In the footsteps of a man with a camera. Using previously unpublished interviews, family films and propaganda films, The Propagandist tells the story of the rise and fall of filmmaker Jan Teunissen. As head of the Department of Film of the Dutch Nazi Party and SS and as leader of the Film Guild, he became the most powerful man in the Dutch film industry during World War II. What drove Teunissen to become part of the Nazi regime? A film about limitless ambition, alternative facts and the manipulative power of film.

The Propagandist is nominated for the award Another Gaze.

Student jury about the film:

In his chilling documentary film The Propagandist (2024), director Luuk Bouwman uses previously unpublished interviews and footage from family archives, and propaganda films by Jan Teunissen, a filmmaker and the head of the film department of the Dutch Nazi party and SS during World War II. The documentary constantly raises questions about moral values and what can and cannot be forgiven and glossed over with such phrases as “I did it to make films” and “I only did what I was told.” Historians Rolf Schuursma and Egbert Barten appear here as liaison officers between historical reality and today's (frustrated) viewers. The film serves as a warning, an extremely powerful one in today’s political climate, against the power of the media, which can be misused, and the dangers of art becoming an instrument of power.

The screening will be preceded by the Absynt at One World Ako vychovať nacistu (Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi) book launch

We invite you to the launch of the Absynt’s Slovak translation of Gregor Ziemer’s book Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi, an important testimony to Nazi pedagogy and the influence of ideology on the youth. The introduction of the new translation of the 1941 book will be accompanied by a discussion with historian Marína Zavacká, who specialises in the history of propaganda and the broader context of building regime loyalties in the 20th century. The discussion will give you an idea of the relevance and why you should read this book even after more than eighty years. The book provides insight into the mechanisms used by the regime in subjugating children and the younger generation by means of the education system, and how the regime imperceptibly and cunningly infiltrated schools, families, associations, and public discourse. Today, more than eight decades after its publication, it remains alarmingly relevant. Many of the mechanisms, which are described by Ziemer, resonate again in various forms in the contemporary world. We live in times when voices calling for “a more rigid order,” “discipline,” or “national pride” are once again being heard. We are again facing manifestations of authoritarian populism, polarisation of society, and targeted attacks on the educational autonomy. There are still political forces which deliberately exploit fear, seek enemies, prioritise “order” over freedom, and attack critical thinking as a subversive element.

Hosted by Michal Hvorecký.

The discussion will be held in Slovak.