THE DEVIL’S HANDSHAKE
COMPLETED NOVEMBER, 2024
A Refuge 31 documentary
Canadian Broadcaster: Super Channel / Amazon Prime Canada
Written and Directed by Andrew Wall
Produced by Andrew Wall and Kathleen Easton
Executive Producer Kyle Bornais
The Devil’s Handshake is a POV feature documentary currently in production that examines Nazism through a very different lens: A personal and unexpected 6th degree of separation between a Mennonite filmmaker & Adolf Hitler that is woven into an unsettling story of otherwise good people caught up on the wrong side of a terrible chapter of history. One that previous generations chose to hide.
The story begins with Director Andrew Wall sharing his personal journey as a second-generation Canadian-Mennonite growing up during the Cold War. The family narrative was simple: they were on the “good side,” while the “bad guys” were the Bolsheviks on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Canada, too, had fought the “good fight” during the Second World War, standing against the Nazis. Everything seemed straightforward—until one day, while researching a documentary about Nazis and Fascists in 1930s Winnipeg, Andrew uncovered unsettling truths that made history far more complex. He realized that not everyone had always been on the right side and suddenly had a lot of questions about the family narrative…
“I grew up obsessed with the Second World War. The idea of uncovering the story of Nazis operating in 1930s Winnipeg was fascinating—until, quite unexpectedly, it became personal.” – Andrew Wall
In a world currently needing a refresher course on extremest ideologies and its consequences this may be one story that is now even more relevant than ever to tell.
Stay tuned for more…