Ravensbrück concentration camp, Christmas Eve 1944: A female inmate is ordered to sing Christmas carols, when a voice calls out “Sing something from Madame Butterfly!” Hauntingly, the singer chooses “Un bel di”—the ultimate expression of longing and hope. So begins the long-hidden, extraordinary love story of two prisoners from the Resistance: professional mezzo soprano Nelly Mousset-Vos and Nadine Hwang, the opera-loving requester. From the bowels of hell itself, their relationship blossoms and transforms into a deepening love that sustains them through liberation of the camps, post-war separation, and finally to Caracas, Venezuela, where, far from the world they left behind, they begin to build a life together.
Now Nelly’s granddaughter Sylvie, keeper of the family archives and its secrets, delves into the past and uncovers a trove of writing, films, and photos that her family has ignored for decades. What she finds is a moving testimony to a relationship that transcended the Holocaust itself. Winner of the Teddy Jury Award at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival, this moving documentary is a fascinating portrait of enduring love.
- Victoria Jaschob
