Rochel Sylwetsky, Israel National News
9/26 2015.
Film based on never released talks with Simon Wiesenthal to be featured in Israel at the 10 year memorial of his death.
The tenth anniversary of the death famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal takes place this September and as part of the Special CommemorativeSeries memorializing the legendary figure, there will be screenings of “The Lessons of Survival, Conversations with Simon Wiesenthal” ( Finland, 2014), a film produced by internationally acclaimed European film director, writer and philanthropist Inna Rogatchi.
She and her husband, artist Michael Rogatchi, will be in Israel for the screenings, each to be followed by a Director’s talk and Q&A sessions, set for Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and Haifa on October 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2015.
The film had its European Premiere at the European Parliament and has been successfully shown around the globe, including at the Memorial de la Shoah (Paris),and the Illinois Holocaust Museum ( Chicago) where historian Jerrold L. Schecter, former Time Magazine Moscow Bureau Chief wrote: “Inna Rogatchi’s film is a magnificent work; the stories in it are fantastic; and there is obviously much new material in the documentary.”
It was featured at the International Jewish Film Festival in Australia, leading its director Eddie Tamir, to write: “Inna Rogatchi’s film is the only documentary on this legendary figure which I can call ‘Simon Wiesenthal Unplugged’ “
The Rogatchi’s were personal friends of Simon Wiesenthal, and the film contains never-before-released friendly and detailed conversations with the legendary Nazi-hunter and is enriched by his deep and frank reflections on the psychological, social and philosophical aspects of the Holocaust.
It includes unique and specially produced footage of the Mauthausen concentration camp and other new material, the result of Rogatchi’s historical research. It is an art film as well, featuring the “In the Mirror of Shoah” series of paintings by Michael Rogatchi, some of which are displayed at Simon Wiesenthal’s home, some part of the Israeli Foreign Ministry collection. The powerful musical background is by one of Israel’s leading composers Israel Sharon.
Inna & Michael Rogatchi and The Rogatchi Foundation have been strong supporters of Israel for decades, through various international projects, both in Europe and the United States. Dr. Rogatchi is the recipient of many prestigious international awards, including the Special Annual Award of the New York Jewish Children’s Museum For Outstanding Contribution into the Arts and Culture ( 2013); The Special Diploma of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema for the International Holocaust Education ( 2015); the Patmos Solidarity Award for the Hard Labour of Memory and for her ‘life-long mission for the sake of the persecuted Jewish people and the Nation of Israel” ( 2014).
This article was originally published in 9/26 2015 on Israel National News by Rochel Sylwetsky