The Jüdische Kulturbund Project
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Website
Topics
Arts & Culture: Ballet, Classical Music , Opera, Painting, Theater
Human Rights: Civil Rights, Race Politics, Religion, Social Exclusion
Information & Media: Culture, Freedom of Expression
Politics: Democracy, Ethics & Value Systems, Justice and Crime
Project Geography
US: National
International: Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America
Identity Niches
Budget
Raised to date: $51,000.00
Estimate to complete: $807,585.00
Total Estimated Budget: $858,585.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 08/11/2010
Status
Research & Development
Media Type
Video
Project End Use
Internet
Key Personnel
Gail Prensky
Executive Producer and Project Director/Producer and Co-writer
Gail Prensky, Writer, Executive Producer - ShortBio
Asfounding producer and director of the Jüdische Kulturbund Project, Gail bringsto this project a deep and first-hand understanding of the Kulturbund’sspirit. Her interviews with thesurvivors form the basis of her passion and vision for this project, which isrooted in the Kulturbund’s strong regard for music and the performingarts. Initially founded in 2001, Gail has brought together select talent,partners and like-minded supporters to make this project possible. Her hope anddream is that the project will serve as a beacon of inspiration to all people.
For thelast 20 years, Gail has written, produced, and directed a broad range of mediaprojects in film, multimedia, books, and exhibitions for DiscoveryCommunications, National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institution, Time-LifeBooks, and Glaxo-Wellcome.
Mark Harris - Director
MarkJonathan Harris is an American documentaryfilmmaker best known for his films Into the Armsof Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (Academy Award Best FeatureDocumentary 2000) and The Long Way Home (Best Feature Documentary1997). Educated at Harvard,Harris co-directed the short The Redwoods for the Sierra Club with Trevor Greenwood; theshort won the 1967 Academy Award for Documentary ShortSubject.
Joe Morley - Producer
Joe hasproduced or executive produced five feature films including the Academy Awardnominated Super Size Me (2004) andthe Sundance Jury Prize winning AnywhereUSA (2008).
James Egan - Executive Producer
James is a writer and producer whose credits include Jackpot(Best-low budget feature, John Cassavetes Award, 2001), Angels in the Dust (Amnesty International VARA Awardfor Social Justice, 2007), and Kimjongilla (Best Film, One WorldFilm Festival and The Human Rights Democracy Network 2010.
Graham Townsley
Film Director and Co-writer
Graham Townsley is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker. His documentaries have been shown on PBS,
National Geographic, TLC and Discovery Channel in the US; Canal + in France; Channel 4 and the BBC
in England.
Born in Canada, raised in England, he has a Ph.D in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University based on his long fieldwork in the Amazon. He now lives in Washington DC.
He is currently (Spring 2009) producing a major three-part series on Human Evolution for NOVA PBS. In 2008 he made a film for National Geographic with host Wade Davis about the Indians of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia called Magic Mountain.
In 2007, he wrote and directed The Great Inca Rebellion for NOVA and National Geographic. That year he also produced for the Discovery Channel a film about the life of Christ called Jesus, The Missing History.
In 2005/6 he was Series Producer of the first series of the JWM production for the History Channel, Digging for the Truth with Josh Bernstein He also made four of the films himself (Secrets of the Nazca Lines, Giants of Easter Island, Passage to the Maya Underworld, and The Search for El Dorado). In 2004 he completed a National Geographic Special for PBS which he directed and wrote: Dawn of the Maya . It has aired on PBS in the US and Channel 4 in the UK. It was nominated for 2 Emmys.
Among other projects in the last eight years, Graham has series-produced a 13-part series for National Geographic about 19th century explorers and archeologists (Treasure Seekers), writing and directing four of them himself. He was also series producer of a 6-part series on the Roman empire for TLC (Rome: Power and Glory).
