The Future Shapes the Past

Budoucnost utváří minulost

Written, Directed, and Produced by

Bryan Felber

Title by Michael March

Poster for the documentary film titled 'The Future Shapes the Past.' It features an older man with gray hair holding a purple umbrella with white polka dots, pointing to the left one arm extended. The background shows a cloudy sky and a leafless tree. The poster includes award mentions for film festivals and a quote: 'History is not a tourist attraction, but a witness to the future,' attributed to Michael March, along with credits for the film.

The Future Shapes the Past is a feature-length true crime historical documentary that explores modern-day antisemitism against the backdrop of a 126-year-old blood libel case — where a Jewish man was falsely accused of ritual murder in what is now the Czech Republic — and it’s still unresolved today as the Czech authorities refuse to overturn the verdict.

IMDb

The Future Shapes the Past / Budoucnost utváří minulost (Czech Title)

USA, 2025, 80 minutes

Documentary, True Crime, History

English and Czech (with Czech and English subtitles

Upcoming screenings

Nadcházející promítání

26.1 – Kino Světozor 20:15

Vodičkova 791, Praha 1

Malý sál - Post-film discussion

Tickets / Vstupenky

27.1 – Kino Art 18:00

Cihlářská 19, Brno

Velký sál - Post-film discussion

Tickets / Vstupenky
Historical documents and books spread out on a wooden desk, including a vintage newspaper with photographs and a blue hardcover book.
A group of people examining historical documents on a table in a room with bookshelves.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.
Three men standing in a cemetery with old gravestones and leafless trees in the background.

Photo Credit: Karolína Fialová

V případě jakýchkoli dotazů nás kontaktujte.

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

Contact us with any questions.

Or simply email the director bryan@steelantproductions.com

Previous screenings

Předchozí promítání

December 14th, 2025 - The Santa Clarita International Film Festival

Winner - Best Documentary Feature

December 7th, 2025. Kino Polná. (Reprisal)

November 15th, 2025. Kino Polná.

Sold out world premiere. 189 seats. On the 125th Anniversary of Leopold Hilsner’s second conviction.

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

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

Photo Credit: Karolína Fialová

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 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.

December 14th, 2025 at the Santa Clarita IFF

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

Is a 126-year-old murder mystery still shaping global politics today?

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.

Plot Outline

A 126-year-old murder mystery, in which a Jewish man was falsely accused of ritual murder, still haunts Czech politics today. As activists try to overturn the verdict, the Czech judiciary’s reluctance to reopen the case reveals deeper antisemitic chapters of their past they would prefer to forget.

Learn more

© Steel Ant Productions 2025

“History is not a tourist attraction, but a witness to the future.”
— Michael March