The Story of Annette Zelman

What begins as a charming wartime romance between Jean—a sweet Catholic boy in Paris—and Annette—his feisty Jewish artist girlfriend—turns into a gripping tale of star-crossed lovers in this handsomely realized drama based on actual events. The setting is Nazi-occupied Paris, where Jews are feeling the tightening grip of a collaborationist French regime. When Jean, an aspiring writer, reveals to his socially conservative parents that he has serious feelings for Annette, they prefer to wave it off as a temporary fling. But their deeply ingrained, and now politically approved, anti-Jewish prejudices will soon have grave consequences. The film brings to vivid life the true story of Annette Zelman, one of numerous cases that historians have documented revealing the role of ordinary French citizens in informing on their Jewish neighbors. As much as this French drama warmly remembers Paris’s idealistic wartime youth, Jewish and gentile, it pulls no punches about the shadow side of French society. In one chilling exchange, when Jean’s father appeals to local officials to go easy on Annette, he is told, “You don’t want Annette in your family. [The Nazis] don’t want her in France. Essentially you are in agreement.” This film probes the human cost of turning a blind eye.

West Coast Premiere