FILM SCREENINGS

The Heart of Auschwitz

2011. Canada. Directed by Carl Leblanc. Screenplay by Leblanc, Luc Cyr. With Fania Fainer, Sandy Fainer. In Montreal's Holocaust Memorial Center a small object with an extraordinary history takes pride of place. The object in question is a birthday present for Fania, who turned 20 in 1944 while working as slave labor in the Auschwitz munitions factory. The "heart of Auschwitz" is a tiny book whose origami-like interior contains the signatures and wishes of many of the young women who worked alongside Fania—in silence, under constant guard, and on the verge of annihilation. Inspired by this remarkable object, Montreal journalist and filmmaker Leblanc interviewed Fania, now 85, and visited the Red Cross's International Tracing Service in Germany, the Auschwitz Deportation Union in Paris, and Vad Yashem in Jerusalem in an attempt to find other survivors from the courageous group of women who risked their lives to give their friend a gift. Print courtesy of Filmoption International. In English, French, Portuguese, Polish, Hebrew; English subtitles. 85 min.