AWARDS

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Nomination, Academy Awards (1977)
INTERFILM AWARD Berlin International Film Festival (1975)
GOLDEN BEAR Nomination, Berlin International Film Festival (1975)

Jakob Heym, a Jew trapped in a Polish ghetto, overhears news of a nearby Russian victory on a Gestapo radio. Pretending to have heard the good news on his own clandestine radio, Jakob passes the word on to his neighbors. Clinging to this newfound hope of deliverance, Jakob's friends anxiously ask him for regular reports of the Red Army's advance.A reluctant Jakob feels obligated to invent more "good news" in order to provide his doomed community with the courage to endure. This story was adapted for the screen by Holocaust survivor Jurek Becker from his novel and is the only East German film to be nominated for an Academy Award.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

"... forceful, funny, and poignant... a heartwarming saga ..." - A.H. Weiler, New York Times

"The beauty of this film is its simplicity."
-San Francisco Chronicle

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Jakob the Liar
Jakob der Lügner

GDR/East Germany, 1975, 95 minutes, color
German with English subtitles
Directed by Frank Beyer

Public Exhibition 35mm, 16mm Rental also available