Heart of Auschwitz, The

Summary

The Heart of Auschwitz refers not to the horrid centre of the infamous camp but rather to a delicate little treasure no bigger than a butterfly and is the crown jewel of Montreal’s Holocaust Museum. While a prisoner at Auschwitz, Fania Feiner turned 20 and received a small heart-shaped embroidered card that opened up like an origami work of art containing birthday greetings—as well as expressions of the thoughts, hopes and prayers—from 19 of her fellow women prisoners. Fania survived and somehow managed to hold onto the heart, the only physical object from her painful past. She donated it to the Montreal Holocaust Museum, and filmmaker Carl Leblanc was so intrigued by it that he decided to trace its history, and travelled the world in search of survivors among the women who signed the heart. The film is at once an historical tale, a detective mystery and ultimately an uplifting saga.

RATED G - The content of this film is suitable for viewing by all ages

The screening is preceded by the short film "Heilig".

A meditative story of a parent child relationship, Heilig offers an intimate portrait of Jewish Kindertransport refugee Gerhard Heilig, now 85 and living in retirement in Vienna.  Heilig explores not only Gerhard’s own escape from Nazi Austria but the imprisonment at Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps of his father, Bruno Heilig, an anti-nazi political journalist and later, writer of one of the first eye witness accounts of life in the concentration camps.

RATED: G

Vancouver Premiere

Screenings

The Ridge Theatre
November 14 2011 | 03:00 PM