(Joachim von Vietinghoff, Gisela Kayser, and Peter Lilienthal, © Lindsay Bellinger)

by LINDSAY R. BELLINGER

On the evening of the 27th of January, Peter Lilenthal presented his 1979 Berlinale Golden Bear winning film David to a full house at Willy Brandt Haus in Berlin. The line stretched around the corner, comprised mostly of an older audience, in order to secure a spot to watch Lilenthal's extraordinary film that explores the origin of prejudice and hatred. The film is based on Joel König's autobiographical novel David: Story of a Survivor. Over the years since the end of World War II, many filmmakers have used different approaches when taking on the heavy topic of the Holocaust. David almost feels more in the lines of a docu-fiction, not being overly sentimental or tearing at heart strings but rather just revealing the life of a family and how the civil rights of Jewish citizens were taken away little by little under the Third Reich until its horrific endgame.

(Gisela Kayser, and Peter Lilienthal, © Lindsay Bellinger)

Lilienthal was very open and positive sharing his experience as a ten year old fleeing Germany in 1939 with his mother and grandfather, heading to Uruguay somewhat last-minute only due to the fact that his mother had befriended someone working at the consulate. He only had positive things to say about his experience in Uruguay as a young child, although it seemed to have taken quite a bit harder toll on his mother. Surprisingly, he was quite candid when revealing that he had never thought about moving back to Germany but only came to help out his grandparent and only due to his connection with a filmmaking mentor did he decide to stay and learn more about filmmaking and working in television. As soon as the discussion between and Lilienthal and Gisela Kayser came to an end, fans circled the filmmaker to thank him and ask for autographs. He obliged to everyone waiting for a moment of his time, even though at age 90 he was likely tuckered out from a special evening watching his film with the public and even some grown child actors from his film in attendance.