I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors

‘‘The Holocaust is a drug….”

I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors is director Ann Marie Fleming’s animated adaptation of Bernice Eisenstein’s acclaimed illustrated memoir.  Through an artful blend of Eisenstein’s drawings, inventive animation and the author’s own voice, the film weaves together personal and global history. Eisenstein explores her own identity from a past that her parents, both Auschwitz survivors, don’t especially want to talk about. Using the healing power of humour, the film probes the taboos around a very particular second-hand trauma, leading us to a more universal understanding of human experience. The film explores identity and loss through the audacious proposition that the Holocaust is addictive and defining. I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors shakes up perspectives and conveys to a new generation the continuing legacy of the Second World War, which seared the word “genocide” into our collective consciousness. This is a poignant and wry exploration of grief, love, acceptance and resilience, through the enduring quality of family bonds.