Keshet to make series on Anne Frank family protector for Disney+
‘A Small Light’ tells the story of Miep Gies, the young Dutch woman who sheltered Jewish refugees in Amsterdam
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Israel’s Keshet Studios will produce the Disney+ limited series “A Small Light” about Miep Gies, the young Dutch woman who sheltered Anne Frank’s family.
The seven-part series is Keshet Studios’ first program for the Disney streamer.
The series tells the story from the perspective of Gies, whose boss, Otto Frank, asked her to hide his family from the Nazis. For the next two years, Gies, her husband Jan and other friends watched over the Franks and four others hiding in the Amsterdam attic.
It was Gies who found Anne Frank’s diary and kept it safe so that Otto Frank, the only surviving member of the eight who were hidden, could later share it with the world. She died in 2010 at the age of 100.
The series’ name, “A Small Light,” was inspired by something Gies said late in her life: “I don’t like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be special to help others. Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room.”
Casting is underway for the three main characters, Gies, Jan Gies and Otto Frank, and filming is slated to begin in Europe in the coming months.
The series’ writers are Joan Rater of “Grey’s Anatomy” and Tony Phelan, and executive producers include Keshet Studios’ Peter Traugott, Keshet International’s Alon Shtruzman and Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir.
The Times of Israel Community.