NFB Collection
I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors
201015 min 1 secFilm: Animation
Direction: Ann Marie Fleming
Production: David VerrallSilva BasmajianMichael FukushimaGerry Flahive
Script: Ann Marie Fleming
‘‘The Holocaust is a drug….”
I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors is director Ann
Marie Fleming’s animated adaptation of Bernice Eisenstein’s acclaimed
illustrated memoir. Through an artful blend of Eisenstein’s drawings,
inventive animation and the author’s own voice, the film weaves together
personal and global history. Eisenstein explores her own identity from a past
that her parents, both Auschwitz survivors, don’t especially want to talk
about. Using the healing power of humour, the film probes the taboos around a
very particular second-hand trauma, leading us to a more universal
understanding of human experience. The film explores identity and loss through
the audacious proposition that the Holocaust is addictive and defining. I
Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors shakes up perspectives and
conveys to a new generation the continuing legacy of the Second World War,
which seared the word “genocide” into our collective consciousness. This is a
poignant and wry exploration of grief, love, acceptance and resilience,
through the enduring quality of family bonds.
Availability
Other versions
Subject categories
- Literature and Language > Adaptations of Literary WorksAnimation based on Literature
- Literature and Language - Canada > Adaptations of Literary Works
- Families > Animation on the FamilyFamily Portraits
- War, Conflict and Peace > Holocaust
- Cultural Diversity and Multiculturalism > Jewish Community
- Geography > Human Geography
- Ethics and Religious Culture > Religious Diversity/Heritage
- History > World War II
Credits
- writer
- Ann Marie Fleming
- director
- Ann Marie Fleming
- based on the book
- Bernice Eisenstein
- narrator
- Bernice Eisenstein
- animation
- Lillian Chan
- Kevin Langdale
- Howie Shia
- editing
- Ann Marie Fleming
- Ileana Pietrobruno
- original music
- Normand Roger
- Pierre Yves Drapeau
- Denis Chartrand
- sound design
- Normand Roger
- Pierre Yves Drapeau
- Denis Chartrand
- musician
- Denis Chartrand
- Bernard Cormier
- Guy Donis
- Pierre Yves Drapeau
- Éric Lagacé
- Nicolas Letarte
- Patrick Vetter
- technical co-ordination
- Julie Laperrière
- digital imaging specialist
- Susan Gourley
- re-recording
- Jean Paul Vialard
- on-line
- Denis Gathelier
- titles
- Gaspard Gaudreau
- marketing manager
- Julie Armstrong-Boileau
- administration
- Gisèle Guilbault
- Rosalina Di Sario
- Rachel Punwassie
- executive producer
- David Verrall
- Silva Basmajian
- producer
- Michael Fukushima
- Gerry Flahive
Awards
- Special Mention for the Short Film Competition Jury PrizeInternational Film Festival
- Best Animated Film AwardReel to Real International Film Festival for Youth and Families
- Michael Moskovitz Award for a Film on a Jewish ThemeJ.I. Segal Awards