"BACK TO THE FATHERLAND" -- Opening Theatrically June 14 in NYC/Opening in LA June 28 -- See Trailer HERE!

BACK TO THE FATHERLAND

DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY: KAT ROHRER AND GIL LEVANON

Award-winning documentary BACK TO THE FATHERLAND will open theatrically in New York on Friday, June 14 (Cinema Village) and Los Angeles (Laemmle Music Hall) on Friday, June 28 with a national release to follow.


WATCH THE TRAILER




Gil and Kat, both filmmakers, struck up a friendship during their time at college in New York City ten years ago. Gil comes from Israel, Kat from Austria. Their families' history is strikingly different. Gil is the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Kat is one of a Nazi officer.

The exodus of many young secular Israelis to Germany and Austria prompt Gil and Kat to embark on a journey: to find other grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who had moved to Germany and Austria and learn how their grandparents reacted to that decision. Could returning to the site of their pain decades ago create reconciliation between generations?

BACK TO THE FATHERLAND follows the journey of three families in transition; Israeli grandchildren from the “Third Generation” and their respective grandparents.The film deals with both sides of the historic tragedy and the attempt to build their own future, without ignoring the past.

KAT ROHRER (DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, AUSTRIA)
In 2002, Kat Rohrer founded her New York based production company, GreenKat Productions. Since then Kat has directed and produced more the ten short films, music videos, documentaries, and a wide variety of industrials and commercials. Kat acted as DP on the feature length documentary “Larry Flint: The Right to Be Left Alone”, which screened worldwide and has been aired on IFC. Her last documentary “Fatal Promises,” which deals with Human Trafficking, has been shown across the US and Europe in film festivals, anti-trafficking and fundraising events and college campuses.

GIL LEVANON (CO-DIRECTOR, CO- PRODUCER, ISRAEL)
Gil Levanon has been writing, producing and directing award winning commercials, industrial and short films for over fifteen years. After completing her BFA in directing and graduating with honors from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, she associate produced in The Rolling Stones Showfor MTV and later associate produced promos for USA Network ,NBC. Her short film “Manfred” won second place in the Israeli Documentary Challenge Competition and screened in Cinematheques around Israel.

ABOUT FIRST RUN FEATURES
First Run Features was founded in 1979 by a group of filmmakers to advance the distribution of independent film. First Run quickly gained a reputation for its controversial catalog of daring documentaries and fiction films. Today First Run remains one of the largest independent distributors in North America, releasing in theaters nationwide; to schools, libraries and other educational institutions; on home video on DVD and Blu-Ray; to television broadcasters; and online through a diverse group of innovative digital partners.

Recent releases include "Moynihan," "Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe," "Chasing Portraits," and "Germans & Jews." 

Check out our website: www.firstrunfeatures.com
 
Official film website: www.backtothefatherland.com

Feature Documentary, 77 mins, In English, German and Hebrew (with English subtitles)

"BACK TO THE FATHERLAND" -- Opening Theatrically June 14 in NYC/Opening in LA June 28 -- See Trailer HERE!

SURVIVING BIRKENAU: THE SUSAN SPATZ STORY -- DVD Review by Porfle

When you have a Holocaust survivor with a vivid memory and a desire to tell her story, you don't need any more than that. SURVIVING BIRKENAU: THE SUSAN SPATZ STORY (2019) is augmented by a wealth of period photographs and film clips, but it's the words of Susan Spatz herself that keep us mesmerized.

At 96, she is a prime example of going through hell and back again, having come out of her three-year ordeal with a burning desire to make the most of the remainder of her life.

As she says, her survival wasn't a happily-ever-after ending, but only the start of her struggle to find her place in the universe again.

 

Her story begins with her privileged childhood in Vienna in the 1920s, an only child she admits was spoiled until the Nazis came and turned everything upside-down.


With Austrian Jews being relocated into ghettos and worse, her father escaped to Brussels while her mother insisted on staying behind with Susan, supposedly to see how her husband fared before leaving.

