FORWARD: The story of a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor needs no contemporary parallels to be relevant
March 10, 2022
"“I Am Here,” Jordy Sank’s 72-minute documentary, is at once a memorial to the millions who died in the Holocaust and an impassioned response to Holocaust deniers. But at its core it’s a celebration of Ella Blumenthal on the occasion of her 98th birthday.
Now 100, Blumenthal is one of the oldest living survivors to bear witness to the Holocaust. The film pays tribute to her resilience and her unequivocal affirmation of life, emerging improbably from her experiences in an unspeakably dark and brutal world that continues to defy imagination.
The film opens with footage of Neo-Nazis marching down the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, bellowing “Jews will not replace us,” in the now infamous August 2017 Unite the Right rally, which culminated in the murder of Heather Heyer and the injury of dozens of others who were participating in a counter protest. Swastikas were ubiquitous."
