At age 98, director Arnon Goldfinger’s grandmother passed away, leaving him the task of clearing out the Tel Aviv flat that she and her husband shared for decades after immigrating from Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Sifting through a mountain of photos, letters, files, and objects, Goldfinger undertook the complex process of making sense of the accumulated ephemera of a lifetime. In the process, he began to uncover clues pointing to a complicated and shocking story: a chronicle of the unexpected yet inevitable ethical ambiguities and repressed emotions that arise when everyday friendships suddenly cross enemy lines.
In his award-winning emotionally riveting documentary, The Flat, Goldfinger follows the hints his grandparents left behind to investigate long-buried family secrets and unravel the mystery of their painful past. The result is a moving family portrait and an insightful look at the ways different generations deal with the memory of the Holocaust.
“One of the best movies of the year. It plays like a great mystery — and it is. This is what a documentary should be — smart, moving, profound, and unpredictable — in other words, what we look for in a great film. The Flat is all of that and more.” — Michael Moore
“SUPERB, FASCINATING. Raises questions about truth and memory so provocative that moviegoers are likely to stand in the lobby debating them.” — Chuck Wilson