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Finding Kalman
A Life Reclaimed
| Length: | 30 min |
| Released: | 2011 |
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How will we tell the story of the Holocaust when the survivors are gone? In this profoundly touching, intergenerational documentary, a charismatic Holocaust survivor inspires her family to connect to relatives they could never meet. Focusing on her brother Kalman, Anna recounts tales of a mischievous boy who tried to escape the Warsaw ghetto with her.
Her daughter Roz, an artist, devours the stories and paints his portrait over and over again. As Kalman's face emerges on canvas, the film travels back and forth in time from archival Warsaw ghetto footage to summers in a Catskills bungalow colony, from vibrant family life before World War II to today.
Four generations grapple differently with their shared history. In spite of parental attempts to shield their children from the horrors, Roz grew up entangled in her mother’s pain. Maya, an Israeli-born granddaughter, expresses her life’s passion by playing the viola. Performing with Arab and Israeli youth, she questions why there has to be war when she finds natural ease in making music with someone she’s told should be her enemy. Maya performs the original music composed for the film. Eleven-year-old great-grandson Roy wonders with concern how the members of his generation will understand the Holocaust when it seems like just another story. Anna, a survivor, lives with her pain, while never losing her commitment to living life to the fullest.
As the loving family that grew from two survivors celebrates together, the film shows how four generations find light even in the darkest of places—with a resiliency that moves viewers to do the same.
Her daughter Roz, an artist, devours the stories and paints his portrait over and over again. As Kalman's face emerges on canvas, the film travels back and forth in time from archival Warsaw ghetto footage to summers in a Catskills bungalow colony, from vibrant family life before World War II to today.
Four generations grapple differently with their shared history. In spite of parental attempts to shield their children from the horrors, Roz grew up entangled in her mother’s pain. Maya, an Israeli-born granddaughter, expresses her life’s passion by playing the viola. Performing with Arab and Israeli youth, she questions why there has to be war when she finds natural ease in making music with someone she’s told should be her enemy. Maya performs the original music composed for the film. Eleven-year-old great-grandson Roy wonders with concern how the members of his generation will understand the Holocaust when it seems like just another story. Anna, a survivor, lives with her pain, while never losing her commitment to living life to the fullest.
As the loving family that grew from two survivors celebrates together, the film shows how four generations find light even in the darkest of places—with a resiliency that moves viewers to do the same.
“An extraordinary endeavor that digs out of oblivion the frail reminiscence of a being.”
‒Agnieszka Holland, Academy Award nominated director
“As poignant a film as it is charming. It is a work of both simplicity and power.”
‒Dr. Michael Barenbaum, Emmy Award Winner, Professor, American Jewish University
‒Agnieszka Holland, Academy Award nominated director
“As poignant a film as it is charming. It is a work of both simplicity and power.”
‒Dr. Michael Barenbaum, Emmy Award Winner, Professor, American Jewish University
CINE Special Jury Award, 2012
Hoboken International Film Festival, 2011
Jewish Culture Festival, Cracow, 2011
Association of Holocaust Organizations, 2011
CINE Golden Eagle, 2011
Best Short Documentary, Louisville International Film Festival, 2011
Hoboken International Film Festival, 2011
Jewish Culture Festival, Cracow, 2011
Association of Holocaust Organizations, 2011
CINE Golden Eagle, 2011
Best Short Documentary, Louisville International Film Festival, 2011
