EbonyLife Films is making a film based on the horrific treatment of Afro-Germans and the covert mission to castrate hundreds of their children during Hitler’s regime. The film is titled ‘Ava and Duante’ and is scheduled for release in the later part of 2018. This fascinating project caught the attention of international news network CNN, resulting in an insightful article that was recirculated by other news media.
Based on real-life events, the film tells the fictional story of a mixed-race couple, one of African descent and the other, a white German, whose love blossomed amidst the hate, fear and suspicion that defined their lives. Ava is the daughter of a rich German businessman and Nazi supporter. Duante is a Cameroonian who’s employed in her father’s factory. They have a child and need to get her out of the country, or face her possible sterilization and internment in a concentration camp.
Mo Abudu, executive producer and CEO of EbonyLife Films, talked to CNN about the reason why they decided to make a film about such a terrible time in history. “Ava and Duante is an example of stories that have never been told, stories a lot of people are unaware of. The film will expose some of the appalling things that happened to Afro-Germans during the Nazi regime. It will provide a significant account of those happenings and will shed light on parts of history that have been in the dark for decades,” she said.
The initial stages of the filmmaking process were difficult – many potentially helpful records had been destroyed years ago and there are very few survivors from that time. Thankfully, Theodor Wonja Michael, an Afro-German who lived through the Nazi era, wrote an autobiography. His story helped with the historical context for the film and was instrumental in its script development.
Despite the unpleasant subject matter, ‘Ava and Duante’ is about hope, love and survival in the midst of unspeakable cruelty towards an entire community.
Read the CNN article, here – https://goo.gl/NzZtzn