** We have teamed up with another film, Walking Devil, to start a tshirt / sweater fundraiser! Our 'Fix It In Post' apparel is now available at http://fixitinpostfundraiser.tumblr.com/

Thank You For Listening is a short drama about Otto, an old German man who is haunted by his memories of the Holocaust. He meets a young boy named Ryan, and through their friendship he is able to revisit his troubling past. As we discover through flashbacks which constitute the bulk of the film, Otto was nine years old when he was taken to work at a warehouse in a concentration camp sorting the possessions of prisoners. In his time at the warehouse, a strange young boy started visiting him in secret and they became friends, but after several months the boy disappeared. Years later, as an old man, Otto has come to understand the full weight of the Holocaust, and is unable to reconcile his involvement. As their friendship grows, Ryan tries to help Otto to overcome his demons.

This movie is full of bittersweet moments, images that may seem simplistic, pleasant and even beautiful when removed from context. Otto and his strange friend playing in the warehouse with the possessions of Jewish prisoners, stomping around in boots that are too big for them, teaching one another tricks on a yo-yo. They could be any two little boys in the world, but what we know and they don't is that there is a name monogrammed on the tongue of those boots. A father once taught his son to do those very same tricks on that yo-yo, and now, for all we know, they will never play together again. It's a precious but dangerous naïveté that drives the film thematically, that provides conflict not only within the story but within the viewer.

Only with the help of others can we overcome guilt. Thank You For Listening is all about the guilt of a good man, and his crushing inability to see his way past it. Finally, through the interest of someone much younger he can tell his story and make some attempt to move on. It’s a universal concept; you can’t keep all your pain, guilt and sadness bottled up inside and expect it to go away. It will only grow and fester, and eventually you’ll have to let it out and it’ll be all the worse for it. Otto waited sixty years to tell anyone about his involvement at the camp, and by then a near-stranger was the only person he had to tell. Even when Ryan shows an interest, Otto is always reluctant to talk about it. The past inspires nothing but pain in him, even the sight of himself as a child fills him with sadness. When at last he tells Ryan his story, he can see that Ryan doesn’t think any less of him. He doesn’t see the monster that Otto sees in himself. Finally he can question his guilt and finally he can let some small part of it out.

This story is based on a place called Kanada. At Auschwitz, there was a large warehouse known as Kanada where the possessions of prisoners arriving at the camp were stored, sorted and sent to Germany. Our story takes place in a similar facility at a smaller concentration camp located within Germany. Groups of prisoners known as the Kanada Kommando were charged with collecting these valuables from incoming prisoners and transporting them to Kanada, where other prisoners sorted them. Otto has a brief encounter with his warehouse Kommando in the script, but we don’t see them otherwise. We’ve decided that at a smaller camp, prisoners would not be trusted to sort the precious belongings, and the job was given to young local German boys. In late 1944, it fell to Otto.

With regard to the camp itself, our story takes place at Breitanau concentration camp. It was one of the smaller labour camps, located in Guxhagen, Germany, in the Schwaim Eder-Kreiss District. Its population was approximately 8500, and it remained operational until its liberation in 1945. As such, Young Otto’s story begins in November of 1944. He remains in the position until late April of 1945, only a month or so before the end of the war and the camp’s liberation, at which point he runs away.

  Our script also features a Nazi soldier, whose uniform must be historically accurate. The internment camps were run by a separate division of the SS (The SS-Totenkpopfverbande, in English Death’s-Head Units) with their own ranking system, separate from that of the deployment staff. Our Nazi soldier would therefore have been a  Rifleman or an SS-Schutze. And would wear this: on his collar. On his sleeve, he’d wear a black half-cylinder shape with a white dot at the head. In the Death’s Head, it wasn’t actually necessary to wear a swastika armband, but our Nazi soldier will wear one, so as to properly orient the viewer.

Thank You For Listening requires quite a lot of money. The main areas that will eat up most of our budget are location costs (including hydro, security, and the locations themselves), equipment (lights, lenses and camera accessories, mostly), and props! The props in the warehouse act as characters themselves, so they need to be authentic and have a story behind each piece that we choose. Every prop that we have, we have to ask ourselves "why would a prisoner choose to bring this? Why is it significant?"

"I want to work on this project because I think it’s a very powerful story, and it’s a story that many people haven’t heard or told. The Holocaust is perhaps the most terrible tragedy in our history, and the story of a character who grows into the realization that he was some part of it is fascinating. It’s a vastly complex mentality, wracked with guilt, pain and confusion and I want to tell the story of his navigation through it. I think it presents a real challenge as a director, an exciting challenge. The subject is delicate, to say the least, and my handling of the characters and the power of the story will have to sell the film. I think that Otto is largely a sympathetic character, and I believe immensely in the script, but the wrong director could perhaps make this film in a way that may seem insensitive. I will not."

- Danny Hamilton Director                

"Thank You For Listening means so much to me. I started developing the characters and the story about a year ago and it has evolved so much since then. The story and the characters have become a part of me and I am so excited for it to be made and for Otto to come to life. We have such an amazing crew for this film, and I can't wait to work with them all!"

- Lindsay Stanlick Producer                      

"Born in London Ontario, I have been interested in making images for as long as I can remember. My artistic interests started with still photography, which evolved into a passion for cinematography. In 2011, I enrolled in the Film and Media Production program at Humber College and is set to graduate in 2015. I am working towards a career in cinematography and I continue to take photos in my spare time."

-Michael Raines Director of Photography                

"I studied biology at the University of Ottawa before transitioning to film at Humber College in Toronto, where I quickly developed a love of editing.  I view each project as a new puzzle that needs solving.  I look forward to taking on the positions of camera operator and editor on 'Thank You For Listening' and am very excited to begin production!"

- Charlie Jemmett Camera Op and Picture Editor

                                                                             

"When Lindsay and Danny first approached me to ask if I would work as a production designer on their film Thank You For Listening, I agreed immediately.  During my time at Humber, I have grown to love many aspects of production design. The warehouse will be a very visually interesting set, with its glum, dingy environment and its large collection of personal items and knick-knacks that range from old worn out shoes to precious family heir looms including pocket watches and rings. This film will definitely test my creative and organizational skills in all areas of the art department and will give me a taste of what it’s like to be the head of it all, but I am ready to take on the responsibility."

-Laura Menheere Production Designer                 

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