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Sunday, May 31st, 2026

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Can you identify this short, tense European film set during WWII?

Hello, I'm searching for a short film (5-10min) that I saw maybe ~15 years ago, which left a lasting impression. It was screened after a movie in a Melbourne(?) cinema. It was a subtitled European film, probably set during WWII. Soldiers are searching a house. There's a family hiding in two cupboards. In one cupboard there are women, a baby and children. There are a couple of young inexperienced soldiers who are clowning around. They are shocked when they discover the women and children hiding. They immediately close the cupboard and panic. The other soldiers appear, including the brutal older leader. I'm not sure if he hears a noise, but he opens fire, killing the men in the other cupboard. The women and children are spared through the young soldiers' silence. It was a really tense film and just captured this moment when ordinary people have to make a huge moral decision under enormous pressure. I couldn't say with certainty when or where I saw it, but it must've been between 2005 and 2013. If anyone can help me identify this film, it would be greatly appreciated! 

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23 days ago

Although it doesn't match all your details, you may be thinking of The Palace.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1965203/

I can't find it available for streaming.

(edited)

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@Peter_pbn​ omg THANK YOU so much, I think this is it!! I was trying to figure it out with ChatGPT and my partner, which led me to think it was a European film set during WWII. But I initially thought it was set in Turkey, which correlates... Apparently it won Best Short Film of the Decade from the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts). I just remember watching it after a movie (I think it was 'Wish You Were Here'), which I thought was quite good, but the short film unexpectedly screened after blew me away.