Peter Ondrejička and Noël Czuczor as Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler in the Správa (The Report) film. (source: DNA Production)
The Auschwitz Report by Slovak director Peter Bebjak did not make it to the Oscars shortlist in the International Film category.
The film tells the story of two Slovak Jews, Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler, who escaped from Auschwitz to tell the world about the mass murders in Nazi concentration camps.
Slovaks only have minor representation in the 15-member shortlist, the Sme daily reported. Still, there is a partial chance to succeed, as the Czech-Slovak co-production film Šarlatán (Charlatan) by Agnieszka Holland with Ivan Trojan and Juraj Loj, will compete for an Oscar.
A film about the Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, who diagnosed sick people by checking their urine against the light and dedicated his life to healing, premiered at Berlinale last year and caught the attention of film critics.
Mikolášek survived a monarchy and two world wars but was destroyed by communism. Many called him a charlatan and had him checked. He faced criticism for healing Nazis during the war as well as due to his homosexuality.
