Special Screening

  Join us for a compelling afternoon of film and conversation as Hot Docs presents 80 Faces of Freedom, directed by Jason van Bruggen, and Neshoma, directed by Sandra Beerends. Directors Jason van Bruggen and Sandra Beerends, along with Leonard Vis—a Jewish survivor from Amsterdam—will join moderator Harman Idema, Consul-General of the Netherlands in Canada, for a thought-provoking panel discussion exploring themes of remembrance, identity, and the role of storytelling in preserving history. On May 5, 1945, the Netherlands was officially liberated from Nazi occupation by Allied Forces, mostly Canadian. Director Jason van Bruggen’s parents were part of the generation that survived the occupation and lived through the Hunger Winter, often eating tulip bulbs to survive. Now, 80 years since the war ended, the stories of those who survived are here to remind us of the perils of war. As the world faces new totalitarian threats, these stories are more relevant than they ever have been in my lifetime. Inspired by a photo of Van Bruggen’s Aunt Femie, wearing her only dress, standing on the street to wave at the Allied tanks on Liberation Day, the director has sought out and interviewed the remaining survivors of that period. Over the last two years, traversing the length and breadth of the Netherlands, he met with 80 people—one for each year of freedom. These are their stories.

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