Bernhard Rammerstorfer


Bernhard Rammerstorfer is an Austrian author and film director. His book Unbroken Will is a biography of the Austrian Jehovah's Witness and Holocaust survivor Leopold Engleitner. He later made a documentary film with the same title. His 2012 documentary Ladder in the Lions' Den, made with A. Ferenc Gutai, received a special jury mention at the online European International Film Festival in 2016, and took second place in the "Best Festival Film" category and won the "Best Documentary Film Award" at the Switzerland International Film Festival in 2018.

Life and work

Bernhard Rammerstorfer is originally from Niederwaldkirchen, Austria. In 1999, he authored and published *Nein statt Ja und Amen*, a biography detailing the life of conscientious objector Leopold Engleitner. Rammerstorfer also produced the documentary film of the same name.
In 2008, he released a revised edition of Engleitner's biography titled *Unbroken Will*, with an expanded and updated edition appearing in 2011. The book has been translated into English, French, and Russian. In 2006, Rammerstorfer produced the documentary *Unbroken Will Captivates the United States*, which premiered at the Laemmle's Music Hall 3 theater in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. He also produced the 2008 documentary *Unbroken Will on USA Lecture Tour: Leopold Engleitner’s tireless commitment to tolerance, humanity, and peace at the age of 101*. The US premiere took place in 2009 at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in West Hollywood, Los Angeles.
In 2012, Rammerstorfer authored and published *In the Witness Stand: What We Still Need to Say, 100 Questions – 900 Answers*, a collection of interviews with Holocaust survivors and Nazi victims, and produced a DVD under the same title.
Also in 2012, together with A. Ferenc Gutai, he produced the documentary *Ladder in the Lions’ Den – Freedom is a Choice: Nazi Concentration Camp Survivor Leopold Engleitner: A 107-Year-Old Eyewitness Tells His Story*. Its US premiere was held in November 2012 in Los Angeles. The German version, titled *Leiter in der Löwengrube – Was bedeutet Freiheit? KZ-Überlebender Leopold Engleitner: Ein 107-jähriger Zeitzeuge erzählt seine Geschichte*, was released in Austria in March 2013.
The film *Ladder in the Lions’ Den* was honored with international awards at the 2013 Fallbrook International Film Festival in California and the 2013 Rincón International Film Festival in Puerto Rico.

Lectures in Europe and the United States

The book and film were released in the United States in 2004 under the title *Unbroken Will*. On this topic, Rammerstorfer, together with Engleitner, gave lectures at schools, universities, memorial sites, and other institutions across Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, and the United States.

Awards

For Ladder in the Lions' Den
  • —Winner: Best Documentary Short at the Fallbrook International Film Festival 2013, Fallbrook, California, USA
  • —Winner: Best Short Documentary at the Rincón International Film Festival 2013, Rincón, Puerto Rico
  • —Winner: Audience Choice Award for a Documentary at the Marina del Rey Film Festival 2013, Los Angeles County, California, USA
  • —Winner: Best International Feature Documentary at the Laughlin International Film Festival 2013, Laughlin, Nevada, USA
  • —Official Selection: Festival of Tolerance: 7th Zagreb International Jewish Film Festival 2013, Zagreb, Croatia
  • —Official Selection: Festival of Tolerance: 1st Rijeka International Jewish Film Festival 2013, Rijeka, Croatia
  • —Official Selection: Chagrin Documentary Film Festival 2013, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA
  • —Official Selection: Life Fest Film Festival 2014, Hollywood, California, USA
  • —Nomination: Alan Fortunoff Humanitarian Award at the Long Island International Film Expo 2014, Long Island, New York, USA
  • —Nomination: Best Documentary at the Long Island International Film Expo 2014, Long Island, New York, USA
  • —Official Selection: Green Bay Film Festival 2015, Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
  • —Winner: Special Jury Mention at the European International Film Festival 2016, St. Petersburg, Russia
  • —Winner: Best Documentary Short at the Cutting Edge International Film Festival 2016, Florida, USA
  • —Winner: Audience Award at the Cutting Edge International Film Festival 2016, Florida, USA
  • —Winner: Best Religious/Spiritual Film at the Erie International Film Festival 2016, Pennsylvania, USA
  • —Official Selection: GardenCity International Film Festival 2017, Bangalore, India
  • —Winner: Best Documentary Film at the "Switzerland International Film Festival 2018", Schwitzerland, Europe
  • —Semi-Finalist: Best Documentary at the film festival "Film for Peace 2020", Toronto, Canada
For Taking the Stand:
  • —Nomination: Best Documentary at the Long Island International Film Expo 2016, Long Island, New York, USA
  • —Winner: Alan Fortunoff Humanitarian Award at the Long Island International Film Expo 2016, Long Island, New York, USA
  • —Winner: Best Short Documentary Film at the Laughlin International Film Festival 2016, Laughlin, Nevada, USA
  • —Finalist: European International Film Festival 2017, St. Petersburg, Russia
  • —Finalist: Golden Hollywood International Film Festival 2019, Hollywood, California, USA