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| Number that have: |
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10,670 |
| Rated |
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| The Lilliput |
| Jewish dwarf hides in garbage cans to survive the Holocaust |
 Lodz
,
Poland
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| Tags:
jewishdwarf
poland
pastmeetsfuture
survival
holocaust
reconciliation
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Synopsis:
An American filmmaker travels to Poland to make a film about Gombin, the town her father was born in, as a memorial to him and to the Holocaust. Poland 2008 is a country of contradictions where the invisible torture of the past meets the hope of the future.
On location she befriends Marya, a local resident. They discover that Marya is the grand daughter of Esther Lonsky who married a non-Jew and converted to Christianity. While a shock to her mother Lucja, the pregnant Marya presses the filmmaker for more of her family’s history exposing difficult memories and reminding us that we cannot escape our past.
The film, a parallel narrative, cuts between the present and the past as the stories of the Gombiner Jews are told intertwined with the filmmaker’s quest to reconnect with her history. Esther Lonsky is ostracized by her family – her only friend is Abraham Kerber, a Jewish dwarf with whom she takes refuge after her husband leaves for the front. When the Nazi’s march into Poland rounding up its Jews, Abraham escapes into the woods and survives hiding in garbage cans at train stations from where he witnesses SS atrocities. His friends from Gombin meet their own fates; denounced, shot or sent to concentration camps. Esther has a child and remains in Gombin with her husband after he returns from war.
In the final scene, a little girl makes a presentation to her elementary school class telling stories of her great-grandparents and their friend Abraham, the dwarf. The mysterious similarity between her dwarfism and Abraham’s poses unanswered questions. While her mother Marya sits in the back of the room, we are left to wonder about this child’s lineage and her own future in Poland. And we are left asking what future generations can do to stop such atrocities and how to strive for reconciliation while vigilant to signs that old hatreds still lurk. In the words of a survivor’s grandchild, “We’ve already seen what hatred can do. We need to do something better than that”.
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| What makes The Lilliput different:
The difference between this film and others about the Holocaust, is significant and lies in the structure of the film. In this parallel narrative, the past links to the present and the future, over generations and in mysterious and unpredictable ways. The setting is Poland today, in the past and in the future. Visible in the scenes from the present in Poland, are traces of the Holocaust and Communism which lurk invisibly in their shared histories of the characters. Everyone wishes to move forward with their lives into a brighter future. However, the past can not be so easily erased, and permeates in their current lives. The past affects the futures of the characters, as well. The way in which the individual characters reflect upon and incorporate the lessons of the past, and the legacy of the Nazi destruction of the Jewish people, links to other characters across the hands of time. Ultimately, their lives and the future is created from the way in which each of them learn from the wrongs of the past. An unsentimental story that is personal and inspired by one Jewish dwarf who really lived and who hid in a garbage can, to escape the Holocaust, ends up being a beautiful film about peace, mutual understanding and the ways in which we must each do our part to heal the world, and insure a better place for future generations.
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Goal
$3,500
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How will these funds be used?
Film transfer and editing
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What is the name of the legal entity behind this project, if any?
Lilliput, LLC
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| $36 |
Postcards |
Sets of vintage postcards from old Jewish Poland. An unusual but beautiful document of a time and place that no longer exists. |
| $72 |
Wrap party |
You'll be invited to attend a party in a fabulous loft in downtown New York City with cast, crew, musicians and friends of the film. |
| $180 |
Framed photograph |
The Gombin synagogue was an ancient and beautiful wooden building, built in the 1700's with rare architectural design especially for that place and time. We have a limited edition of photographs taken of the synagogue shortly before it was destroyed. |
| $270 |
Singing lesson |
You will receive a singing lesson from one of the members of the Hoboken, NJ chorale, all of whom are conservatory trained singers who give private lessons to a broad clientele. |
| $360 |
Piano lessons |
A set of 3 piano lessons by a conservatory trained pianist, performer and teacher. This is being provided in NYC but if you're in another city we will arrange for the same thing to be provided there - unless you live in a very small town. |
| $360 |
Rare books |
A set of 3 rare books on the history of Polish Jews and the community of Lodz, Poland. |
| $360 |
Documentary on DVD |
The director will sign copies of her documentary Back to Gombin which chronicles the history of the Jews in the small ancestral town where the renowned Magen Avraham, interpreter of the Shulchan Aruch, was born in the 1600's |
| $1,000 |
Signed platinum photograph |
John Brill is a contemporary photographer represented by KENT gallery in New York City. His work is in numerous museums and private collections and has been reviewed widely. For a $1,000+ donation you will receive a signed platinum photograph. |
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| May 03, 2008 |
Fundraising Expired
($197 of $3,500) |
Funds use: Film transfer and editing |
| February 28, 2008 |
Fundraising Completed
($10,000 of $10,000) |
Funds use: To create a sneak peek to be shot in Poland in late February |
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| gombiner (Thu Mar 06 '08) |
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To my friends and supporters around the globe: I am grateful and deeply moved that many people have decided to help my dedicated co-producer, Sharon Levy and me make this film. Many people have already contributed and we thank you for your generosity.
