Proud Jewish Boy

Reviews

• "Throughout the film, the filmmakers’ artistic choice to incorporate compelling illustration, audio, and limited reenactment brought to life a teenage refugee from 1938 of whom there was no video footage and very few photographs. Rigorous research and tenacious investigation unearthed a case of insidious propaganda, its efficacy, and the consequences for its target, Herschel. The filmmakers allow the audience to empathize with his plight and admire his determination to highlight Nazi tactics, lessons that resonate today. The filmmakers took a complicated subject that touches on multiple dimensions of diversity and made a broadly accessible film that leaves the audience wanting to know more."
  - Jury Statement -Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
• "A brilliant documentary that brings a historical story back to life through creative and compelling cinematic means. The result is a powerful and immersive viewing experience that grants an important and meaningful story emotional depth and a fresh perspective, and clearly demonstrates the power of documentary cinema to reveal, to move, and to resonate over time. "
  - Jury Statement - Israeli Film Awards
• "the film follows one of the most enigmatic figures in the period preceding World War II, through a confrontation between historical positions and narrative approaches, and by adopting the aesthetics of a fluid documentary thriller. The film examines the place of the individual within the historical narrative, the exploitation of history for propaganda purposes, and, above all, compels us to re-examine our own position regarding Grynszpan and his actions. "
  - Jury Statement - Haifa International Film Festival