Private Project

A Head Shorter

"A Head Shorter" is a 2D animated documentary short narrated by Naftali Deutsch. The film begins in the spring of 1944 when Naftali and his entire family are forced to leave their home in Kimyat, a village in the Carpatho-Ukraine region, and sent to Auschwitz. Naftali recounts his harrowing journey as a 12 year old boy in the Holocaust and how he survived multiple concentration camps.

  • Sasha Sivan Bortnik
    Director
  • Sasha Sivan Bortnik
    Writer
  • Sasha Sivan Bortnik
    Producer
    Content Marketing Producer For: To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Before I Fall, The Perfect Date, My Dead Ex, You Get Me
  • Naftali Deutsch
    Key Cast
    "Naftali Deutsch"
  • Matt Shapiro
    Editor
    https://www.immattshapiro.com/
  • Soul Proprietor Studios
    Animators
    https://www.soulproprietor.studio/
  • Zach Robinson
    Composer
    Cobra Kai, Ant-Man, Edge of Tomorrow, Larry
  • Victor Mercader
    Sound Designer
    Ralph Breaks the Internet, Christopher Robin, Uglydolls, Shaft, The Invisible Class, Mary Poppins Returns, Incredibles 2, A Wrinkle in Time, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Glass, Dumbo, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, The Predator
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    drama, historical, WWII, The Holocaust, Survival, documentary, animation, action
  • Runtime:
    23 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 30, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    53,850 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:0
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Sasha Sivan Bortnik

I'm a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. I studied Creative Writing and Journalism at The University of Arizona, and have worked as a content producer in Los Angeles for companies like Fullscreen and Awesomeness. I'm the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, and I believe that sharing survivors' stories through film is a powerful way to educate and remind us of the horrors and repercussions of the Holocaust. There are few left who were witness to the Holocaust and who experienced it first hand, and it's important that we listen and preserve their stories. The more we know and the more we honor survivors' stories, the better equipped we are to insure that tragedies like this never happen again.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I decided to create this documentary in order to continue to share my great uncle’s experience and shed light on a narrative that we rarely see about the Jew (or any victim of the Nazis) in the Holocaust—the narrative of a Nazi prisoner fighting back and experiencing a moment of triumph. "A Head Shorter" speaks to the specific and life changing repercussions of hatred and discrimination, and demonstrates the strength of the human spirit and will to live even in the most desperate situations.