OVERVIEW
LOGLINE
A documentary filmmaker sets out to discover what happened to her grant-grand aunt, the explorer filmmaker who faded into obscurity, despite the groundbreaking exploration of the Amazon she committed to film a century ago.
OVERVIEW
“The Lost Voice” focuses on the story behind the story of Pola Brückner, believed to be the first woman to film the Amazon, as reconstructed by her descendant Christina, an established documentarian who only now learns why she shares an occupation with her great-grand-aunt.
Personal and Family Quest
The story is driven by Christina's desire to connect with her ancestors, whose voices and stories were lost to time, and to understand her own struggles and identity through Pola's experiences.
Pola’s Life and Achievements
Pola was a pioneer who participated in a film expedition to the Amazon in 1929-30. Along the way she endured personal tragedy, including the loss of her husband August Brückner. Her personal writings serve as a primary source for Christina’s investigation, revealing facts that are enlightening, and just as often one-way doors to further mysteries that help explain Pola’s descent into obscurity.
Historical and Cultural Context
The narrative explores the often explosive intersection of European and Amazonian cultures. The film’s insights are sharpened by Pola’s complex history leading up to WWII, including Pola’s third husbands’ alliance with the Nazis.
Research and Discovery Process
Christina, an experienced filmmaker in her own right, treads on highly emotional ground. She scours through personal and public archives, interviews never-before-seen family members, tracks down descendants of the Amazon participants, and jet-hops to key locations in Germany and Brazil. Her investigation uncovers a deeper understanding of Pola’s identity – and her own.
The story concludes with a validation of Pola’s achievements and Christina’s recognition of the impact her quest has on herself and those she met along the way.
BACKSTORY
The catalyst for Christina's journey is a family heirloom—"A Woman Went Into the Jungle,” a book written by Pola herself, which had been passed down through generations of women in Christina’s family. For years, this book had been a source of curiosity but remained an enigma due to the old German script in which it was written. It wasn't until Christina's mother, Barbara, read the book aloud to her that the story of Pola’s Amazonian expedition came to life, sparking the filmmaker’s quest to uncover who Pola really was and why her promising career seemed to fade into obscurity.
STORY
In the documentary feature, THE LOST VOICE, filmmaker Christina Rose embarks on a profound journey to unravel the story of her great-grand aunt Pola, whose life and career in the early 20th century have been shrouded in mystery. This cinematic exploration blends archival research, personal reflection to tell a poignant story about legacy, the passage of time, and the search for identity.
The film that Pola had worked on in the Amazon, in collaboration with her husband August Brückner, was meant to be a groundbreaking documentary—a daring exploration of one of the world's most unknown regions. Yet, as Christina delves deeper into the archives, she uncovers more questions than answers.
This search for answers, though rooted in archival research and expert consultations, takes on a deeply personal dimension. As Christina retraces Pola's steps in Berlin and other parts of the world, she finds herself confronting the emotional weight of an unresolved legacy.
Director's Statement
When I first set out on this journey, my mission was clear: to save the story of my great-grand aunt Pola, a woman whose life had been shrouded in mystery. What I didn’t know then was that my quest would become something far more personal. As I uncovered evidence that Pola might have been the first woman to ever film in the Amazon, I felt an overwhelming sense of purpose. This was a story I had to tell, not just to preserve her legacy, but to uncover my own.
Tracing Pola’s footsteps took me on an extraordinary adventure across the world—from the urban cityscapes of Berlin to the wilderness of the Amazon rainforest. Each new place I visited, each new piece of information I discovered, felt like a step closer to unravelling the truth about who Pola was. But the more I learned, the more I came to understand something that no document or archive could reveal: I could never truly reconstruct her emotional journey. The challenges she faced, the moments of doubt, the ways in which she navigated her world as a woman in a male-dominated industry—those experiences were lost to time. I could only imagine what it might have been like for her.
In searching for Pola, I traveled more than 10,000 kilometers, from bustling cities to remote jungles, digging into Pola’s history and examining my own. Along the way, I met extraordinary women and men—people who shared their wisdom, their stories, and their support. I forged new friendships and discovered family members I never knew I had. These connections, each one unique and profound, began to shape the story I was telling. But what I didn’t expect was that Pola’s story would ultimately lead me to my own truth.
Through the process of saving her story, I found my own voice. Pola, though she lived nearly a century ago, helped me confront my own fears and uncertainties, reminding me that my journey was not so different from hers. As much as I wanted to ensure that Pola’s contributions to cinema were not forgotten, I realized that this journey was not only about preserving the past—it was about reclaiming my own identity, my own purpose, and my own ‘lost voice’ in a world that often tries to silence women.
In the end, what began as a search to uncover Pola’s history became a transformative exploration of self. I learned that sometimes, in the pursuit of someone else’s story, we find our own.
