Known as Draft Dodgers in English when it was chosen as Luxembourg’s best foreign film entry for the 2010 Academy Awards, Réfractaire has been marketed on DVD as The Undercover War in some territories.

The film tells the story of a young Luxembourger faced with a dilemma during the Nazi occupation of the Grand Duchy--to hide out in the cold, dark iron ore mines or to be forcibly drafted into the Wehrmacht and have to fight on the Russian front.

The 2009 Iris Productions film won the Los Angeles Underground International Film Festival prizes for best Best Narrative Feature, while Steil won for Best Director. The film also picked up the award for Best Cinematography (by Denis Jutzeler) and Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet (who plays draft dodger Francois) won the Best Actor prize.

Réfractaire, with English subtitles, is available on DVD at various outlets in Luxembourg. Watch the trailer here.

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