and so it’s passed down through unintentional behaviour to the children of those who are affected.

Have your personal experiences provided inspiration for the film? 
I’m a survivor’s grandchild. That’s where the story comes from - not the specific events, but it’s why I wanted to make the film. I’m very aware of how, at an early age, I internalised a lot of the pain my family went through in Germany, in the Holocaust, as Jews. I’ve seen my family tree with cousins, great-uncles, great-aunts who just didn’t make it out alive. I was very aware at a young age of how lucky I was to be alive at all, and how people can just turn against a community. The impact of that carries on for generations. It changes the behaviour of children and grandchildren.

How did you find working on a project that was so personal to yourself?
You have a bit more authority over the material when it’s your stuff, but at the same time you have to make sure your work connects with a wider audience - that balance was the hardest part to strike. Obviously I also wasn’t alive in 1962, I don’t know exactly how that world was, so it was a weird process to then recreate a time that has been talked about without really being there. It was a very special process for me, though. 

The video was released on YouTube, and has received a lot of… shall we say ‘engagement’ in the comments section…
There are details in it that some people are missing, and that’s not their fault - I can’t blame anyone for how they watch the film. But this isn’t a film where you can look away to have a sandwich or get distracted by other things. I’ve deliberately stitched in a lot of details that you might miss, like the tattoo on the mother’s arm, which we were trying not to be too in-your-face about. That shows that she is a survivor of the Holocaust, and if you don’t spot cues like that then it might confuse you as to what the film’s about. There are lots of these clues that I wanted people to almost play detective with, there are things happening in the house that explain the situation without having to spell it out. 

Ultimately, people don’t walk around declaring their trauma, it’s evident through their behaviour and their situations. So it’s a bit of a shame when people miss it because they then criticise the film for being something that it isn’t. But I love the fact that it’s received 30,000 views and it’s reaching a bigger audience, it’s great that so many people have seen it and are engaging with it.

Ganef received the Best UK Short Film award at the Nottingham International Film Festival last year. How did that feel? 
It was really nice. The guys that run it are really lively and engaging, and they did as much as they could to connect people, connect filmmakers, and it was lovely to win a prize. It’s nice to have that recognition for the film - it’s always good for the ego! 

What are your thoughts on Nottingham more generally? 
Nottingham is a very cool city. I used to be the Associate Director at Leeds Playhouse and we’d come to Nottingham Playhouse and work with them quite a lot. It’s one of the great producing theatres in the country, so I have a lot of respect for it. Nottingham is such a rich place for talent and it has such a particular voice.

Your film has qualified for Oscars consideration. What’s that process like, and what’s next for Ganef? 
We’ve played thirty or so festivals and this process with the Oscars feels like one of the last chapters for the film, in terms of it going out to audiences. It’s amazing to qualify - that means it’s one of about 150 films from all festivals that can be considered by the Academy. Recently the voting finished to trim that 150-long list down to a shortlist of fifteen, which will be announced on Tuesday 21 December. Then that shortlist goes to the final nominations, which is just five films. It’s unbelievably competitive and it feels ridiculous that we’re even doing it because the Oscars is the Oscars. So we’ll see. If we don’t get any further, it’s great that we’ve come this far. It’s all a very fun ride. 

Ganef is now available to watch on the Omeleto YouTube channel.