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KAFKA'S LAST STORY

The lost menuscripts of Franz Kafka

Special Jury Remi Award  WorldFest Houston, USA, 2012

Special Jury Mention  Moscow International Detective Film Festival, 2012

Best Author's Approach  XVI International TV Festival Bar Montenegro, 2011

While the world may be eternally grateful to Max Brod for preserving some of the greatest works of 20th century literature and transforming Franz Kafka into a global cultural icon, Kafka himself may be turning in his grave. Kafka’s final wish stated that “all that is left in my estate must be burned completely, without reading”, was famously disregarded by his closest friend, and the rest is literary history. However, nearly a century after Kafka’s untimely death, the fate of his invaluable manuscripts is at the heart of a heated debate involving millions of dollars and political wrangling between Israel and Germany. The film follows the manuscripts from their initial journey in Brod’s suitcase from Nazi occupied Europe to Israel, to their current location, gathering dust in a run down Tel Aviv apartment, closely guarded by an unstable, eccentric woman and dozens of cats. The result is a twisted, bizarre detective story, whose irony and absurdity would not have been lost on the great man himself.

​TEAM

Director Sagi Bornstein
Producers Sagi Bornstein, Christian Drewing

Production companies uvs films, Eikon Sudwest Filmproduktion
DOP Eliran Knoller

Editors Sagi Bornstein, Roni Ben-Gal

Original music Omer Frenkel

Research Ofer Aderet

Sound design and mix Shai Fahima

Online Ron Ben Meir

Grafic design Michael (Mysh) Rozanov, Michal Maman

World sales Ruth Diskin Films

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TECHNICAL DETAILS

Production Countries > Israel, Germany

Production year 2011
Runtime 53 min

Aspect ratio 16:9

Sound Stereo

Color Color

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Toronto Jewish Film Festival Laurels
Romania Film Festival Laurels
Montenegro Film Festival Laurels
Huston Film Festival Laurels
Bratislava Film Festival Laurels
DocAviv Film Festival Laurels
DokLeipzig Film Festival Laurels
UK Jewish Film Festival Laurels
Moscow detective Film Festival Laurels
Westchester Film Festival Laurels

© 2025 uvs films

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uvs films is a Haifa based documentary film production company, run by filmmaker duo Udi Nir and Sagi Bornstein. Their work includes GOLDA (2019), #uploading_holocaust (2016), and Kafka's Last Story (2011). 

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