‘Hitler’s Jewish Soldier?’ has been shortlisted for Best Documentary Program at the 2024 Asian TV Awards.
The documentary follows Melbourne-based pensioner Alex Kurzem, who survived the Holocaust by being adopted by a Latvian battalion who gave him a fake Latvian name; he then kept his survival story a secret in Australia for 50 years before embarking on a quest to find his true identity.
It premiered as the opening film in SBS’s 2024 ‘Australia Uncovered’ premium documentary strand.
‘Hitler’s Jewish Soldier?’ is up against seven other documentaries from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and China, as well as one other from Australia, ‘The Dark Emu Story’ (Blackfella Films for the ABC).
It comes on the heels of the documentary being nominated for the Asian Creative Academy Awards and longlisted for the Walkley Award for Best Documentary, as well as winning a Gold Remi Award, a Cannes World Film Festival Award and a Montreal Film Festival Award.
Mint Pictures last won an Asian TV Award in 2014 for Bushwhacked! series 2, which won Best Children’s Program.
The awards gala will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia on November 29.
The feature-length version, titled ‘The Jewish Nazi?’ has been selected for Tel Aviv International Film Festival following official selections in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America.
