| March
6, 2007
Faculty Members Collaborate
on Holocaust Documentary
A unique collaboration between members of the film
and journalism departments at the College of Communications is drawing
media attention both inside and outside Pennsylvania.
Barbara Bird and Richie Sherman, both faculty members
in the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies, are working together
with Judy Maltz, a lecturer in the Department of Journalism, on
a feature-length documentary film that tells the remarkable story
of Francisca Halamajowa, a Polish woman who risked her life to rescue
15 Jews during the Holocaust. Her story was chronicled in a diary
kept by Moshe Maltz, one of those she saved and the grandfather
of Judy Maltz.
Production of "On the Side of Angels"
got under way last summer, and the film is scheduled for release
in 2008. This summer, the filmmakers will travel to the town in
Poland where the story took place, where they will meet three of
the remaining survivors and Mrs. Halamajowa’s grandchildren.
Further information about the documentary and the
filmmakers may be found on the Web site: www.angelside.org.
An article about “On the Side of Angels”
was recently featured in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle,
and another piece is scheduled to be published in the New Jersey
Jewish News, the largest weekly newspaper in New Jersey. Elena
Douvanis, a Penn State junior majoring in public relations, recently
spoke with Judy Maltz about the film.
When did you realize your grandfather kept a diary chronicling
his experiences during WWII?
The funny thing is I don’t actually remember when I realized
he had kept a diary. I guess it’s something I always knew.
When he was much older and had moved in to live with my parents,
he used to spend most of the day just sitting and reading his diary.
I must have been in my twenties then, so that’s when I have
the most vivid memories of actually seeing the diary. The interesting
thing is that I never asked him why he had decided to start keeping
a diary when World War II broke out. Neither did anyone else in
the family. Unfortunately, now, when this question has started to
intrigue me, he’s no longer around to ask.
What were your first thoughts when you learned about what
had happened to your family?
The story of what my father and grandparents went through during
the Holocaust is something that I have always known. My father never
spoke to me about it when I was growing up. I think he was too traumatized
by his childhood memories and went through a sort of denial for
many years. On the other hand, I spent a tremendous amount of time
with my grandparents when I was little – I was the first of
their 10 grandchildren – and they spoke to me a lot about
the Holocaust. As a child I had a lot of questions, and they were
very open with their answers – perhaps even too open considering
my age then. What fascinated me, or rather horrified me, at that
point and for many years after was the actual story – not
how it was chronicled. Only much later in my life did I start becoming
fascinated with the idea that my grandfather actually had the foresight
to put this all down on paper.
When did you realize that you wanted to do a movie about
your grandfather’s story?
It happened over a brunch held for College of Communication women
faculty members about nine months ago. I was sitting at the same
table with Barbara Bird, who teaches documentary filmmaking here,
and I told her how one of the things I always wanted to do was learn
how to make a documentary film. I should probably add that I had
already seen Barbara’s film, “Album,” which I
loved and which demonstrated to me how sensitively she deals with
traumatic family issues. We started to talk about the possibility
of me sitting in on one of her classes, and she told me to go home
and think of a couple of ideas for one-minute movies. A few days
later, I bumped into her in the hallway in Carnegie and asked her:
“Barbara, what are you doing next summer?” She said:
“Why are you asking? I haven’t even started thinking
about that.” So I said to her: “Well I want you to come
with me to Israel and Eastern Europe to make a documentary film,
but this one is going to be a little longer than one minute.”
The rest, as they say, is history. We eventually got Richie Sherman,
another professor who’s an experimental filmmakers and whose
work we both admire, to come on board as well.
Why do you feel it is important to tell his story?
One of the reasons I feel it is so important to tell this story
is that it shows that even in the most terrible of times, there
were good people out there, like Francisca Halamajowa, the woman
who saved my family. These were people who acted in a humane way
when most of those around them were behaving like beasts. These
were people who risked their lives to save other lives. These are
the type of people who should be a role model to all of us everywhere,
the type of people we should be teaching our children about. Another
reason it is so important to tell this story today is that genocide
is once again a reality in places like Darfur, so people need to
be reminded of what can happen when the world turns it back on those
in desperate need of help. I would also say that today, when there
are more and more of those who shamelessly deny that the Holocaust
ever happened – just witness the recent conference sponsored
by Iran – it becomes all the more important to expose the
world to written testimonies, like those provided in my grandfather’s
diary, and to the oral testimonies of those survivors who are still
alive, like my father and cousin, because they aren’t going
to be around forever.
In the article recently published in the Pittsburgh Jewish
Chronicle, I read that you are in contact with Francisca Halamajowa’s
grandchildren. What is that relationship like?
The fact
that we share such a compelling family history has created a strong
bond between us. I’d say it’s almost like being family.
Every time I see them I remind them that if it weren’t for
their mother and grandmother, I would not be here today. In fact,
according to my latest count, if it weren’t for their mother
and grandmother, there would probably be 100 less people walking
the face of the earth today.
What is it like collaborating with other Penn State professors
on the project?
It has been an exciting and enriching experience. Each of us brings
our own special skills and strengths to this project, and this has
created a lot of synergy. We’ve all also become very close
personal friends through this collaboration.
When can we expect the film to be completed?
Our goal is to have it completed by autumn 2008.
For more information, please see: www.angelside.org
|
Contact information:
Steve Sampsell
Coordinator of College Relations
Phone: (814) 865-8801
Email:sws102@psu.edu
www.angelside.org |
