Toyland

Toyland (2007)

Spielzeugland

1942: what happens when a German kid believes that his Jewish neighbors are going to Toyland?

On a winter morning, a mother goes to waken her son Heinrich; his bed is empty. She leaves her flat to find him. The neighbors' door, with a Star of David painted on it, is ajar, the furnishings in disarray, the family gone. She asks passersby, runs to the police then on to the rail yard. Flashbacks show that Heinrich and the neighbors' son Paul are six years old and best friends. Paul's family's deportation is expected soon; Heinrich's mother tells her son that they're going to Toyland. Heinrich wants to go with them, has a bag packed, and listens for their departure. His mother realizes he's joined them, and her resolve becomes more urgent. Will she arrive in time to save Heinrich?

Date of release
2007-08-29
TMDB
7.2 / 10 (76)
Runtime
13m
Genres
Drama, War
Director
Jochen Alexander Freydank

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 1. Including: Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film

Toyland is a 2007 German short film directed and co-written by Jochen Alexander Freydank. It won the 2009 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

Production

According to Freydank, it took two years to secure financing for the production, whose costs totaled €30,000. The actors and production crew initially received no salary. Starting on 22 January 2007, the film was shot in 5 days in and around the Berlin area. Exactly one year later, on 22 January 2008, the film received its German premiere at the Saarbrücken "Film Festival Max Ophüls Preis".

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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