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Toyland
Toyland
	Poster
Directed by	Jochen Alexander Freydank
Written by	Johann A. Bunners ; Jochen Alexander Freydank
Produced by	Jochen Alexander Freydank, David C. Bunners, Christoph Nicolaisen
Starring	Julia Jäger; Cedric Eich; Tamay Bulut Öztavan; Torsten Michaelis; Claudia Hübschmann; David C. Bunners; Gregor Weber; Jürgen Trott; Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann; Heike W. Reichenwallner; Matthias Paul
Cinematography	Christoph Nicolaisen
Edited by	Anna Kappelmann
Music by	Ingo Ludwig Frenzel
Production; company	Mephistofilm
Release date	2007;
Running time	14 minutes
Country	Germany
Language	German
Budget	30,000 Euro

Toyland (German: Spielzeugland) is a German 2007 short film directed and co-written by Jochen Alexander Freydank. It won the 2009 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.^[1]

Cast

Julia Jäger - Marianne Meißner
Cedric Eich - Heinrich Meißner
Tamay Bulut Öztavan - David Silberstein
Torsten Michaelis - Herr Silberstein
Claudia Hübschmann - Frau Silberstein
David C. Bunners - SS-Obersturmführer Falke
Gregor Weber - SS officer Werner
Jürgen Trott - Policeman
Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann - Blockwart
Heike W. Reichenwallner - neighbor
Matthias Paul - Gestapo officer

Synopsis

The film is set in Nazi Germany in 1942. An Aryan family, the Meißners, and a Jewish family, the Silbersteins, are neighbors and friends. The respective sons in each family, Heinrich Meißner and David Silberstein, discreetly take piano lessons together. The deportation of the Silbersteins to a concentration camp is imminent, and when Heinrich asks why they may have to go soon, Frau Meißner does not tell Heinrich the truth. She instead invents a story that the Silbersteins will go to a new place called "Toyland". Heinrich says that when the Silbersteins go, he wants to go with them, so that he can still be with his friend David, which terrifies Frau Meißner.

The morning the Silbersteins are taken away for deportation, Heinrich is found missing from his room. His mother, Marianne Meißner begins to search for Heinrich. She encounters ridicule from Gestapo officers after she explains her situation, because they think that she is Jewish. However, after she shows her papers that prove that she is Aryan, they accept her story about Heinrich and assist in searching for him. The search continues until the last moment before the train with the Silbersteins on it must leave.

When the train doors are opened, Marianne calls out to Heinrich. The crowd moves aside and Marianne sees a boy she thinks is Heinrich hugging the Silbersteins, but instead it is David. A flashback shows that when the Silbersteins were taken away, Heinrich was not allowed to join them. Marianne realizes that Heinrich is not with them, but - to save his life - calls out to David as though he is Heinrich. The Silbersteins let go of him and all continue the ruse that David is Heinrich. David returns to the Meißners home where he is raised with Heinrich as their own son.

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". The nominations of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of the 2008 short subjects were announced on 22 January 2009, with Spielzeugland on the list. On 22 February 2009, Spielzeugland received the Oscar for Best Short Subject (Live Action).

Awards

2009

Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for Toyland
Washington Jewish Film Festival, USA, audience award for Toyland
Kansas City Film Fest, USA, best narrative short for Toyland
Phoenix Film Festival, USA, world cinema best short for Toyland
Pittsburgh Jewish Film Festival, USA, audience award for Toyland
Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival, USA, audience award for Toyland
Rehoboth Film Festival, USA, audience award for Toyland
Villa Mare Film Festival, Italy, Publikumspreis for Toyland
Reno Film Festival, USA, best foreign film for Toyland
Portland International Film Festival, USA, audience award (second place) for Toyland
Lenola Film Festival, Italien, best film + "best Soundtrack" for Toyland
Shorts at moonlight, D, audience award for Toyland
Anchorage Film Festival, USA, audience award for Toyland
New Jersey Film Festival, USA, honorable mention for Toyland
Cleveland International Film Festival, USA, audience award for Toyland
San Diego Jewish Film Festival, USA, audience award for Toyland

2008

Short Shorts Film Festival Tokio, Japan, audience award for Toyland
Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung short film award for Toyland
Bermuda International Film Festival, Bermuda Short Film Award for Toyland
Rhode Island International Film Festival, second place International Discovery Award for Toyland
Giffoni Film Festival, Italy, APEC Award in Gold for Toyland
Alpinale Vorarlberg, Austria, audience award, for Toyland
Odense International Film Festival, Danmark, best children and youth film for Toyland
Alemeria en Corto, Filmfestival, Spanien, jury award & audience award for Toyland
Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, USA audience award for Toyland
Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, USA, audience award for Toyland
Sedicicorto – International Film Festival Forli, Italy, Best short film for Toyland
Asheville Film Festival, USA, Best short film for Toyland
Victoria Independent Film Festival, Australia, Best short under 20 minutes for Toyland
Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Almería, audience award- and jury award for Toyland