3500+ Films - 2.5 million words – 1 million viewers! Founder and Curator Carmela selects some of our most powerful films about the Holocaust at We Are Moving Stories including the films of upcoming filmmaker Leah Galant, women’s lives, family, international perspectives short drama - and contemporary genocide.
Total length of this section: 21 films.
<THE FILMS OF LEAH GALANT>
Kitty and Ellen - The story of the friendship between two Holocaust survivors named Kitty and Ellen. Length: 16 minutes. Director Leah Galant:
“Kitty and Ellen’s friendship is inspiring. They are both hilarious women beyond having such rich histories. During a time when the political climate bears similarities to their past, hearing these stories is more important than ever. In the context of the 2016 election, following Kitty throughout the process gives us another perspective into that night and how she deals with the current political climate. We can all learn from Kitty’s outlook as she can see beyond tactics of division.”
Death Metal Grandma - 97 year old Holocaust survivor Inge Ginsberg attempts to break out as a death metal singer by auditioning to America’s Got Talent. Length: 13 minutes. Writer/Director Leah Galant:
“A friend named Matt Hadley texted me that he was on a music video set for a 95 year old holocaust survivor named Inge Ginsberg who does death metal. Once I received the text I immediately asked him to get her number and the rest is history.
I am also part of a class at Creative Culture at the Jacob Burns Film Center where over the course of a few months you are given resources and support to make a short film. I was at the end of my previous film about two holocaust survivors and knew this would be a perfect next project.”
<WOMEN’S LIVES>
Another Olga - Olga Horak shares what she has learnt from enduring the horrors of the holocaust. Length: 4 minutes 46 seconds. Writer/Director/Producer Cecilia Rumore:
“I wanted to know what someone who has lived through one of history’s darkest times has to say about human nature, life and resilience. Olga Horak offers a unique and rare perspective on how important love and hope is.”
Big Sonia - 'National treasure', Holocaust survivor, and diva, Sonia Warshawski (90), has just been served an eviction notice for her popular tailor shop in suburban Kansas City. A 'wounded healer', Sonia's trauma comes to the surface as she struggles with the concept of retirement. Length: 93 minutes. Directors Leah Warshawski & Todd Soliday:
“This film is unlike any “Holocaust” film you’ve ever seen. You will leave inspired to make the most out of every single day, and have a deeper understanding of your own challenges and issues.”
The Lucky One - After New York City sunny Boca Raton is home to the second highest population of Holocaust survivors in the United States. Length: 4 minutes 43 seconds. Director David Cerqueiro:
“The brief but intense recount of Mrs. Minia’s memories, as told by herself, resound profoundly with everyone’s idea of survival.”
The Stand Up Doll - How do you get up when life knocks you down? Let a 100-year-old woman share the secrets to life! Attitude is everything. Length: 1 hour 17 minutes 1 second. Writer/Director/Producer Evelyne Tollman Werzowa:
“I met Risa Igfeld when she was 85. I was so taken by her zest for life. She survived the Nazi invasion, sang songs in over 15 languages had so many hardships and yet still had such a great attitude and so much gratitude. At 85 she was falling in love again, I was going through another breakup! I wanted to know how she did it! So I started filming her. I did not know it would be 15 years that I would follow her for. But life keeps changing and I wanted to film how she handled it all.”
Still Alive / Noch Am Leben - Haunted from the beginning to the very end, Noch Am Leben/ Still Alive is the story of a woman’s recollection of her mad Holocaust survivor great aunt. Length: 8 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Anita Lester:
“I made Still Alive as a record of the legacy the women in my family carry. The Holocaust is a large part of my life, and my elders, unlike many survivor stories that are publicised, didn’t recover emotionally. I felt it would be interesting to document eugenics in a different and relatable format.”
<FAMILY>
Man on the Bus - The secret history of an Australian Jewish family. The true story of a Polish Holocaust survivor who led a double life in Melbourne, and her daughter Eve, a psychologist and filmmaker, who discovered the deception that upended her life. Length: hour 23 minutes 55 seconds. Director/Producer/Actor Eve Ash:
“I grew up with Holocaust survivor parents and as a psychologist and filmmaker always felt their story should be told. But I started to unravel more than I anticipated long after they died, and I knew I had to film myself searching for the truth.”
Three Days in Auschwitz - The director's mother, Mirka Mora, avoided Auschwitz by one day. On his father's side many perished in the Holocaust. These facts triggered three visits to Auschwitz by Mora from 2010 to 2014 in an effort to understand and remember. Length: 55 minutes. Writer/director Philippe Mora:
“It is personal because many family members were murdered there simply because they were Jewish. It is universal because at least six million Jewish children, women and men died in WW2 in genocidal actions by the Nazis and there still is no explanation. Racism is still the unexplained curse of humanity.”
Heritage Day - After Evie dresses up like her estranged grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, on “Heritage Day” at school, she becomes increasingly obsessed with this dark part of her family history. Writer/Director Lara Everly:
“In this film, I explore mother/child relationships and how we handle the stigma of shameful history and its murky shadows. As a third-generation Holocaust survivor myself, I’m interested in the conflict of finding connection and kinship to your personal heritage that happens to hail from a tragic part of history. Children often don’t understand the culture and social lines of what games are okay to play.”
