Oct 15, 2021

Sixth Annual Screening the Holocaust Film Series

The Miami Jewish Film Festival and The Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies, the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, and the Holocaust Teacher Institute at the University of Miami are proud to announce their sixth annual Screening the Holocaust Film Series. Due to the continued impacts of the COVID-19 health crisis on Miami-Dade County, this year’s program will be entirely hosted online on the Festival’s Virtual Screening Room and will be made available for free to all residents of Florida.

The program kicks off on Friday, October 15 with a special presentation of Love It Was Not, an official submission to the Academy Awards for Best Documentary Film and winner of the Best Israeli Film prize at DocAviv, Israel’s largest documentary film festival. The virtual event will also include a live discussion featuring Academy Award-winning director Maya Sarfaty, which will be moderated by Danny Reed, the Education Coordinator at the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach. The live Q&A will take place on Wednesday, October 20 at 2pm EST.

In this astonishing film, the forbidden love affair between Helena Citron — one of Auschwitz's first female prisoners — and SS officer Franz Wunsch continues to have an effect more than 30 years later when Helena is asked to testify at his war crimes trial. The result of this nuanced voyage is an utterly fascinating watch, bound to inspire endless debate and discussion.

The Screening the Holocaust Film Series will continue in November with the virtual screening of Finding Manny, one of the most popular films at the 2021 Miami Jewish Film Festival. In this engrossing film, the chance discovery of an article sends a Holocaust survivor on an unexpected trip to visit the orphanage where he was rescued to after the war. Narrated by Stephen Baldwin, Finding Manny shares a powerful theme of optimism and makes “never again” have meaning for the next generation. Accompanying this special screening will be a virtual panel discussion featuring director Kacey Cox and producers Cindy Drukier & Jan Jekielek.

At this time of incredible challenge and change brought on by the global pandemic, these films celebrate our resilience, our diversity, and our capacity for creativity and inspiring tolerance and cultural understanding. For us, each of these films is a testament to the necessity and power of filmmaking, and we cannot wait for our audiences to discover and rediscover them. If you value this program and all that MJFF provides year-round to our community, then consider supporting us by donating or becoming a Member today so we can continue educating our community through our dynamic programs.

All the films presented in the Screening the Holocaust Film Series will be accompanied by a virtual discussion with the film’s director and other special guests. You can find the complete virtual film program below:

Love It Was Not (2020)

This entry to the Academy Awards for Best Documentary centers on the tragic and unbelievable love story between a young Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz and the Austrian SS officer who saved her life. The film will be available to stream starting Friday, October 15.

Finding Manny (2020)

The chance discovery of an article sends a Holocaust survivor on an unexpected trip to visit the orphanage where he was rescued to after the war. As he revisits the places of his darkest memories, he must reconcile the past and educate the future. The film will be available to stream starting Sunday, November 7.

The Auschwitz Escape (2020)

Slovakia's official entry to the Academy Awards. In this powerful WWII drama based on an astonishing true story, two Slovakian Jews risk their lives to bear witness to the horrors of Auschwitz. The film will be available to stream starting Friday, December 10.