Note: this event is currently full, due to the documentary’s screening limit. We appreciate your understanding, and hope to see you at an upcoming program!  

100-year-old South African Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal is a force to be reckoned with. Meet Blumenthal in I Am Here (2021, 73 minutes, English with subtitles available), an award-winning new documentary from director Jordy Sank.

I Am Here tells Blumenthal’s remarkable story, starting with her youth in Poland where she witnessed the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and was imprisoned in the Majdanek, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. Filmed as Blumenthal celebrated her 98th birthday with family and friends in South Africa, I Am Here showcases Blumenthal’s magnetic personality and uses hand-drawn animations to illustrate stories from her life.

Jordy Sank is a director with a passion for storytelling and filmmaking, with a vision to create content that evokes truth, meaning, and emotion. I Am Here is his first feature documentary. Jordy was inspired to make the film after growing up alongside Ella, listening to her heart-wrenching stories of perseverance, resilience, and strength.

This exclusive program will feature a live discussion with Blumenthal and Sank. Attendees will also receive a private link to view the film, which will be available for streaming from Sunday, February 27 until Friday, March 4.

A $10 suggested donation enables us to present programs like this one. We thank you for your support.

Public programming at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference); the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy C. Hochul and the New York State Legislature; Battery Park City Authority; The Goldie and David Blanksteen Foundation; Marcia Horowitz Educational Fund for Cross-Cultural Awareness; and other generous donors.

Logos

Watch Here: