Defiant Holocaust survivor leads three dozen young adults to Auschwitz in new film
The ‘Lion of Judah’ tells the story of a New York City developer who returns to the site of his childhood horrors with a message to the next generation
NEW YORK — The story of Leo Zisman almost wasn’t told. The 81-year-old Holocaust survivor and title character of a new documentary called The Lion of Judah found his way into the film by chance. Or, as he might put it, by hashgacha pratit – Divine Providence.
“I was signed up to make a film documenting the journey of a group of young adults scheduled to visit Auschwitz when one of the participants told me I needed to meet a survivor he recently met,” said Matt Mindell, the 42-year-old director of The Lion of Judah.”
“So I arranged to meet Leo in New York City, where we both live, and was stunned by this man’s magnetic personality. He’s gregarious, has a love for life, and a deep attachment to Judaism despite everything he’s been through.
“I said, ‘Leo, I’d love to interview you for this film I’m making about a first-time journey to the death camps for a bunch of young people.
And he said, ‘Interview me? Why don’t you take me with you?’”
More than a year later, Mindell can’t imagine the film without the man for whom it is named.
In The Lion of Judah, Zisman returns for his first in-depth trip to Eastern Europe since the war. (In 2005, he visited Auschwitz on the 60th anniversary of its liberation). Mindell’s camera follows Zisman as he leads three dozen young Jews on an intimate journey that retraces his tragic boyhood path from Kovno, Lithuania to the Warsaw Ghetto, where he was separated from his family and sent to the Stutthof concentration camp, and from there to Auschwitz, where he eventually survived the war.
The young adults who accompany Zisman speak of their own search for identity and answers to one of history’s darkest periods. Several are descendants of Holocaust survivors themselves.
“To anyone who sees the film, it’s obvious that Leo enjoys being around young people,” says Mindell. “And it’s equally obvious how much affection and respect they have for him.”
Interview me? Why don’t you take me with you?
The Lion of Judah also features several interviews with young Poles who express ambivalence about Jews and the Holocaust. Some are sympathetic to the tragedy and modern in their views, while others cling to traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes.
After the war, Zisman settled in the U.S. and prospered as a builder and developer in New York City. He received degrees in mathematics, architecture, and engineering, but is especially proud of the rabbinic ordination he obtained from the United Lubavitch Yeshiva.
He’s gregarious, has a love for life, and a deep attachment to Judaism despite everything he’s been through
Zisman has been married to Myrna for 53 years. The couple has three children, 10 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
“Leo is the epitome of Jewish strength and survival – that’s why I call him ‘The Lion of Judah.’ He could’ve been killed numerous times during the war, but somehow he made it through and now he’s here to teach us,” says Mindell.
“Leo really believes it is his duty to pass the baton of Jewish identity to the next generation and it’s clear that the youngsters who meet him respond to his message.”
Critics, too, are responding to The Lion of Judah. The 60-minute film was awarded Best Documentary Feature at the 2012 Film Festival of Colorado and received an Award of Excellence at the 2012 Los Angeles Movie Awards in the Feature Length Documentary Category.
The Lion of Judah will run six times daily at New York City’s QUAD Cinema from August 10 to August 16.
The Lion of Judah
Credits:
Writer/Director Matt Mindell
Producers Matt Mindell and Joe Kavitski
Cinematography Joe Kavitski and Ben Donnellon
Original Music Matt Turk
Run time: 60 min.
Website: www.TheLionofJudahFilm.com
