The Maelstrom: A Family Chronicle

1942. Moving light and darkness. A family at a table. Piles of clothes everywhere in the room. Women repair them. Spirits are low. Everything seems to indicate that a departure is near. Suitcases are standing ready in the background. Only one family member will survive the war. World War II and the Holocaust are the subjects of many archive-based documentaries. In these films, footage is very rarely ever used that shows the other side of the official history: amateur films. This is remarkable, because only these films show everyday life, with all its attendant emotions and feelings. The Maelstrom - a Family Chronicle is based on a collection of films shot by the Dutch Jewish Peereboom family during the period 1938-1942. They filmed up until the very last moment: the evening before they were transported to a German ‘labour’ camp. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)