Arising from his work in anthropology, he has also made numerous ethnographic films with indigenous people in South and Central America – The Huichol (Mexico), the Yanomami (Venezuela) and the Kogi (Colombia). The Shaman and his Apprentice (Under the Sun – BBC), made among the Yaminahua, the people he lived with for three years in the Amazon as an anthropologist, won the Prix de la Sept at the Jean Rouche festival in Paris. His first films were made for Café productions in London and included two films for the Divine Magic series (Discovery) and Children of the Sun, a film about the Huichol Indians of Mexico. He speaks Spanish, French, Italian and Yaminahua.
Robert (Bob) Spiotto
Creative Director
Bob Spiotto holds a B.F.A. in theater from Hofstra University and an M.F.A. in directing from The Catholic University of America. He is currently the artistic director of community arts programs; producer of special events for the Hofstra Cultural Center and the executive producer for Hofstra Entertainment. Bob has served as an adjunct faculty member in Hofstra's New College and on the faculty of Hofstra's University College for Continuing Education. He has worked as a director, producer, actor, choreographer and teacher in the New York and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas as well as abroad for the USIA. Locally, his credits have taken him from Manhattan to Montauk.
At Hofstra alone he has been involved in hundreds of events and/or productions/presentations since 1990. Hofstra directing credits include the New York premiere of Rachel and Julio, starring Lainie Kazan and Robert Davi, Showtune,The Remembered (world premiere), Agnes of God (starring Talia Shire and Susan Sullivan), Quartet, Rose’s Dilemma (Long Island premiere), Lo Bianco’s La Guardia (world premiere starring Tony Lo Bianco), Hello, Dolly!, I Do!, I Do!, The Melody Lingers On: The Songs of Irving Berlin, The Vagina Monologues (2001, 2002, 2003), Me and Jezebel, The Sound of Music, Barrymore, Fiddler on the Roof, The Sunshine Boys, and Sarah in America (starring Tovah Feldshuh), among others. Regional acting credits include Guido (Nine, the musical), Tateh (Ragtime), The Cat in the Hat (Seussical), Fagin (Oliver!, 2003, 2004, 2005), John Adams (1776), Ganesha (A Perfect Ganesh), Jim (Pump Boys and Dinettes), M.C. (Cabaret), Bill (Me and My Girl), and Clov (Endgame). He has also created and appeared in several one-man shows exploring the lives of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Alexander Pushkin, Primo Levi, Michelangelo, P.T. Barnum, Cesar Vallejo, and composer Harry Warren. Bob has also appeared throughout Long Island in his one-man musical show, Courting the Jester: A Salute to Danny Kaye, which had its premiere at Hofstra in 2001 and was reworked and presented at Lincoln Center in 2003. He also serves as the entertainment coordinator for Hofstra's International Festivals (Dutch, Italian, Irish) and has received awards from Hofstra for distinguished service and teaching. Bob was also appointed by former Gov. George Pataki to serve on the board of directors of the New York State Theater Institute and locally he serves on the Long Island Arts Council Advisory Board. He is the recipient the Dante award from the American Association of Teachers of Italian for his contributions to Italian-American culture and was also recently honored by the The New York State Commission for Social Justice. He also received the George M. Estabrook Distinguished Service Award from the Hofstra University Alumni Association.
Recognized as a ‘winner’ in Newsday’s community section.
Outreach/Engagement Plan(s)
Raising Interest and Support
You Tube. The Inextinguishable Symphony Project produced a short video presentation on You Tube, Facebook, and on the tisproject.com to raise interest and support. It’s effort has raised enough funds to support the licensing of the images used in the presentation as well as interest from potential funding sources. In addition, Robert Spiotto, creative director of Hofstra Cultural Center and CEO of Hofstra Entertainment has proposed a partnership to bring this project to the “world stage.” Through Mr. Spiotto’s efforts this project will find a huge audience among scholars, educators, performing arts and entertainment venues.
