The Devil’s Arithmetic

A powerful holocaust film, this time told from the perspective of a modern teenage girl. Hannah (Kirsten Dunst) is neglectful of her Jewish heritage, “tired of remembering,” and only grudgingly accepts her Jewish traditions. During the family Passover Seder she is asked to “open the front door” for the prophet Elijah. Once the door is opened, she finds herself, not unlike Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, to have entered the 1940’s and has stepped into Poland and soon into the life of a prisoner in one of the German death camps. There she experiences all of its horrors firsthand. Adapted from the Young Adult novel of the same name, the film, like the book is meant to engage young adult children in the discussion about the importance of Jewish values, traditions and remembrance.

Donna Deitch, director of The Devil’s Arithmetic, will be in attendance.

Festivals and Awards

Daytime Emmys: Outstanding Directing in a Children’s Special, Donna Deitch
Daytime Emmys: Outstanding Writing in a Children’s Special, Robert J. Avreh