The Film
Based on a harrowing true story, Bardejov follows Rafuel Lowy, a community leader and wine-maker in the town of Bardejov, Slovakia, during the Holocaust. As Nazi persecution intensifies and deportation to Auschwitz becomes imminent, Lowy and the Jewish Council devise a desperate and daring plan: to smuggle typhus into the community to infect the girls, triggering a quarantine that would force the Nazis to halt their deportation.
The Musical Score
Composer Lionel Cohen delivers a score defined by its mournful restraint and emotional depth. Utilizing a mix of delicate, high-register strings and sparse, melancholic piano motifs, the music reflects both the fragility of life under Nazi occupation and the resilient, enduring spirit of the Jewish community in Bardejov. The score acts as a somber narrator, balancing the crushing anxiety of impending deportation with the quiet dignity of survival.
The Cast
Directed by Danny A. Abeckaser, who also portrays the resilient Rafuel Lowy, the film features a powerful ensemble cast including Robert Davi, Dean Meyn, Lorin McCraley, and Kyle Stefanski. Their performances bring depth and humanity to this difficult chapter of history, grounding the story in the personal stakes of the families involved.
Official Tracklist
- Making a Neder
- Jew Dogs
- They Made a Deal with the Germans
- No Doing Business With Aryans
- Prayers
- We Know How to Roundup Jews
- A Thing of the Past
- Drunk Hlinka Guards
- We Need to Believe the Almighty Can Save Us
- An Order for 400 Girls
- Bratislava is Well Aware
- One Bag, 15kg
- A Rebelion on the Street
- Taking the Girls
- Where Are the Trains Going
- A Death Camp
- Burnt to the Ground by its People
- Mr Bear and Mr Rabbit
- Force a Quarantine
- I'm as Good as Dead
- Typhus
- Happy to be Imprisoned
- The Legacy of Emil Fish
- Bardejov End Credits
- Window Crash (Alternative)
- Saving Bardejov
- Bardejov Main Theme (Piano Demo)
- Bardejov Main Theme (String Quartet Demo)