Family secrets – the Tale of a Dangerous Liaison

Jacek, Zofia's son, goes on a journey. He is searching for those turns of Fate that brought his mother and father together. When he was nine, Jacek discovered that his mother was a Jew and only found out many years later, when he was already over twenty, that his father was a German Nazi.

In the film, however, the audience only gradually discovers the truth about his origins. The story is told from two perspectives. The story of an individual life is observed from two different standpoints. Even though Jacek's mother does not accompany him on his journey, her memories are so real that she feels she is reliving all the events. Jacek's stance, on the other hand is distanced, questioning. Since he has discovered the truth about his origins he struggles to understand this truth. Today - 60 years after the events - he guides us through the individual stations of the odyssey which his mother survived as though by a miracle.

Zofia's ability to escape from the utmost danger and stay alive through all the adversity is due to her will to live. She never accepts the role of a passive victim. The film about the life of the Jewess Zofia tells the adventure of a great love during Europe's darkest hours. We see people caught between the relentless force or world politics, moral imperatives and their own individual feelings. Focusing on this constellation, the film highlights the tension between a catastrophe in world history and the coincidences that affect the destiny of a few individual soul

Jacek Schäfer The 11th Annual Jewish Film Festival of St. Louis, USA