Regina Gluckman, is a holocaust survivor, but the film that tells us of her story is not our traditional holocaust testimony documentary. Instead it is about memory, about a mother and daughter and about music. In fact Regina seems quite happy to leave the past, in the past.
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| All Image Rights Reserved by Olga Lvoff |
Regina's history began in Czechoslovakia where she was born into a family with three brothers. It is unclear what happened to them, although we are told that both her mother and father, along with her little brother, all perished during the years of the holocaust. They had moved to Belgium in 1930 and Regina escaped only on the orders of her father to leave the country with her husband and never look back. She and him fled to Morocco in the hope they could be free but as Morocco was under French control, they were met at the border and placed in Sid Al Ayachi, not far from Casablanca, where daughter Sonia was born. The memories of the camp and of the conditions of work at an Algerian camp called Bou Arfa, finally pushed Regina's husband too far as he suffered a breakdown that saw his admittance to an asylum. Regina is the only living survivor of Sid Al Ayachi.
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| Image Rights Reserved by Olga Lvoff |
Regina is now 93yrs old and her memory is beginning to fail her. She suffers from dementia and although she may seem extremely switched on when translating the many songs of her younger years, it is reflected in the seconds that follow that Regina's short term memory is almost non-existent as she exclaims, 'I must translate this song for you' and as her daughter answers, 'you just did mom'.
It is sad to watch a daughter giving her own mother permission to die. It seems however, that Regina is not quite ready to join her deceased relatives as she holds on to the life she lives with Sonia and onto the songs that seem to flow within her veins. She expresses both a love for life and for music as well as a deep fear of leaving her daughter behind.
The film has much creative flare although I did feel that the visionary moments of the film weren't always necessary to reflect the soul of the piece. Although it could be argued that they achieved a portrayal of an inner release and freedom that came with Regina's musical therapy endeavours, that cutaways and interviews could perhaps not achieve so well.
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| Image Rights Reserved by Olga Lvoff |
Having produced and directed my own film, featuring three inspirational holocaust survivors, I feel that Olga Lvoff's film wonderfully captured the spirit that I find many of them possess. The love of life and the fear of leaving everything behind, is still with them, as it is with us. Olga captures the personality of this nature perfectly and in a way that we do not judge as intrusive. It is a charmingly personal and inventive way of storytelling and one that steers us away from conventional holocaust testimonies. It is one that shows Regina as a person, as a mother, over being a survivor which makes it all the more, a film to cherish.
Find out more about the film here: http://whenpeoplediefilm.com/about
If you are an industry delegate you can still login to the Sheffield Videotheque here: http://videotheque.sheffdocfest.com/
You can even get involved and share those songs that hold your most cherished memories of times past. Perhaps there's one that your grandmother used to sing during the war, or one that your mother would sing to you as you fell asleep... whatever the story, Olga wants to hear it - and quite frankly so do I! http://whenpeoplediefilm.com/Sing-Your-Song-Tell-Your-Story
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| Image Rights Reserved by Olga Lvoff |
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