Bernhard Rammerstorfer
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Bernhard Rammerstorfer (born 1968) is an Austrian author and film director. His book Unbroken Will (German: Nein statt Ja und Amen) is a biography of the Austrian Jehovah's Witness and Holocaust survivor Leopold Engleitner. He later made a documentary film with the same title. His 2012 documentary Ladder in the Lions' Den, made with A. Ferenc Gutai, received a special jury mention at the online European International Film Festival in 2016,[1] and took second place in the "Best Festival Film" category and won the "Best Documentary Film Award" at the Switzerland International Film Festival in 2018.[2]
Life and Work
[edit]Bernhard Rammerstorfer is originally from Niederwaldkirchen, Austria. In 1999, he authored and published *Nein statt Ja und Amen*, a biography detailing the life of conscientious objector Leopold Engleitner. Rammerstorfer also produced the documentary film of the same name.[3]
In 2008, he released a revised edition of Engleitner's biography titled *Unbroken Will*, with an expanded and updated edition appearing in 2011. The book has been translated into English (2004), French (2007), and Russian (2009). In 2006, Rammerstorfer produced the documentary *Unbroken Will Captivates the United States*, which premiered at the Laemmle's Music Hall 3 theater in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. He also produced the 2008 documentary *Unbroken Will on USA Lecture Tour: Leopold Engleitner’s tireless commitment to tolerance, humanity, and peace at the age of 101*. The US premiere took place in 2009 at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in West Hollywood, Los Angeles.[4]
In 2012, Rammerstorfer authored and published *In the Witness Stand: What We Still Need to Say, 100 Questions – 900 Answers*, a collection of interviews with Holocaust survivors and Nazi victims, and produced a DVD under the same title.
Also in 2012, together with A. Ferenc Gutai, he produced the documentary *Ladder in the Lions’ Den – Freedom is a Choice: Nazi Concentration Camp Survivor Leopold Engleitner: A 107-Year-Old Eyewitness Tells His Story*. Its US premiere was held in November 2012 in Los Angeles. The German version, titled *Leiter in der Löwengrube – Was bedeutet Freiheit? KZ-Überlebender Leopold Engleitner: Ein 107-jähriger Zeitzeuge erzählt seine Geschichte*, was released in Austria in March 2013.[5]
The film *Ladder in the Lions’ Den* was honored with international awards at the 2013 Fallbrook International Film Festival in California and the 2013 Rincón International Film Festival in Puerto Rico.[6][7]
Lectures in Europe and the United States
[edit]The book and film were released in the United States in 2004 under the title *Unbroken Will*. On this topic, Rammerstorfer, together with Engleitner, gave lectures at schools, universities, memorial sites, and other institutions across Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, and the United States.[8]
Awards
[edit]For Ladder in the Lions' Den
- —Winner: Best Documentary Short at the Fallbrook International Film Festival 2013, Fallbrook, California, USA
- —Winner: Best Short Documentary at the Rincón International Film Festival 2013, Rincón, Puerto Rico
- —Winner: Audience Choice Award for a Documentary at the Marina del Rey Film Festival 2013, Los Angeles County, California, USA
- —Winner: Best International Feature Documentary at the Laughlin International Film Festival 2013, Laughlin, Nevada, USA
- —Official Selection: Festival of Tolerance: 7th Zagreb International Jewish Film Festival 2013, Zagreb, Croatia
- —Official Selection: Festival of Tolerance: 1st Rijeka International Jewish Film Festival 2013, Rijeka, Croatia
- —Official Selection: Chagrin Documentary Film Festival 2013, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA
- —Official Selection: Life Fest Film Festival 2014, Hollywood, California, USA
- —Nomination: Alan Fortunoff Humanitarian Award at the Long Island International Film Expo 2014, Long Island, New York, USA
- —Nomination: Best Documentary at the Long Island International Film Expo 2014, Long Island, New York, USA
- —Official Selection: Green Bay Film Festival 2015, Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
- —Winner: Special Jury Mention at the European International Film Festival 2016, St. Petersburg, Russia
- —Winner: Best Documentary Short at the Cutting Edge International Film Festival 2016, Florida, USA
- —Winner: Audience Award at the Cutting Edge International Film Festival 2016, Florida, USA
- —Winner: Best Religious/Spiritual Film at the Erie International Film Festival 2016, Pennsylvania, USA
- —Official Selection: GardenCity International Film Festival 2017, Bangalore, India
- —Winner: Best Documentary Film at the "Switzerland International Film Festival 2018", Schwitzerland, Europe
- —Semi-Finalist: Best Documentary at the film festival "Film for Peace 2020", Toronto, Canada
For Taking the Stand:
- —Nomination: Best Documentary at the Long Island International Film Expo 2016, Long Island, New York, USA
- —Winner: Alan Fortunoff Humanitarian Award at the Long Island International Film Expo 2016, Long Island, New York, USA
- —Winner: Best Short Documentary Film at the Laughlin International Film Festival 2016, Laughlin, Nevada, USA
- —Finalist: European International Film Festival 2017, St. Petersburg, Russia
- —Finalist: Golden Hollywood International Film Festival 2019, Hollywood, California, USA
References
[edit]- ^ Winners. European International Film Festival, 2016. Accessed February 2019.
- ^ Award Winners 2018. Switzerland International Film Festival. Accessed February 2019.
- ^ Rammerstorfer, Bernhard (1999). Nein statt Ja und Amen. Eigenverlag Rammerstorfer. ISBN 978-3-200-00218-0.
- ^ "Unbroken Will Captivates the United States – Laemmle Theatres". Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ "Leiter in der Löwengrube – ORF Oberösterreich". Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ "Fallbrook International Film Festival 2013 Awards". Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ "Rincón International Film Festival 2013 Winners". Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ Rammerstorfer, Bernhard (2014). Unbroken Will: The Extraordinary Courage of an Ordinary Man – The Story of Nazi Concentration Camp Survivor Leopold Engleitner, born 1905. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4931-5781-5.
External links
[edit]- Film "Ladder in the Lions' Den" (2012) - IMDB
- Film "Taking the Stand: We Have More to Say" (2016) - IMDB
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