In his film, Marcel Kolvenbach follows in the footsteps of his grandmother's first husband: the Jew Fritz Kann. He was deported in 1942 — exactly 9 months before the birth of the filmmaker's father — and murdered by the Nazis in Izbica. Is Marcel Kolvenbach the grandson of Fritz Kann or does he owe his existence to the fact that Fritz Kann was deported and murdered?
There was silence in the family about Fritz Kann for a long time; not a single photo revealed his existence. The question of who Fitz Kann was has been on the director's mind since he came across his signature in old family documents many years ago. The last story of Fritz Kann's life. The search for the deportee takes us from a former slaughterhouse in Düsseldorf on a journey via Poland to Argentina and back to East Berlin. During this time of search, Marcel Kolvenbach's paths cross with the paths of other seekers. The focus is on encounters with contemporary witnesses, descendants and historians. The choreography by Israeli dancer Reut Shemesh creates an imaginary space that reinterprets the gaps in the family history. Finally, the filmmaker meets Fritz Kann's family members. Will it be possible to answer the original question of his own origin with the help of Fritz Kann's family stories?
IN SEARCH OF FRITZ KANN is a film about remembrance today and memory as an active decision — in times of growing anti-Semitism in Europe.
Director: Marcel Kolvenbach
Music: Cassis. B. Staudt
5.1 Mixing and sound design: Wolfram Burgtorf