Synopsis
The Mascot is the story of one man's struggle to discover his stolen identity. It traces the journey of Alex Kurzem, striving to reclaim his past in wartime Europe. Saved from the death pits by the very Nazi soldiers who killed his family, these soldiers transformed him into their 5 year old Mascot. After witnessing the murder of his whole family and community he escaped into the forest where he wandered alone for months. He was found by Nazi soldiers but was not executed, instead they adopted him as their mascot. Instructed never to reveal his Jewish identity & indoctrinated with a new past and name, he lived as a young Nazi. Alex was a child soldier complete with uniform and machine gun. As a celebrated mascot of the frontline troops, he appeared in propaganda newsreels of the time. Alex's journey into the past is beset with official and personal obstacles. Four years later Alex has found a name and a birthplace and has even placed a flower on his mother's resting place.
Impact
The Director's Statement
This documentary changed audiences well before it was broadcast on the ABC. The rumblings began on the festival circuit shortly after it was completed. The first time it was shown on the big screen at the Dendy Awards in 2003 the audience was very vocal and emotional during the whole screening expressing their sadness, anger and joy and disappointment as the story unfolded... When the lights went up and many audience members realised that The Mascot himself, Alex Kurzem was sitting in the theatre, he was mobbed by people who wanted to talk to him about his ordeal and offer their own perspective and advice on the way he had been treated by the Latvian and Jewish communities.
By the time it aired on the ABC it had won several International awards. Back home in Melbourne, Alex was flooded with mail from people overwhelmed with his story. At the same time, several well-placed members of the Jewish community took up Alex’s cause and demanded a public apology from the Jewish Holocaust Museum over the way it had treated him. Letters to the Melbourne Age’s television Green Guide gave some indication about how this story had affected ABC viewers. Most topics saw one or maybe two letters published about a show but after the ABC broadcast The Mascot, the paper published 4 letters and a photo of Alex – which is probably a strong reflection just how many letters the newspaper received about Alex’s life.
This was not another Holocaust story, this was a story about memory and identity and one’s place in society and justice. Not a day goes by without someone somewhere mentioning this documentary. And there have been outcomes and consequences, good and bad, in telling this story. It needed to be told in the documentary format. Doco’s are vehicles for change, for revelation, for education, for finding the truth or uncovering a lie.
The ABC produces in-house and contracted documentaries that change lives from shows like 4-Corners to Australian Story. But the chance for independent producers/directors to tell all those other stories is only limited by funding. Philanthropic foundations must see the opportunity to engage in funding filmmakers about causes and stories that they too are passionate about.
WINNER: Rouben Mamoulian Prize, Sydney Film Festival 2003
WINNER; Dendy Awards: 2003 CRC Short Film Award
WINNER: Warsaw International Jewish Film Festival 2004
WINNER: Joint winner -Peoples Choice Award- London Australian Film Festival 2004
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