My Grandma: Frau Masha

Savta Sheli: Frau Masha / Israel 2006 / 57min. Hebrew with English subtitles.
Director Yonatan Weinstein / Producer Ami Weinstein, Nitza Weinstein

My Grandma: Frau Masha is the exceptional directorial debut of the then 13 year old film-maker Yonatan Weinstein.

A loving tribute to his 90 year old grandmother, it opens a window into the world of the holocaust, as seen through the eyes of one of its survivors.

At the time of recording the story, the 90 year old remembers events as if they happened yesterday. Recounting the humane and the inhumane, the hard choices and separations, this personal narrative is enhanced by film clips from the time in question. Frau Masha was the name given her by German employers back in the harsh years of World War II. Her lucid and distressing memories stand up perfectly well on their own as an authentic account of times long gone but hopefully never to be forgotten for fear of history repeating itself. Frau Masha survived because she dared to challenge the tragic fate that could so easily have become hers along with that of so many others.

The film tells of the love and adoration of the grandson for his grandma and speaks volumes of the talent and passion of the young teenage film-maker.

Find similar films by topic: Personal/POV, War/Conflict, Youth/Children

Director, Yonatan Weinstein is a guest of DOCNZ 2007 thanks to the kind support of the Embassy of Israel.