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DIAMONDS IN THE SNOW

Thousands of Jewish children lived in the Polish city of Bedzin before the Holocaust. Barely a dozen survived the community’s destruction. Through interviews, rare archival film and photos, this critically acclaimed, award-winning documentary tells the story of three of these children - Ada, Shulamit, and the filmmaker herself, Mira. The women recount their memories of childhoods spent hiding from the Nazis and reflect on the courage of those individuals and families who helped them survive.
The film not only documents a tragic historical period but also examines the complexity of human nature under extreme duress, undermining stereotypes about the behavior of Jews, Poles, and even some Germans during the era. The film’s story involves Alfred Rossner, a German businessman who, like Oskar Schindler, employed forced Jewish labor and saved Jewish lives, but who, unlike Schindler, was not a Nazi Party member and paid for his actions with his life.

Survivor and documentary maker, Mira Reym Binford, is Professor Emerita at Quinnipiac University, where she taught film and holocaust studies. She has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in Communication Arts, and has lived and/or worked in Poland, Germany, France, Israel, and Mexico, as well as in India and Bangladesh, where she co-directed an award-winning documentary series on "Contemporary South Asia."

DIAMONDS IN THE SNOW grew out of her experiences as a child hidden from the Nazis by total strangers, one of only about a dozen Jewish children -- out of thousands -- to survive the Nazi occupation of her hometown of Bedzin, Poland. The film has received numerous international festival screenings and awards, including First Prize in the National Jewish Video Competition, 1994. Broadcast nationally on PBS and the Odyssey Channel, as well as in Europe and Mexico, the film has aired in English, German, and Spanish versions.

  • Mira Reym Binford
    Director
  • Mira Reym Binford
    Writer
  • Hank Heifetz
    Writer
  • Mira Reym Binford
    Producer
  • Editor, Peter Kinoy
    ADDITIONAL CREDITS
  • Camera, Slawomir Grunberg, Michael Camerini, Ron Rotem, Jacek Czerwinski, Udo Haas
    ADDITIONAL CREDITS
  • Sound Recording, I. Vishnia, Uri Bouzaglo, Maciej Szymczak
    ADDITIONAL CREDITS
  • Original Music AMY D. RUBIN Performed by the COLORADO STRING QUARTET & KATHLEEN NESTER, flute
    ADDITIONAL CREDITS
  • "A Yidish Kindt" by CHANA CHAITIN-WEINSTEIN, sung by RITA KARIN
    ADDITIONAL CREDITS
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    59 minutes
  • Production Budget:
    200,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany, Israel, Poland, United States
  • Language:
    English, German, Polish
  • Shooting Format:
    Beta
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • FIRST PRIZE, National Jewish Video Competition (1994), GOLDEN EAGLE AWARD from CINE (1995), others available on request

    United States
Distribution Information
  • National Center for Jewish Film
    Country: United States
Director - Mira Reym Binford