Jacek Kadaj
ABOUT
This short film is a cinematic interpretation of the events of July 20, 1944, when a group of German officers attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf’s Lair headquarters in East Prussia. Known as Operation Valkyrie II, the plan aimed to eliminate Hitler and initiate a military takeover of the German government. The attempt ultimately failed, and many of those involved were executed. The film focuses on a fragment of that day, presenting a contrast between ordinary life and a moment that could have changed history. This film is a personal artistic interpretation, not a documentary, created to explore the tension, routine, and human dimension of that historical moment.
SELECTED FRAMES — 6 OF 8
PROCESS
A reconstruction of July 20, 1944: Stauffenberg's briefcase bomb at the Wolf's Lair. The plot failed because of small, physical things. The meeting was moved to a wooden hut, the briefcase was pushed behind a heavy table support, and only one of the two bombs was armed. That was the core of the film for me: history decided by a few centimetres. Unlike my other films, this one couldn't be poetic licence. I started from [archival photographs / floor plans of the briefing hut / witness accounts] and built each shot against them: the uniforms, the map table, the summer light through the windows, the faces of the officers in the room. The look follows [period newsreel / a modern war-film grade], because [reason]. The hardest part was accuracy without spectacle: AI models want the explosion to be bigger than it was. I generated about 350 takes and kept 50.
Credits
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