Watermarks (2004)

The story of the Hakoah Vienna Jewish womens swim team of the 1930s, their forced separation, and their reunion decades later.

Director:

Yaron Zilberman

Writers:

Ronen Dorfan (associate writer), Yonatan Israel (associate writer)

Stars:

Hanni Lux, Judith Haspel, Anni Lampl

10 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Hanni Lux	...	Herself (as Hanni Deutsch Lux)
Judith Haspel	...	Herself (as Judith Deutsch Haspel)
Anni Lampl	...	Herself
Elisheva Susz	...	Herself (as Elisheva Schmidt Susz)
Trude Hirschler	...	Herself (as Trude Platzek Hirschler)
Greta Stanton	...	Herself (as Greta Wertheimer Stanton)
Nanne Selinger	...	Herself
Ann Marie Pisker	...	Herself (as Ann Marie Pick Pisker)
Boris Eder	...	Himself, cabaret singer
Florian Schäfer	...	Himself, pianist
Rudi Luksch	...	Himself, musician
Gerhard Heger	...	Himself, musician
Fritz von Friedl	...	Dr. Rosenfeld (voice) (as Fritz von Freide)
Sandra Bohle	...	Elisheva (voice)
Stefanie Dvorak	...	Hanni (voice)

Storyline

Watermarks is the story of the champion women swimmers of the legendary Jewish sports club, Hakoah Vienna. Hakoah ("The Strength" in Hebrew) was founded in 1909 in response to the notorious Aryan Paragraph, which forbade Austrian sports clubs from accepting Jewish athletes. Its founders were eager to popularize sport among a community renowned for such great minds as Freud, Mahler and Zweig, but traditionally alien to physical recreation. Hakoah rapidly grew into one of Europe's biggest athletic clubs, while achieving astonishing success in many diverse sports. In the 1930s Hakoah's best-known triumphs came from its women swimmers, who dominated national competitions in Austria. After the Anschluss, in 1938, the Nazis shut down the club, but the swimmers all managed to flee the country before the war broke out, thanks to an escape operation initiated by Hakoah's functionaries. Sixty-five years later, director Yaron Zilberman meets the members of the swimming team in their homes around...

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Plot Keywords:

swimmer | jewish | swimming | sports club | reunion | 

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Taglines:

They were the champion women swimmers of Hakoah Vienna... In 1938 they were thrown out... Now they return!

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Genres:

Documentary | History | Sport

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Kino International

Country:

Israel USA France Austria

Language:

English Hebrew German

Release Date:

10 December 2004 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Hakoah Lischot

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,837, 23 January 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$245,845, 18 September 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinephil,Arte,Cinemax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Watermarks - a wonderful movie

"Watermarks" tells the story of 7 women, now in their 80's, which were champion swimmers at the legendary Austrian sports club Hakoach Vienna in the 1930's. The movie includes interviews with the ladies at their current homes in England, Israel and the USA and follows them as they go back to a reunion in Vienna in the old sports club.

It is a touching movie that opens a door to the amazing story of these brave women and to the era it took place in. The combination of a fascinating personal account and the unique cinematography on the background of one of the most horrible times of human history makes it a movie that is moving educational and enjoyable.