Colette: The French resistance fighter confronting fascism - Oscars 2021 Short Documentary Winner

90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine confronts her past by visiting the German concentration camp Mittelbau-Dora where her brother was killed. As a young girl, she fought Hitler's Nazis as a member of the French Resistance. For 74 years, she has refused to step foot in Germany, but that changes when a young history student named Lucie enters her life. Prepared to re-open old wounds and revisit the terrors of that time, Marin-Catherine offers important lessons for us all.

The Guardian YouTube network:

#Colette #Oscars #WW2 #SecondWorldWar #Fascism #FrenchResistance

[google_was_my_idea]

Congratulations on winning the Oscar. And I was glad to find this on YouTube instead of a streaming service, thanks for making it available....

[SSL]

I had the honor of meeting Colette on an educational trip to Normandy with the National WWII Museum in 2016. I heard her story first hand and there are no words to describe that experience. I’m so grateful to this documentary for capturing her beautiful yet heartbreaking story and sharing it with the world.

Side note: Colette, when you heard me play piano you told me to never stop playing. I still play :)

[stevenglick]

The interaction between Colette and the young student deepened the impact of the story being told. Just beautiful. For those who didn't live through it, NEVER FORGET.

[RedHeadForester]

I cried during this. I cried more than I have in quite some months.
Colette's wail when she says she didn't think to bring anything hurts the most. I can't imagine how deeply painful this is for her.

[MrAdrien]

Seeing her struggle during the mayors' speech really hit a nerve for me. It reminds me of my grandma, whenever she starts talking of the war it puts her in a strange state, which is just as hectic, impulsive and full of pain. I had to cry myself towards the end, didn't think I would... Shows us how long reaching and lasting this pain truly was for so many....

[Jpoty]

How is this so hard to find! This should be everywhere! Share, share, share

[jannebjerkan]

As a history teacher I will make sure to show my students this testimony of courage and dedication. Sadly, the fight for freedom and dignity in the face of cruelty and abuse is not yet won.

[GoreVidalComicbooks]

"Who knows if birds are not the collection of all our sorrows?" Colette Marin-Catherine

[giselevillefer]

C'est un témoignage d'une force inouÏe qui mérite bien l'Oscar du court métrage. Colette, son frère, sa famille et la petite historienne forcent notre admiration. Un modèle pour les générations à venir.

[tashkenty]

One of the most powerful documentary shorts I’ve seen. If it wins the oscar, we’ll deserved

[hsop]

This documentary is exactly what we need now - when hate is prevalent, xenophobia is advertised, nations become divisive, politicians promote false info for their own agenda...Thank you for producing such a great documentary and it's a stark reminder that peace should not be taken for granted.

[CoolMoon]

Don't think anyone watched this with dry eyes at the end. Colette giving Lucie her brother's ring at the end was so touching and emotional for me.

[pascalbonnel]

Un Oscar bien mérité !! Une histoire tragique, émouvante, mais encore une fois un document essentiel pour NE PAS OUBLIER !
Never forget !!

[alaincomby]

Extrêmement émouvant, merci Colette d’avoir fait cet effort sur vous-même et d’avoir transmis à cette jeune fille.

[CarlyGayJepsen]

I’m glad the young girl didn’t try to say anything to make Colette “feel better” when she was crying, she needed to process grief as hard as it was for her, it seems like all those years she’s been avoiding it and trying to make herself forget which wasn’t working at all for her in fact it probably made the pain 10000x worse.

[sewerface]

That mayor really could have just said something like, ‘You honor us with your visit. Welcome, ’ and left it at that

[geraldmedard]

Merci, humanité et courage. Cette dame parle comme un livre qu'on écoute et qui arrive par le partage à nous faire pleurer.

[joannedupras]

Very moving as my eyes filled with tears. She does not give herself enough credit for being brave herself. She found Jean Pierre's spirit in the song of the birds. A difficult journey but a new friendship bond was born.

[sweetpjess]

In my journey to watch as many Oscar nominated films as possible, I am in the documentary section and came to Colette. This was incredibly made. Hearing her say "i took a long time to forget" was heartbreaking. I mean, it's all heartbreaking but that really stood out. What an incredible journey for both the young girl and Colette. Thank you for this piece.

[liligaldo]

The final song was actually a French revolutionary song during the WWII : "le chant des partisans"

here's the lyrics we hear :
Ami, entends-tu le vol noir des corbeaux sur nos plaines?
Ami, entends-tu les cris sourds du pays qu'on enchaine?
Ohé partisans, ouvriers et paysans, c'est l'alarme.
Ce soir l'ennemi connaitra le prix du sang et les larmes
...


Mate, do you hear the dark flight of the crows over our plains?
Mate, do you hear the dull screaming of the chained country?
Ohe, partisans, workers and peasants, it's the alarm ring.
Tonight, the enemy will know the price of blood and tears
...

(sorry for the bad translation)