The Future Shapes the Past:

The Hilsner Case

Budoucnost utváří minulost: Kauza Hilsner

Written, Directed, and Produced by

Bryan Felber

Title by Michael March

Upcoming screenings

May 17, 2026 – NYC SVA Graduate Center

PRIVATE: Invite only. Distributors and industry welcome.

Email for info

May 31, 2026 – Virtual Screening

Q&A with Hillel Kieval and Charles Heller

Tickets

September 29, 2026 – Masaryk University FF

Q&A with director

Email for info

October 1, 2026 – Virtual Screening

Q&A in Czech language with cast and crew

Tickets

Education

The film can currently be used as part of your school’s curriculum. We offer a study handout to accompany the film, designed for middle and high school students. An extensive 20-hour curriculum for Jewish studies programs at the university level is currently being prepared for the fall 2026 semester. For licensing inquiries, please contact tereza@steelantproductions.com

To book a screening, please email:

tereza@steelantproductions.com

Three men standing in a cemetery with old gravestones and leafless trees in the background.
Historical documents and books spread out on a wooden desk, including a vintage newspaper with photographs and a blue hardcover book.
A group of people examining historical documents on a table in a room with bookshelves. One person is pointing at the documents, while others observe, with a photographer taking pictures.

Photo Credit: Karolína Fialová

Get in touch if you have any questions!

A black winner's medal with a blank center, surrounded by a laurel wreath design.
A man and woman stand together at an event, smiling. The man holds a trophy. The background has logos of various sponsors and the event's branding on a step-and-repeat banner.

Winner Best Documentary Feature at the Santa Clarita International Film Festival. December 14th, 2025.

V případě jakýchkoli dotazů nás kontaktujte.

Nebo klidně napište e-mail režisérovi bryan@steelantproductions.com

Previous screenings

Předchozí promítání

March 13, 2026 - Fourth Dimension Independent Film Festival, Bali, Indonesia

March 1, 2026 - Golden State Film Festival, Los Angeles

January 27, 2026 - Kino Art, Brno (in collaboration with STETL)

January 26, 2026 – Kino Světozor, Prague

December 14, 2025 - The Santa Clarita International Film Festival, Los Angeles (Winner Best Documentary)

December 7, 2025 - Kino Polná, Czech Republic

November 15, 2025 - Kino Polná, Czech Republic

Audience watching a presentation in a dark theater or auditorium with some light from a projector.

Sold-out world premiere in Polná. November 15th, 2025 on the 125th Anniversary of Leopold Hilsner’s second conviction.

Credits

Written, Directed, Produced, and Edited by

Bryan Felber

Cinematography Dheeraj Thakur

Production Sound Honza Vacek

Interpretation and Stills Karolína Fialová

Re-Recording Mixer Brent Kiser

Online Editor and Colorist Matthew Schwab

Subtitles and Translation Irena Křiváková

Assistant Editor/Camera Rosie Felber

Research Consultants Jan Prchal, Hillel Kieval, Martin Šmok, and Jaroslav Mareš

An older man wearing a black winter jacket and black beanie stands on a wet pathway adjacent to a large tree and with a cemetery with graves and flowers in the background.

Jan Prchal, Chairman of the Polná Historical Club and the great nephew of trial witness Blandina Prchalová

A man with a camera filming another man sitting in a leather armchair, reading a book, in a cluttered office with books, papers, and framed pictures on the wall.

Charles Heller, the grandson of Leopold Hilsner’s guardian, Siegfried Heller

Hillel Kieval being interviewed for The Future Shapes the Past sitting next to his book 'Blood Inscriptions' on a table.

Hillel Kieval, author of Blood Inscriptions: Science, Modernity, and Ritual Murder at Europe’s Fin de Sièc

Man with glasses and a beard in a blue sweater in a room with bookshelves, framed pictures, and a blue sign that says 'we need you to keep new york city clean.' A professional camera on a tripod takes a photo of him, and the man's image appears on the camera's screen. There are various objects, boxes, and cords around the room.

Martin Šmok. Author, historian, and filmmaker. Senior International Program Consultant, USC Shoah Foundation

Two men in suits sit across from each other at a technological television studio desk. One man is elderly with white hair and glasses, wearing a black tuxedo with a bow tie, and the other is younger, with glasses and light brown hair, dressed in a dark suit with a red tie. Both have glasses and are engaged in conversation. There are large television screens behind them displaying black and white images. The studio has a modern design with a curved black desk with illuminated edges and a sign that reads 'ROZSTREL'.

Lubomír Müller, the lawyer actively petitioning for Leopold Hilsner’s posthumous exoneration.

A woman conducting an interview with a bald man at a wooden dining table, with a camera recording the scene, set in a room with bookshelves and a patterned rug.

Petr Vašíček, the Czech doctor and musician who has been trying to rehabilitate Hilsner since 1996.

Synopsis

In 1899, in what is now the Czech Republic, a Jewish man named Leopold Hilsner was wrongly convicted of “ritual murder,” the medieval blood libel that falsely claimed Jews killed Christians to use their blood in Passover matzah. He was convicted twice on these fabricated charges.

But the most troubling fact is that Leopold Hilsner remains legally guilty of this crime to this day, despite more than 30 years of activism to posthumously exonerate him.

Blending true crime and history, the film investigates two mysteries. The first is who actually committed the murder. The second, and more consequential question, is why Czech politicians are so reluctant to legally rehabilitate Hilsner, even as the same conspiracy myths resurface online, fueling modern-day antisemitism.

Virtual Screening - May 31st
“History is not a tourist attraction, but a witness to the future.”
— Michael March

© Steel Ant Productions 2026

The Future Shapes the Past: The Hilsner Case is a feature-length true crime historical documentary about the Czech “Hilsner affair,” in which a Jewish man was falsely accused of ritual murder in 1899 Bohemia. The film investigates this murder mystery and asks why the Czech justice system has been reluctant to exonerate Leopold Hilsner, even as similar antisemitic myths resurface online.

The Future Shapes the Past: The Hilsner Case

Budoucnost utváří minulost: Kauza Hilsner (Czech Title)

USA, Czech Republic, 2025, 79 minutes

Documentary, True Crime, History

English and Czech (with Czech and English subtitles)