Moment Magazine “Giving Guide” monthly ad placement, July/Aug, Sept/Oct, and Nov/Dec issues. http://www.momentmag.com/guides/giving.html
Berlin, Germany. Andre Schmitz, Secretary of State for Culture for the city of Berlin, and answers directly to the mayor of Berlin, is extremely interested in this film and said he would do all he could to help.
2. Scheduling Presentation and Discussion Events
-
- American Association of University Women (Chappaqua, NY chapter). October 7, 2009.
- American Association of University Women (Fairfax City chapter). January 23, 2010.
- JCC-Northern Viriginia. January 13, 2011.
- OLLI-George Mason University, July 15, 2011.
- OLLI-George Mason University. February 10, 2011.
- Temple Emanu-El, Westfield, NJ. October 21, 2009.
3. Companion Programs and Outreach
Developing plan and strategy for companion programs and form partnership with Robert Spiotto, Artistic Director, Community Arts Programs and Executive Producer, Hofstra Entertainment.
4. Seeking Interest and Support from Individuals and Foundations
Funders
| Name | Amount | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epixtar Corporation | $5,000.00 | 06/22/2004 | |
| Carl M Freeman Foundation | $10,000.00 | 01/22/2004 | |
| Sulca Fund | $1,000.00 | 01/22/2004 | |
| Sulca Fund | $1,000.00 | 01/22/2004 | |
| The Carl M Freeman Foundation | $10,000.00 | 10/08/2003 | |
| Ryna & Melvin Cohen Foundation | $2,500.00 | 10/08/2003 | |
| Ryna & Melvin Cohen Foundation | $2,500.00 | 10/08/2003 | |
| Fungar Foundation | $1,000.00 | 09/08/2003 | |
| Fungar Foundation | $1,000.00 | 09/08/2003 | |
| Harri Hoffman Family Foundation | $500.00 | 03/17/2003 | |
| Harri Hoffman Family Foundation | $500.00 | 03/17/2003 | |
| Congregation Shalom Inc. | $500.00 | 03/17/2003 | |
| Leit Foundation | $500.00 | 11/07/2002 | |
| Leit Foundation | $500.00 | 11/07/2002 | |
| American Friends of Hebrew University | $5,000.00 | 05/30/2002 | |
| American Friends of Hebrew University | $5,000.00 | 05/30/2002 | |
| Jeanne & Herbert Hansel Fund | $1,000.00 | 05/30/2002 | |
| Jeanne & Herbert Hansel Fund | $1,000.00 | 05/30/2002 |
Location
4000 Cathedral Avenue, NW #505B
Washington, DC, 20016
Short Synopsis
The Jüdische Kulturbund. It was a Nazi-sanctioned Jewish cultural association, 1933-1941, in which Jewish musicians and artists performed in theatres in 42 cities across Germany. The power of music, the resiliency of the human spirit, and the will to survive: The legacy of the Jüdische Kulturbund. We want to tell this story to the world. For more information and to offer support, please visit tisproject.com.
Description/Treatment
Introduction
This is the remarkable and little-known story of the Jüdische Kulturbund, the Jewish arts organization smiledupon briefly by the Nazis until it was finally disbanded in 1941. Those artists who were lucky enough to leave the Kulturbund before the organization closed, emigrated or hid. The other members were sent to the camps.
The Kulturbund was a mind-rending paradox. Proposed by Jewish performers as a response to their exclusion fromGerman cultural life, Joseph Goebbels latched onto it as a propaganda ploy forforeign consumption (“you see we really aren’t treating the Jews so badly afterall”). Shamelessly exploitedby the Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment, it nevertheless became spiritual refuge to some of the finest musicians and performing artists in Europe, a beacon of artistic light in the gathering European gloom.
The Nazis oversaw all developments in the Kulturbund, strictly enforcing what wasallowed. Only Jews could attend,only Jews could perform, Gentiles were forbidden from entering Kulturbund theatres. On the one hand, aghetto enforced, on the other hand a place for artists to feel normal and be employed.
