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MALKA: THE SUN WILL RISE AGAIN
Hi, my name is Seth Bisen-Hersh, and I have made it my mission to keep my grandmother's Holocaust story alive.
We have completed filming on "Malka" but we need your help to get us across the finish line.
We strongly believe this film will gain lots of exposure due to its star: the brilliant 6 time Tony/Emmy Award nominee Tovah Feldshuh who is unbelievable in this role. The funds raised from this campaign will help us cover the film's debts, polish the film, submit it to hundreds of festivals around the world, and subsidize our travel to these festivals where we hope to network with potential investors for a feature version.
Thank you for your continued support.
THE FILM
Malka, a Holocaust survivor, starts to see visions of her life at the camps during a present-day family seder. As time falls in on itself, Malka must find the hope in the present that she did in the past in order to survive.
Older Malka watches her family prepare for the seder. Her great-granddaughter starts complaining about the food, and as she asks "Why do I have to eat this food?" Malka is transported back in time in her mind and witnesses her younger self and her sister Ruchel huddling in Auschwitz, starving, unwilling to eat the barely edible, disgusting food.
Throughout the film, music is used to flashback to hardships Malka endured in her hometown of Klečenov (in the former country of Czechoslovakia) as the Nazis took over and then as her family is rounded up and brought to the camps.
When Malka sees a gorgeous sunrise, she is inspired to continue, and back in the present, Older Malka reaffirms her belief in hope and survival for the Jewish people.
Our 16 minute film is a beautiful tribute to the Jewish people, orchestrated for piano and string quartet.
BACKGROUND
In every talk/interview my grandmother gave (which was many), she mentioned the sunrise she saw on the train to Auschwitz as proof of the undeniable beauty in the world, even in the worst of times. I wrote her a song about that experience entitled "Sunrise" which is featured in the film. In the film, as in life, the sunrise renews her optimism even as she heads into the unknown atrocities to come.
My grandmother was a remarkable woman, and without her perseverance I would not be here today. There are so few Holocaust survivors who remain, and at times it feels like the world has completely moved on from this horror. It took decades before my grandmother began to talk candidly about what she had experienced. Once she opened up, her mission became clear. She talked in any temple or school that would have her. She gave multiple interviews for papers, was featured on a few cable TV shows, and her story appears in Stephen Spielberg's Holocaust anthology. In the last few years of her life when she was confined to a hospital bed, she told her story to students via Skype.
Following the path she set upon, I have vehemently taken up her mantle. I am honored to immortalize my grandmother in this short film. With current levels of antisemitism off the charts, it is essential we keep authentic Jewish stories alive.
11 сен 2024
