SILVER

A monumental accomplishment, this rigorous documentary directed by Steve McQueen (12 YEARS A SLAVE) systematically explores Amsterdam under the Nazi occupation of World War II. Rejecting archival footage and first-person narratives, the film excavates history by telling the city's story one address at a time. Each catalogued entry describes the cruel fate of its residents and is accompanied by present-day footage of Amsterdam. From the locations as they stand today to the COVID lockdown and the extremist anti-lockdown protests, McQueen (himself an Amsterdam resident) draws powerful connections between past and present. Based on the meticulously researched book "Atlas of an Occupied City: Amsterdam 1940–1945" by Dutch filmmaker and journalist Bianca Stigter, this epic, four-and-a-half-hour opus is a testament to the brutal scale of the occupation. DIR/PROD Steve McQueen; SCR/PROD Bianca Stigter; PROD Floor Onrust, Anna Smith Tenser. Netherlands/UK, 2023, color, 262 min., including a 10-min. intermission. In English and Dutch with English subtitles. NOT RATED

No AFI Member passes accepted.

Co-presented by JxJ.