2019 Filmmaker In Residence
As Adolf Hitler rose to power in the 1930s, the Vatican under Pope Pius XI was prepared to take a strong stance against the evils of Nazi Germany. But Pius XII, who became pope in early 1939, insisted on remaining silent even after the world began to learn about the full horrors of the Holocaust.
HOLY SILENCE examines the actions – and inactions – of the Vatican throughout this dark period of history. The film also focuses on the role that American officials – from a humble Jesuit priest to the president of the United States – played in an effort to persuade the pope to speak out against Hitler’s effort to eradicate the Jews of Europe.
Steve Pressman was born and raised in Los Angeles and received an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley. He worked for many years as a newspaper and magazine reporter and editor in Los Angeles, Washington DC, and San Francisco. He wrote, directed and produced the documentary film 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus, which premiered on HBO in 2013 and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Historical Programming. The film was shown at the 2013 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, and has also been shown at numerous other film festivals, schools and colleges, U.S. State Department, embassies and other venues throughout the United States and abroad.
Project description and bios courtesy of the Resident