Terrorists In Retirement

This controversial documentary tells the story of Jewish immigrants who acted virtually alone in violently resisting the German occupation of Paris during World War II. Best known by the acronym FTP-MOI (French for Immigrant Workforce Sharpshooters and Partisans), this 200-member underground assassinated German officials and blew up military targets. It became famous in February of 1944, when the Nazis plastered Paris with a red poster proclaiming that 22 "Jewish, Armenian and other stateless terrorists" had been executed. After the war, the poster became a badge of honor, celebrated by poet Louis Aragon and popularized by singer Leo Ferré. In 1980, Armenian-Jewish-French filmmaker Mosco Boucault found seven former members of the brigade still living in Paris and making their living as tailors. His camera provides us with fascinating personal testimony and dramatic illustrations of dangerous missions carried out on busy city streets. The film sparked a fierce debate in France by suggesting that the French Communist Party deliberately failed to provide cover for its Jewish fighters. French television networks banned the film, possibly for suggesting that the French establishment refused to credit the fighters, because it wanted heroes with more French-sounding names than Mitzflicker, Rayski or Gronowski.

DOCUMENTARY FILMOGRAPHY A TASTE OF TOKYO, channel 2 France THE EMPIRE OF MEN, channel 2 France 12 MILLION TOKYO, channel 2 France SAFE EXITS: BIRMINGHAM, channel 2 France TERRORISTS IN RETIREMENT, channel 2 France winner of the French TV Critics Award "Open Eye" EX MEMORIES, channel 3 France NO WORK, NO FAMILY, NO HOMELAND, channel La Sept/Arte POLICE INVESTIGATIONS: A MURDER IN ABIDJAN, channel La Sept/Arte PLOICE INVESTIGATIONS: THE SHOOTING OF MOLE STREET, channel La Sept/Arte