We will use all available archival material to describe this story. Recording film and audio were notallowed. Therefore, there is noactual footage or records of live Kulturbund performances. Still photographs were permitted. Posters and programs were designed andprinted. Memorabilia from Kulturbund survivors exist as does one strategically allowed NY Times review of one Kulturbund program. We will direct and film re-creations that represent historical events and Kulturbund performances as well as and record music of several masterpieces from Kulturbund programs to dramatize milestones that took place.
Between 2002-2004, the project raised $50,000 from foundations, private organizations, and individuals to film 15 interviews with survivors thanks to the response by individuals and foundations who responded to the urgent need to capture their stories before they died. Three of the survivors filmed havesince passed away.
A 90-minute Documentary Film
The film will present a chronological view of the Jüdische Kulturbund, beginningwith its proposal to the Nazis, then its formation in 1933 until the curtainfalls in 1941 before the Nazis enacted the Final Solution.
The film will begin with the story of Germany facing a severe economic downturn in1919, showing archival footage and stills depicting strikes, despair, and the eventual rise of the National Socialist German Workers Party in 1933. The story continues with the introductionof the Jüdische Kulturbund and its formation using rarely seen archival photosof the organization in its hey-day between 1933-1941. The film will also present rare images painted by Charlotte Salomon (her mother and the artistic director of the Kulturbund were close friends). Her paintings illustratethe genesis of the Kulturbund as she remembers it ten years later while she is in Auschwitz, 1940-1942.
Interviews with survivors will tell their thoughts and experiences when they performed inthe Kulturbund. Interviews withprotégés will give a perspective of the Kulturbund legacy. Interviews with current-day scholars and with groups and individuals of different ethnicity, backgrounds, and ages, will provide insight about how this story is relevant today.
The film will also include dramatic re-creations of scenes inside the theatre. Dramatic sequences reveal the Nazis overseeing productions and musicians and performers playing Kulturbund programs. The film will be full of the gloriousmusic that sustained them all including Beethoven’s Serenade, Mahler’s Resurrection symphony, Mozart’s Requiem and the Nielsen’s 4th Symphony, “The Inextinguishable” symphony.
It will also feature Kulturbund legacies, including Hannah Kroner Segal’s dance studio. The studio has has existed for 62 years in Long Island, New York, which Hannah started a few years aftershe left the Kulturbund as a young dancer and choreographer.
Another legacy from the Kulturbund is the formation of the Palestine Symphony, startedby a core group of Kulturbund musicians in 1936, which later became the Israeli Philharmonic. The legacy continuesin the dramatic arts. Ernest Lenart, an actor who was in the first Kulturbund production, Nathan the Wise in1933, left Berlin for Hollywood, California. He signed with agent Billy Morris. One of his jobs was developing the first screen test, whichhe performed on the young and promising star Tony Curtis. Throughout his career, he acted in numerous parts, primarily on stage and occasionally in movies and television. His last motion picture role was in Walk on Water, about an Israeli intelligence agent who goes after Nazi war criminal, Alfred Himmelman Ernest played the Nazi. He called me after he was cast for the part in 2004 and thought the irony of the role was incredible. He died a year later shortly after the film release in 2005.
The last legacy feature is Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. Simon Rattle’smentor was Rudolf Schwarz, a Jew, lost his job as conductor for the BerlinPhilharmonic, then became the Berlin Jüdische Kulturbund’s conductor. Simon Rattle, a Jew is now the musicdirector and conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.
We want to tell this story to the world and plan to distribute this on the Internet, in educational venues, film festivals, and television. This story appeals to a broad, multi-disciplined audiences and we want to make it available and as far-reaching as possible.
This film will be the centerpiece to strategic outreach and companion pieces such as a live performance program for the stage, an educational program, traveling museum exhibition, symphony program, and coffee table book.
The International Documentary Association (IDA) is the project's fiscal sponsor, a 501(c)(3).
Click here to ask for more information about this project: