Description
Trailer
Synopsis
As the Anschluss parade shakes Vienna, young Friedrich Biermann watches from his balcony, unaware that his childhood is ending. Locked in a school closet the next day and suddenly shunned, he is thrust into a desperate flight from Nazi persecution as his Jewish family flees across Europe. Their journey takes them through hunger in Paris, a perilous escape from Marseille, and finally to Mandatory Palestine. There, witnessing British forces turn away ships of refugees fleeing the Holocaust, Friedrich’s anger ignites a moral awakening that leads him to make a daring choice, one that will shape his life forever.
Director
John Rokosny is an award-winning producer and director with 30 years of experience in film, television, and music.
His new documentary film, The Kid Officer, tells the story of Holocaust survivor Fred Biermann’s escape from Vienna and journey to Mandatory Palestine.
His last film, They Survived Together, aired nationally on PBS and earned a NY Emmy Award for Best Historical Documentary, along with several other festival awards.
Most recently, John has filmed nearly 100 Holocaust survivors for the Shoah Foundation, founded by Steven Spielberg.
In the past, John produced 100 episodes of the TV series Quiet Triumphs for Hallmark, as well as documentaries for television, including The Last Poets for BRAVO for Black History Month and 7th Inning Stretch for ESPN.
John has directed hundreds of top-name stars in national public service TV and radio campaigns for numerous causes.
John has produced dozens of fundraising films for charities, and his films have screened at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Ziegfeld Theatre for the Star Wars premiere, the Music Box Theatre, the Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance, and many other theaters and venues across the country.
