American Filmmaker and Fulbright Scholar Minna Zielonka-Packer Presents Her Documentary “Back To Gombin”

9 May 2008

Minna Zielonka-Packer will present her documentary “Back to Gombin” and talk about her work on the feature film “The Lilliput,” which she is filming in Poland, announced Cultural Attaché James Wolfe.  The filmmaker, a child of Holocaust survivors, chronicles the tragic history of the Jews of the town of Gombin (Gabin), a small town in central Poland and the birthplace of her father. She is currently in Poland as a Fulbright scholar. Her current scheduled appearances will take place in Lodz (May 14), Warsaw (May 15), and Krakow (May 27-28). See below for full details. Her appearances have been arranged by the American Embassy, American Consulate General in Krakow, and the American Corner in Lodz.

Interviews of remaining survivors, who grew up as friends and relatives are interwoven with illuminating, historic footage filmed in 1937 by Sam Rafel on his trip to Gombin as a chairman of the Gombin Relief Committee. Survivors’ testimony of the ghettos, the camps and methods of survival are juxtaposed with images of prewar innocence, the Jews of Gombin celebrating and posing for the camera. This is further combined with candid interviews of the children of the survivors speaking about the impact on their lives of growing up in the shadow of death with their survivor parents.

Presentations will be held on
May 14, 14:00 American Corner, Lodz, http://www.amcorners.pl/lodz/
ul. Matejki 34/38
May 15, 18:00 Schorr Center, Warsaw, http://www.schorr.edu.pl/new/
ul. Twarda 6
May 27, 19:00  Museum Galicia, http://www.galiciajewishmuseum.org
May 28, 11:00 Auschwitz Jewish Center http://www.ajcf.org/
May 28, 18:00 Jagiellonian University
for details please call: (0-12) 4245143

The tenacity and perseverance, which personified the Jewish survivor of Gombin, has been inherited by the second and third generation. In an effort to reclaim the lost history of their parents’ and ancestor’s lives, a group of descendants, a handful of American professionals from diverse walks of life, an Englishman and an Israeli genealogist have formed The Gombin Jewish Historical and Genealogical Society.  With no more than the dream of remembrance, the leaders of this group have created a project of healing.

Zielonka-Packer is based in Lodz, Poland in production on her current film, The Lilliput, a narrative 35mm feature length film from her script. The movie will be released for international audiences in 2009. 

See the website: http://www.thelilliputmovie.com