As Susan relates, her mother's actual intention was to remain behind with her lover, a decision that condemned her and her daughter to imprisonment by the Nazis. Susan is frank about her lack of sentimental memories of the woman who chose her man over her daughter's well-being, a decision that soon landed Susan in the dreaded concentration camp at Auschwitz.

Her eyes are alight with vivid images of the past as she relates, clearly and in great detail, the horrors and hardships encountered there.

 

We've heard many similar stories before, but as always, hearing them from yet another individual who lived through the ordeal brings a different and newly fascinating wealth of day-to-day details which can only begin to convey what the actual experiences must have been like.

She talks of familiar horrors--the crematorium with the tall, fiery chimney, freight cars filled with dead bodies, crowds of naked people being separated according to who can still work and who is fit only for extermination--along with the hardships of simply staying alive one more day in some of the worst conditions imaginable.

Her eventual transfer to the camp at Birkenau and a wildly fortunate opportunity to join the pool of administrative assistants gave her a somewhat less precarious existence, and in fact was the most important factor in her survival.

She then reveals how the impending arrival of allied liberation forces brought about a long, horrific death march before she finally found herself suddenly free from bondage after three incredibly harsh years.

What comes next is Susan's story of life after living death, a life not easy but one which she was eager to live to the fullest.  A failed marriage, motherhood, and a college degree are all part of the story of this amazing woman who still displays a faded number tattooed on her arm. 

SURVIVING BIRKENAU: THE SUSAN SPATZ STORY is a thoughtful, evocative, harrowing, and ultimately inspiring story that eschews sensationalism in favor of simply letting her tell her story the way only a survivor of that time possibly could, and in being fortunate enough to hear it, we are all the better for it.






Buy it at Amazon.com

Language: English
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Dreamscape Media
DVD Release Date: May 14, 2019
Run Time: 71 minutes

About The Holocaust Education Film Foundation
Established in 2018, the Holocaust Education Film Foundation was started to build an international, interactive online community one Holocaust survivor story at a time. Through full-length documentaries, distributed globally through numerous platforms, the online site and educational programs, the 501c3 foundation seeks to ensure that we never forget.

Read our review of the Holocaust Education Film Foundations's TO AUSCHWITZ AND BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY

SURVIVING BIRKENAU: THE SUSAN SPATZ STORY -- DVD Review by Porfle

Meet Inspiring 102-year Old Holocaust Survivor Rosalee Glass in "REINVENTING ROSALEE"

FILM FESTIVAL FAVORITE WITH ALMOST 40 AWARDS


102-Year-Old Rosalee Glass Proves
‘It’s Never Too Late To Live Your Dream’ In

‘REINVENTING ROSALEE’

Available on Digital HD, DVD and VOD May 7, 2019
In Time for Mother’s Day


Los Angeles, Calif. (April 2019) – The inspirational documentary about 102-year-old Rosalee Glass, REINVENTING ROSALEE, whose remarkable life story spans incredible tragedy turned into boundless joy, will be released on Random Media Digital HD, DVD and VOD May 7, 2019. 

Already an overwhelming fan favorite before its 2019 Oscar eligibility theatrical run (March/April 2019), REINVENTING ROSALEE has screened at an unprecedented 90 film festivals worldwide and won over 35 awards in the process. 

Directed by her surviving child, renowned author and body-language expert Dr. Lillian Glass, the film chronicles mother/daughter travels around the world to places where Rosalee lived during the war to new ones she longed to experience, and unfolds a heart-warming story of new beginnings, mother and daughter bonding and the strength of the human spirit.   

WATCH THE TRAILER 

Rosalee Glass survived the holocaust, labor camps and the tragic loss of three children.  After her beloved husband of 60 years passed in 1996 and, shortly thereafter her third child, she was devastated and didn’t want to go on.  Literally one day she woke up and decided to live the rest of her life to the fullest.  In her 80’s, she took piano lessons, tai chi, boxing, tango dancing, swimming, French and acting. 

In her 90’s she got an agent and began a successful career appearing in commercials for Google, Porsche, Hallmark, Blue Cross and ESPN’s “X Games”.   For her 100th birthday she dared to travel to Alaska to ride with sled dogs, authored “100 Years of Wisdom” and started an online life advice service. 

