The Halfmoon Files is a cinematic and auditory exploration of the forgotten stories of the colonized prisoners who were held during the First World War at the so-called Halfmoon Camp in Wünsdorf near Berlin. Film-maker Philip Scheffner embarks on a cinematic search for clues in the archives, tracing the memories of the places in Wünsdorf that overlap on multiple levels. In the process, he comes across audio recordings made there in 1916 by German linguists to create a comprehensive sound archive of the ‘voices of the world’ and, among other things, to document the various languages, dialects, and songs of the prisoners of war. 

Starting with the voice of an Indian soldier, Scheffner reconstructs the circumstances surrounding these recordings and explores how history is told—and whose voices are heard within it. Through an essayistic montage of archival footage, observational footage, and interviews, the film brings to light the colonial power dynamics that lay behind these scientific claims. The Halfmoon Files is thus not only based on artistic and historical research but also draws attention to the gaps and ghosts of history—to voices that were recorded, yet whose stories have largely vanished.