A HIDDEN LIFE World Cinema

Talent attending: Elizabeth Bently (Producer), Dario Bergesio (Producer), Valerie Pachner (Talent)

Terrence Malick returns with this harrowing true-life tale of conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), eliciting comparisons in scope to his Academy Award-nominated TREE OF LIFE. The rise of the Third Reich in Austria shatters the peaceful illusion that is Franz’s daily life of farming, evenings spent at the pub and Sundays at church with his family. As the war encroaches, he faces grave decisions and is forced to reconcile the prevailing beliefs of his church and country with his personal convictions of right and wrong. This life-affirming story of one man’s quiet courage in the face of overwhelming odds earned the François Chalais Award when it premiered at Cannes and also features Bruno Ganz and Michael Nyqvist in their final performances. –Eric Moore