|
A little girl named Tana survived
Teresienstadt concentration camp thanks to her resourceful grandmother. After liberation, she
lived a comfortable and cultured life with relatives in Sweden. No one spoke of her ordeal.
"Forget the past," she was told. Tana knew how to keep silent.
This haunting animated film captures the surreal world of a child survivor whose pain has not
been recognized or shared. At twenty, when Tana left Sweden, she was given letters written by
her mother before being sent to Auschwitz where she perished. Tana now had a bridge to the
past, but still couldn't speak of it. It took fifty years for her to break the silence.
A variety of visual styles is used in Silenceto tell this extraordinary and moving
tale - the story of "a miricle child" who survived the concentration camps but was forbidden
to talk or ask questions about her experiences and stayed silent even as an adult. Tana Ross,
the survivor, speaks out in the film and tells her story for the first time in 50 years.
Stark black and white animation contrasts with vibrant colour scenes against a background of
historical archival images.
The film-makers chose the medium of animation to portray a little girl's point of view and to
help the audience identify with the central character.
Although the background to the film is the Holocaust, it is also the story of lost identities
and the search for new ones.
 |
We chose to make an
animated film based on true events in the life of Tana Ross because our hope
was, and still is, that telling the story through animation would enable us
to recreate the little girl's point of view. We believe that animation has
the power to portray personal history in a more truthful way than photography
or archival footage.
-- Orly Yadin
|
 |
|
A film by Orly Yadin
and Sylvie Bringas
Orly Yadin,
born in Israel, has been living in London since 1977. Orly started working
in the documentary field, especially historical documentaries and made a
gradual shift towards animation - both documentary and fiction, as producer
and director. In 1995 she founded independent production company Halo
Productions with Sylvie Bringas.
Sylvie Bringas, born in France, has been
living in London since 1989. Sylvie worked as an animator in multimedia and
experimented with digital imaging. She currently produces and directs
animation films, and in 1995 co-founded independent production company Halo
Productions with Orly Yadin.
Running Time: 10 minutes 40 seconds
Production: Channel Four Television Corporation
Narrated by Tana Ross; A film by Sylvie Bringas & Orly Yadin; music
& text adapted from "Through the Silence" (concerto for cello & survivor) by Noa Ain
|
