The public showing is made possible by support from the College of the Liberal Arts, the Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs, the Department of French, Penn State Hillel, the Jewish Studies Program, the Film/Video and Media Studies Department, the Schreyer Honors College, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity.

The movie tells the story of how the people of Chabannes, a tiny village in unoccupied France, chose action over indifference and saved the lives of 400 Jewish refugee children.  Filmmaker Lisa Gossels returns to Chabannes with her father and uncle, two of the 400 children who were saved.  Through intimate interviews with her father and the other "children" of Chabannes, the filmmakers recreate the joys and fears of daily life in that village.  We see how this oasis of hope is shattered in August of 1942, when the war reaches the doorsteps of the chateau where the children lived. 

Through accounts by the extraordinary teachers who taught and loved these children, this lyrical and moving film shows the remarkable efforts made by the citizens of Chabannes, who risked their lives and livelihoods to protect these children, simply because they felt it was the right thing to do. 

This film is the winner of:  The Audience Award for Best Feature Film, The 1999 Nantucket Film Festival Special Jury Prize, The 1999 Avignon Film Festival Best Documentary Film, The 1999 Hollywood Film Festival Best Documentary Film, The 1999 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature Film, The 2000 Hartford Jewish Film Festival Certificate for Creative Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, The 2000 U.S. International Film and Video Festival, First Place First Prize Award, The Seventh Annual Jewish Video Competition, and the Holocaust Remembrance-History Human Rights Award, The River Run Film Festival.

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Contact: Willa Z. Silverman, Associate Professor of French at 863-9660