No Asylum: The Untold Chapter of Anne Frank's Story - The stunning discovery of the lost letters of Anne Frank's father, Otto reveal an unknown chapter of their family's life. Length: 75 minutes. Director/Producer Paula Fouce:
“The deep writing and thoughts of Anne Frank ring true even today, 70 years after her death. No Asylum demonstrates how the refugee crisis during World War II mirrors today, and follows the Frank family’s quest for a safe haven - and the tragic results of their not finding one.”
David, The Return to Land - At 34 years old, David dreams and, at the same time, fears, going back to Haiti, where he was adopted a year after he was born. Length: 95 minutes. Writer/Director Anais Huerta:
“David is looking for his roots in Haiti. I think most people, once in their lives, will search for their origins, the story of their family, their community, their country. It’s universal, we simply need it. The search of David has an echo with the personal search of his mother, Claire, who is looking for her family who disappeared during the Holocaust.”
<INTERNATIONAL STORIES>
Following Shira's Journey - The untold story of the Greek Holocaust. Length: 50 minutes. Director Carol Gordon:
“Following Shira’s Journey tells a story of a two thousand year old community that is almost completely decimated during the Second World War. This is a story of human brutality and human survival. Watching this film will open up an unknown piece of history that is sad yet enlightening and optimistic at the same time. The lessons learned by watching this film are very relevant to the conflicts we all face in the modern world.”
Remember Belsen - A window into the Holocaust. Length: 1 hour 45 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Frank Shields:
“This film is about a moment in modern history that shocked the world and an Australian artist who witnessed the horror and recorded it for history.”
<SHORT DRAMAS>
Maydeleh and the Prisoner - After decades of steadfast resilience, Arie Weiss, a Holocaust survivor relapses into childhood trauma when Haruka, a Japanese caregiver, moves in with him. Arie’s powerless situation and his dependency on a non-Jew causes repressed memories of the war to resurface which lead him to mistrust Haruka. Through their struggles to trust and accept one another, this poetic tale explores the compassion and empathy that can flourish between two strangers of different cultures but of a similar pain. Length: 26 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Maya Ben Yair.
“The film handles universal themes of the fear and rejection of strangers and how past trauma and pain are used to justify mistrust. A more personal theme is the lack of communication around sensitive topics such as the holocaust which was common in my family. In the film, both characters believe strongly that ignorance is bliss.”
Mum's Hairpins - Jewish shtetl, Ukraine, 1941. A box with mother’s hairpins – the only thing left from his family – is Yasha’s last chance to escape German invaders and rescue his new friend, a wounded goat kid. Length: 19 minutes 40 seconds. Director Tatiana Fedorovskaya:
“When I was a young child, my grandfather Yasha (Jacob Fedorovsky) recounted the fascinating story of his escape from Radomyshl, a small Jewish shtetl in Ukraine that was under German occupation in 1941. A small box containing his mother’s hairpins, the only thing that remained from his family, helped him and his new friend – a wounded goat – to escape death.
I have wanted to tell this story to my audience ever since I began my career as a filmmaker.”
<CONTEMPORARY GENOCIDE>
Three Days In The Hole is a story about a young Yezidi girl, Luna, who is captured during the Islamic State’s siege of her home town Sinjar, Iraq and sold as a slave. She must learn to survive in a windowless underground dungeon shared with two other captives. Length: 19 minutes 57 seconds. Writer/Director/Producer Candice Carella:
“When I read about the girls who had escaped ISIS captivity, and withstood unimaginable crimes against humanity, I couldn’t shake it. Their stories haunted me and their bravery inspired me and the more I researched personal stories of these Yezidi women, the more I knew making a film could help raise awareness about the genocide committed against this marginalized community in need. There became no question this was to be my next film.”
Displaced follows the struggle of a young Sudanese woman as she finds the courage to speak up about the violent sexual abuse she suffered while living in a conflict zone. Length: 10 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Genna Chanelle Hayes:
“There are millions of women being violently sexually abused around the world. The purpose of this film is to give voice to the many women suffering around the world, and highlight the continued use of rape as a weapon of war and an act of genocide.”
Oyate Woyaka (The People Speak) - A feature length documentary following fluent Lakota speakers as they embrace their language and spirituality to heal from historical trauma. Length: 1 hour 26 minutes. Director Bryant High Horse:
“Most Americans know that the history of the United States includes horrific atrocities and genocide committed against Native Americans. Many believe that this is in the past and therefore cannot be changed or fixed. Oyate Woyaka is determined to show that we can still move into a new, healthier paradigm together. We will show how the past affects the present whether you view it from a western or a native perspective.”
Kuyujani Envenenado (Poisoning Kuyujani) Ecological mining does not exist. "To see things as they are, you must change your eyes" Ye'kwana Mythology. Length: 1 hour 28 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Alexandra Henao:
“How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Survival, ecocide, genocide, human rights, mining, struggle, military, Venezuela.”
Exit Wounds - A short, dramatised documentary on an Australian soldier’s response to the Rwandan Civil War. Length: 10 minutes 30 seconds. Writer/Director/Producer Pattie Collins:
“Veterans have a strong group identity. We acknowledge the importance of the group at the end of the film in the form of Dave riding with the Veterans Motorcycle Club. They are an impressive group of people who understand and support one another unconditionally.”