Shifting Paths examines the loss and survival of one family through the period of the early Jewish Boycott in 1933 in Frankfurt, Germany seeing the loss of a beloved family owned pharmaceutical company and the need for the family to change paths. It traces how one chamomile product, Kamillosan, banned in 1933, has survived till today with few knowing anything of its history.
Arthur Abelmann had a passion for finding solutions to help people feel better. He went from being a chemist apothecary in a prisoner of war camp at the end of WWI to taking over a candy factory in Frankfurt to start making medicinal tablets. His dream of creating something for his son to take over went astray with the rise of Nazism and the banning of all Jewish Products. The film traces that history and how one product is still used today – a healing ointment, Kamillosan – that was being produced at his factory in 1932.Run time: 40 minutes.
The screening will be followed by a talkback with Director and Producer Charles Abelmann.
Charles Abelmann lives in Washington DC and is the director and producer of the short documentary Shifting Paths. He is an educator with a background in research, policy and practice. Earlier in his career, he worked at the World Bank managing education projects in a wide number of countries including Uganda, Tanzania, China and Mongolia. He has also led public and private schools including being the Director at the Laboratory Schools at the University of Chicago while also having an appointment at the University as a lecturer. He currently works as a documentary filmmaker and as an executive coach. His films are a part of the New Day Film Cooperative. He attended Duke University for his undergraduate education and Harvard Graduate School of Education for his M.A and Ed.D.