In the spring of 2007, I received an award to be an American Fulbright Scholar to Poland to make a movie from the script The Lilliput, inspired by the life of Abraham Kerber, a friend of my parents from the little town of Gombin, Poland.
I am a filmmaker and educator and was awarded the Fulbright based on my previous films and scholarly work on the Jewish history of Poland, in particular, my documentary, Back To Gombin, http://www.backtogombin.com. I was born in New York City, the daughter of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. Gombin was the birthplace of my beloved late father, Michael Zielonka, and centuries earlier, also of the Magen Avraham, a rabbi and Jewish scholar whose interpretations of Jewish law and the writings of the ancient rabbi, Rashi, is still studied in yeshivas all over the world. My dad was the only remaining survivor of his immediate family after the Nazis liquidated the Jews in Gombin and the surrounding villages to Chelmno, the first extermination camp in the occupied Poland. My father, and his boyhood friend, the dwarf and professional photographer, Abraham Kerber, were among the few remaining Jewish survivors from Gombin. They met again at the end of the war in Lodz, the city that formerly contained the 2nd largest Jewish population in Poland. When the Nazis invaded, Kerber escaped a terrible fate by hiding for years in garbage cans and cartons at the Polish rail yards. For me, Abraham Kerber who was born in 1907 in Poland and died in Israel in 1978, was a hero. He is a symbol for all human beings who should have the right to life, liberty and freedom.
I am keeping the production budget as low as possible, but shooting a 90 minute film on 35mm is an expensive proposition. For this reason we continue to appeal to anyone and everyone to help see this important film be made. Please forward this to all who you feel would be willing to contribute to our efforts.
Me and my amazing, international film crew, my co-writers, Mimi Packer and Harry Kafka, who will also act as film’s editor and my co-producer, Sharon Levy, along with the cast of actors, led by the amazing American dwarf actor, Mark Povinelli; wish to heartily thank every one of you for your generosity.
Minna |
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| gombiner (Sat Jan 12 '08) |
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Watch for a sneak peek of the film which will be shot in Poland in late February and will be added to this site shortly thereafter. |
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| gombiner (Fri Jan 11 '08) |
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The role of the Jewish dwarf Abraham Kerber will be played by LA-based actor Mark Povinelli. Mark’s performance of Torvald Helmer in Mabou Mines DollHouse (adapted from the Ibsen) has received rave reviews from all over the world including the Edinburgh Festival, Madrid, Toronto, Israel, Paris, Hong Kong, Stuttgart, Oslo, Singapore and more. Mark performed the role of Toulouse Lautrec in Belle Epoque at Lincoln Center and has appeared in over 30 film/TV shows including The Polar Express, Pucked, Van Helsing, Stone and Ed. TV shows include Charmed, Frasier, Dharma & Greg, Bob Patterson and The Parkers. |
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dovetail $36 |
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Hboll $72  |
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soren212 $36  |
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abolaffi $360  |
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dovetail $500 |
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oliviavictoria $40 |
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rickimd56 $500 |
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$500 |
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bkurshan $72 |
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rbobby18 $180 |
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jes1959 $500 |
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Pemina Anonymous |
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mamazurka $36 |
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afarber $100 |
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jordanpast $36 |
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shaimite $180 |
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MontyMitra $100  |
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robydd $10 |
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jeffskang $36 |
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myah89 Anonymous  |
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sunrock $25  |
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cschell $36 |
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chulls $36 |
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Bruno $50  |
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christopher $180 |
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manburkhoff $540 |
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hypergaby $72  |
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