ABOUT
IF YOU HEARD WHAT I HEARD
BACKGROUND
IN MAY OF 2020, AFTER SEEING YET ANOTHER NEWS REPORT OF AN ANTISEMITIC INCIDENT AT A LOS ANGELES AREA SYNAGOGUE, WE THOUGHT ABOUT OUR GRANDPARENTS’ STORIES, AND HOW IF MORE PEOPLE TODAY KNEW ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST, PERHAPS THESE INCIDENTS WOULD NOT BE SO PREVALENT.
WE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW OUR GENERATION WOULD BE THE LAST TO HEAR OUR GRANDPARENTS’ STORIES FIRSTHAND, IN THE SAME ROOM, OVER THE COURSE OF DECADES, DIRECTLY FROM THEM.
WE KNEW WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING, AND WE KEPT THINKING, IF YOU HEARD WHAT I HEARD, YOU WOULD NEVER FORGET. FROM THE DESIRE TO MAKE OUR GRANDPARENTS’ STORIES RELEVANT AND RELATABLE FOR TODAY, THIS PROJECT WAS BORN.
TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN WATCHING THE INTERVIEWS
AS GRANDCHILDREN OF SURVIVORS, WHILE WE DID NOT WITNESS THE SAME HORRORS OUR GRANDPARENTS DID, WE WITNESSED THEIR PAIN, LOSS, AND PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL SCARS. MANY OF US DID NOT GET THE STORIES OF WHAT OUR GRANDPARENTS LIVED THROUGH IN ONE SITTING, BUT OVER THE COURSE OF DECADES.
THE STORIES, FOR A LOT OF US, WOULD RANGE FROM DETAILS THAT WERE SHARED IN A VERY MATTER-OF-FACT MANNER, TO MORE BRUTAL DETAILS WROUGHT WITH EMOTION.
WHAT YOU’LL HEAR WHEN YOU WATCH THESE POWERFUL INTERVIEWS IS WHAT WE HEARD AND WITNESSED THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, OF OUR GRANDPARENTS’ HARROWING JOURNEYS, DEVASTATING LOSS, AND INSPIRING RESILIENCE.
THESE ARE ACTUAL EVENTS IN THE LIVES OF REAL PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCED IT FIRST-HAND. IF YOUR GRANDPARENT SHARED A STORY LIKE THIS WITH YOU, HOW WOULD IT IMPACT YOU?
WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE WATCHING TO PUT THEMSELVES IN THE SHOES OF THE GRANDCHILDREN, HEARING THESE STORIES, AND TO REMEMBER THE INCREDIBLE HOPE AND RESILIENCE WITH WHICH THESE SURVIVORS WERE ABLE TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES.
FILMING
FROM DECEMBER, 2020 - MARCH, 2021, AN INITIAL FIFTEEN INTERVIEWS WERE FILMED REMOTELY, USING PHONES, TRIPODS, AND VIRTUAL MEETINGS. FROM AUGUST - NOVEMBER, 2021, WE FILMED ANOTHER 10 INTERVIEWS, AND THE PROJECT IS STILL GROWING.
WE ARE NOT PROFESSIONAL FILMMAKERS, SO YOU MAY NOTICE SOME FLUCTUATIONS WITH REGARDS TO AUDIO AND VIDEO. WE DID NOT WANT OUR LACK OF EXPERTISE TO KEEP US FROM TELLING THESE IMPORTANT STORIES.
THESE INTERVIEWS WERE SELF FILMED BY THE INTERVIEWEES, WITH THE PRODUCER ASKING QUESTIONS VIA VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
WHILE WE’VE STARTED WITH FIFTEEN INTERVIEWS, WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND THE PROJECT AND FILM MANY MORE.