Official Synopsis:

REINVENTING ROSALEE is the unforgettable story of Rosalee Glass, a 102-year-old Holocaust survivor taken prisoner to a Siberian gulag, who transforms her destiny.  In her late 80’s, she begins an acting career; In her 90’s, she wins a beauty pageant and stars in a Super Bowl commercial; and at 100 dares to ride with sled dogs in Alaska.  A courageous testament to the human spirit regardless of age, it screened to acclaim at over 90 film festivals around the world and won of over 40 awards in the process.  REINVENTING ROSALEE is a fantastic true story of hope and inspiration that you will never forget!

REINVENTING ROSALEE is MPAA rated PG-13 with a total running time of 80 minutes.

Logline:

Proving that it is never too late to live your dreams, REINVENTING ROSALEE chronicles the remarkable life of 102-year-old Rosalee Glass, from the horrors of the holocaust and family loss, to finding great joy late in life.

About Random Media:

Random Media is a content company that acquires and distributes films on a worldwide basis through movie theatres, conventional brick and mortar retailers, digital platforms, cable and satellite companies and television networks. Random Media is known for its commitment to building strong, supportive relationships with its filmmakers. The companies’ growing library includes such acclaimed films as Getting Grace, Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon, Killswitch: The Battle for Control of the Internet, The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille  and The Landing.

WEB/SOCIAL MEDIA:
Official Film Site:  https://reinventingrosalee.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosaleeglassdoc 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/reinventingrosalee/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/reinventingrosalee/
IMDB:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7682260/

Meet Inspiring 102-year Old Holocaust Survivor Rosalee Glass in "REINVENTING ROSALEE"

TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY -- DVD Review by Porfle

When I started watching TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY, I was thinking, "I hope this has a lot of film footage and pictures, and isn't all talk."  But before it was over, all I wanted to do was listen to Joe Engel talk.

Engel, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, wears a name tag identifying himself as such so that people will ask him about it.  He welcomes any opportunity to talk about his experiences during this horrific period in history, because people such as himself who can still relate firsthand stories on the subject are dwindling rapidly.

Fortunately, age has diminished neither Mr. Engel's memories of that time nor his ability to draw us in with vivid descriptions of the most tragic and sordid events imaginable and make us feel as though we're witnessing them ourselves.

His verbal accounts are amazingly comprehensive, detailed, and evocative, as well as straightforwardly articulate, for someone dredging up such a maelstrom of turbulent memories and putting them into words for us and for history itself.

Engel begins the story with his youth in a large family, most of whom he would never see again after the harsh indignities of life in the Warsaw ghetto led to a train journey in a cattle car to one of Hitler's horrendous death camps.

He calmly describes each step in the process, bringing up each memory in his mind with enough detail so that our imaginations can paint heartrending pictures of every dreadful experience.

Most of these stories are accompanied by visuals, whether they be rare photos of young Engel and his family or haunting actual footage from the Warsaw ghetto and from Auschwitz and other death camps (much more of which is available in the DVD's bonus menu) which accentuate Engel's words without overwhelming them.

The combination of words and pictures creates a nightmare world in our minds, one which is too horrible to contemplate as Engel's unfaltering narrative builds with the intensity of a suspenseful thriller.

Often he describes being beyond hope, yet there comes a time when he sees an opportunity to escape and, figuring his odds at 99 to 1, takes it. Miraculously he does manage to get away, eventually joining a resistance movement through which he was able to strike back in a small way against Hitler's Germany.

And then, finally, comes the liberation of the death camps by the Allies and a terrible reckoning for those guilty of such ungodly crimes against humanity. Here, we learn of Mr. Engel's journey to America, how many of his surviving family members he was able to locate, and what has become of him since.

One thing he's done is to make sure his story is told, "over and over and over", as long as he is able to tell it.  He reminds me of one of the living books from Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451", his very existence a precious historical treasure of which we can and should avail ourselves.

