Finding Kalman Trailer (2011)

Trailer for the documentary Finding Kalman.

In this moving documentary a charismatic Holocaust survivor inspires her family to connect to relatives they never met. Focusing on her brother, Kalman, Anna recounts tales of a mischievous boy who tried to escape the Warsaw ghetto with her.

Her daughter, an artist, devours the stories and paints his portrait over and over again. As Kalman’s face emerges on canvas, the film moves from archival Warsaw ghetto footage to summers in a Catskills bungalow colony—from vibrant family life before World War II to now.

Four generations grapple differently with their shared history. Roz, the artist felt her mother’s pain, understanding it in stages. Maya, an Israeli granddaughter expresses her passion playing the viola. Performing in an Arab-Israeli youth orchestra, she questions why there has to be war when she sees the ease of making music with someone defined as her enemy. Great-grandson Roy wonders with concern how his generation will understand the Holocaust when it seems like just another story.

As the loving family that grew from one survivor celebrates together, the film shows how four generations find light even in the darkest of places—with a resiliency that provides hope for the future.