Robinson Short Film Competition honors Jewish heritage, resistance and humanity
'If you can get to them with stories like this — of good versus evil, someone doing the right thing, what do you choose when you don't have a choice — I think you can change kids' perspectives'
Seven short films delivered three prizes and one larger desire.
The movies, which were shown during the Robinson International Short Film Competition on May 27 at Carnegie Museum of Art Theater, were chosen from a group of 112 entries submitted by filmmakers from Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, France, India, Israel, the Netherlands, United States and Uzbekistan, Heather Robinson said. After a selection committee culled the entries, “We voted for what we thought were the best, and those are the films we’ll be seeing tonight.”
The seven films played during the evening event were “Friday Night Flop,” “The Ice Cream Man,” “Our Neighbor’s Ass,” “Psalms,” “The Sacred Society, “The Source of All Beauty” and “Torn (London).”
The commonality, Robinson explained, was a commitment to Jewish themes.
Named for her father, Sanford Robinson Sr., the Robinson International Short Film Competition celebrates Jewish-themed short films from around the world.
“My father was proudly Jewish, and he believed in continuing our traditions,” Heather Robinson said. “He believed it was important to have faith in God and to maintain our identity as a unique people.”
At the same time, he was “very much a humanist and a humanitarian,” she continued. “He believed we are all in this together.”
Speaking before nearly two hundred attendees in Oakland, Heather Robinson pointed to current communal challenges.
“I think at a time of rising antisemitism — there’s so much misinformation out there, including about what’s happening in the Middle East — it’s important for us to be proudly Jewish, to stand for Israel’s self-defense. It’s a value we believe in,” she said. “We also believe in retaining our humanity and compassion for all innocent people on all sides of war. And, even as we respect and have the self-respect to defend ourselves, we grieve for all innocent people, children, and we pray for peace. I know that’s something my father stood for.”
Following completion of the final short, and more than two hours after Robinson’s remarks, winners were announced.
“Our Neighbor’s Ass” and “The Source of All Beauty” each received a silver prize and $6,000.
“The Ice Cream Man,” a 34-minute film about Ernst Cahn and his choices after Nazis invaded the Netherlands, was declared the gold prize winner and received $10,000.
Robert Moniot, the film’s director, called the award a “complete shock.”
Moniot told the Chronicle that the cash prize will be immediately applied toward his next project; he also credited members of the Robinson family and event organizers with recognizing the importance of film.
Moniot’s winning short follows the horrifying experiences Cahn endured during the Holocaust. Cahn, a Jewish business owner beloved by his Amsterdam neighbors, was singled out and targeted by Klaus Barbie, a German officer of the Schutzstaffel and Sicherheitsdienst, who was known as “the Butcher of Lyon” for having personally tortured Jews and other resistance fighters.
“I’m not Jewish,” Moniot said. “So many of my Jewish friends are so steeped in Holocaust stories, either because of their family connection or just what they were taught in school. All the people I grew up with know nothing except ‘Schindler’s List.’”
Telling a story about Dutch resistance during World War II — and the Germans’ brutal response — is essential, especially for children who aren’t steeped in Holocaust education, Moniot said.
“If you can get to them with stories like this — of good versus evil, someone doing the right thing, what do you choose when you don’t have a choice — I think you can change kids’ perspectives. And if you get to them early enough, I think it’ll stick. If you don’t do that, then we’re going to keep seeing all the hate, and all the division, and all the horrific things that are happening all around the world and have been for millennia.”
The propulsion of hate “has to stop,” Moniot said. “And as a filmmaker, there’s only one thing you can do: You can try to tell a story in a way that’s going to sink in and grab you.”
Along with creating the film, Moniot said he’s partnered with educators to develop an age-appropriate curriculum to accompany the movie.
Moniot, who was slated to return to Europe soon after the competition, said he’s eager to bring the short to as many schools and museums as possible.
Judy Robinson, whose late husband was Sanford Robinson Sr., told the Chronicle how impressed she was by “The Ice Cream Man” and the sellout crowd.
“I have so many feelings about the Holocaust and the past, but it’s important to focus on what’s going on in the world,” she said before joining family members, friends and program attendees at a post-film celebration inside the Carnegie Museum of Art.
“I’m terribly worried about Israel,” she said. “I feel the situation is getting worse at the moment. It’s a challenge to be a Jewish person, but I think we have to remain strong. We must recognize that we are still a people. We have had a tragic history — like no other people in the world — and we’ve survived so much. We will survive.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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