11 Jun 16
Courtesy of Director Philippe Mora and Screenbound Films, WE! has a bunch of copies of “Three Days in Auschwitz” to give away to magazine subscribers and site visitors. Keep reading for details on how to enter.
Philippe Mora joined forces with Eric Clapton to co-produce “Three Days in Auschwitz”, a documentary about Mora’s family during the Holocaust. Written and directed by Mora, the score was composed by Clapton. Of the score, Mora says [it] is simply an amazing piece of music, somehow magically combining the tragedy and then the spirit of survival and celebration of life that Auschwitz also represents. This score is one for the ages, and I am very proud to have had the collaboration with the maestro.”
Mora told Where’s Eric! that “This was a unique and trusting collaboration between old friends. I was simply blown away by Eric’s score for this film which combined the tragedy of the events with a celebration of life. He created music with great dignity and emotional power. In my opinion, this is one for the ages.”
Their friendship dates to 1967, when both resided at the artist’s colony, The Pheasantry, on the King’s Road, Chelsea. Mora had recently moved to London from Australia to make his mark in art and filmmaking. Clapton produced the director’s first film, “Trouble in Molopolis” (1969). Twenty years later, the guitarist composed music for Mora’s alien encounter film, “Communion,” which starred Academy Award and BAFTA winning actor Christopher Walken.
In a recent interview with The Jewish Telegraph, Mora related how the guitarist came to be involved,“Eric approached me – I didn’t know he even had an interest in the subject. He said, ‘Do you want me to do the score?’. I said, ‘Are you kidding me? It’ll be sensational!’.” The music also caused Mora to alter the narrative. “The first time I listened to Eric’s score, I changed the film’s direction. I made it more of a contemplative piece rather than an in-your-face one. I thought the audience should feel it. I don’t think you should lecture your audience. They should figure it out for themselves, although I know that can sometimes be controversial.”
The documentary grew out of Mora’s personal investigation of the time after he learned his mother, Mirka, avoided death in Auschwitz by one day and that his father fought against the Nazis in the French Resistance alonside his godfather, Marcel Marceau, the world-famous mime. On his father’s side, eight family members perished in the Holocaust. Mora recounts on his website, “In 2010 I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps for the first time and filmed the visit. I knew many of my relatives had been killed there. Incredibly, that year I also found over 250 documents from Poland and Leipzig, documenting the fate of seven Morawski family members. In 2012, I revisited the camps again with my friend Harald Grosskopf, with whom I had made the documentary German Sons. The two visits triggered an ongoing personal investigation into the matrix of Holocaust Restitution, with the Morawskis, my murdered family, as a portal into the shocking world of Nazi barbarism and looting. With billions of dollars unaccounted for, for millions of victims and heirs, the issue remains an open wound, the legacy of unprecedented crimes against humanity. This film documents this odyssey into the heart of evil, past and present.”
“Three Days In Auschwitz” debuted at the New Horizons International Film Festival in Poland on 24 July 2015. Over the ensuing months, it garnered rave reviews on the festival circuit. Released on DVD on 16 May by Screenbound Pictures, it is available from amazon.co.uk. The DVD is All Region / PAL and it’s the only way you can hear EC’s haunting film score.
HOW TO ENTER: One entry per person. Send WE! an email by clicking on one of the links below. Be sure to include your full name and address.
WE! Magazine Subscriber: click here to enter
Whereseric.com Site Visitor: click here to enter
CONTEST RULES: No purchase necessary. Contest starts 11 June and ends 11:59PM BST 30 June 2016. One entry per per person. Multiple entries, the use of multiple email addresses for one person and incomplete entries will result in disqualification. Where’s Eric! is not responsible for the timeliness of delivery or electronic or computer malfunctions that may effect the delivery or content of the entry. Winners will be selected in a random draw from all eligible entries on or about 1 July 2016. Winners will receive one copy of Three Days In Auschwitz on DVD. Winners will be notified by email. Five copies will be awarded to Where’s Eric! magazine subscribers (current subscription will be verified). Three copies will be awarded to whereseric.com site visitors. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received in each category. Prize is non-transferable and non-exchangeable. No substitution or cash equivalent will be made available. Where’s Eric! is not responsible for prizes lost in transit by postal mail. All decisions of Where’s Eric! are final.