To this end, TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY is a most irreplaceable record of this man's passage through a literal Hell and his miraculous survival to tell the tale.  The presentation is admirably low-key and subtle, eliciting a sudden surge of emotion at the end which was both unexpected and exceedingly well-earned.
 

TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY
Running Time: 47 mins.
Genre: Documentary
Aspect Ratio: 16 x 9
Audio: Stereo

Read our original coverage

About The Holocaust Education Film Foundation
Established in 2018, the Holocaust Education Film Foundation was started to build an international, interactive online community one Holocaust survivor story at a time. Through full-length documentaries, distributed globally through numerous platforms, the online site and educational programs, the 501c3 foundation seeks to ensure that we never forget.

TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY -- DVD Review by Porfle

Powerful Doc "TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY" Brings to Life an Incredible Tale of Persecution and Escape On 8/14

THIS AUGUST, ONE POWERFUL DOCUMENTARY -- A STORY OF PERSECUTION, FORTITUDE AND ONE MAN'S DARING ESCAPE FROM INTERNMENT IN NAZI GERMANY - WILL ASSURE WE NEVER FORGET

TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY

Available on DVD and Digital on August 14, 2018 Through Dreamscape Media, This is the Inaugural Release from the Holocaust Education Film Foundation, a 501c3 Organization Assuring that the Impactful Stories of Holocaust Survivors Are Preserved Through Film

Charleston, SC (July 19, 2018) -- Many people call themselves storytellers. Very few, however, can compel you to listen. Joe Engel, at 90 years of age, knows how to tell his story. His unforgettable tale of persecution and perseverance comes to compelling life in TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY.

The powerful documentary arrives on DVD ($24.95srp) and digital this August from Dreamscape Media and the Holocaust Education Film Foundation, in conjunction with Anchor Media Group and Synagogue Emanu-El.

WATCH THE TRAILER:

TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY tells an incredible story of persecution, one man's inner-strength and fortitude and a daring escape from internment in Nazi Germany. Born in Zakroczym, Poland in 1927, Engel was taken by the Nazis at 14 and never saw his parents again.
From the overwhelming despair of the Warsaw Ghetto, to the shroud of unceasing death and suffering that was Birkenau and Auschwitz, Engel vividly takes viewers to hell and back through his escape from a Death Train at 17 and covert work as a freedom fighter until Liberation in 1945.

With the assistance of The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's film and photographic archives, filmmaker Ron Small (Circle Unbroken, Medals of World War II) has successfully woven Engel's incredible storytelling into a riveting visual presentation that is both historic and contemporary.

With an unwavering will to live, Engel overcame unimaginable horrors, earned his freedom, and fought to free others. His is a story of faith, renewal, inner-strength and redemption, and though his number tattoo may have faded over time, his passion for life and telling his story continues today, ensuring the Holocaust is never forgotten.

TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY is the first film to be released from the newly launched Holocaust Education Film Foundation, a 501c3 organization founded with the objective of assuring that the painful legacy of the Holocaust is never forgotten by producing documentaries with survivors from around the world, sharing their impactful and astounding stories through the medium of film.

Additional full-length survivor documentaries to follow in 2018 include "From the Holocaust to Hollywood: The Robert Clary Story", the real-life story of the "Hogan's Heroes" star who was liberated from Buchenwald in 1945, and the story of Dr. Susan Spatz, now 96 , who survived internment at Birkenau, and Ravensbrück to eventually walk away to freedom.

TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY is additionally available for screening events. Inquiries should be directed to info@soundviewmediapartners.com, the licensing agent for the film.

About The Holocaust Education Film Foundation
Established in 2018, the Holocaust Education Film Foundation was started to build an international, interactive online community one Holocaust survivor story at a time. Through full-length documentaries, distributed globally through numerous platforms, the online site and educational programs, the 501c3 foundation seeks to ensure that we never forget.

TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY
Running Time: 47 mins.
Genre: Documentary
Aspect Ratio: 16 x 9
Audio: Stereo

Powerful Doc "TO AUSCHWITZ & BACK: THE JOE ENGEL STORY" Brings to Life an Incredible Tale of Persecution and Escape On 8/14