Private Project

Stol*Pern = to Trip

While I was in Berlin I was handed a flyer for a "Stolpersteinverlegung".
A Stolperstein, or 'tripping stone', is a piece of art, a single memorial for an individual victim of the Nazis. The copper-topped paver is inscribed with that person's name, date of birth, the date of their murder and in which camp that took place.
Whether they were young or old, the memorial stones have become a source of curiosity, information, and an education tool.
And a sign of German contrition. Or so I thought.
Until I met two schoolboys who thought they were the German equivalent of the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
And so it began...

  • Debbie Elbin
    Director
    Apologies to Bunuel
  • Debbie Elbin
    Writer
  • Debbie Elbin
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    54 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 19, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    588,965 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    English, German
  • Shooting Format:
    1080p HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Debbie Elbin

Debbie Elbin is an internationally renown NY based producer and production executive of feature films, and TV drama series.
Domestically she is knows as THE pioneer of 24p HDTV. As Co-Executive Producer of Sidney Lumet's "100 Centre Street", this New York based production was the groundbreaking series in 24p. The production lead to experimentation with workflows and
film-out techniques, which in turn allowed Lumet to create subsequent works in 24p HD. In the US she produced for Warner Brothers, Village Roadshow, Viacom, Columbia Tristar, A&E, NBC and CBS.
In the international arena, she worked extensively for Sony Pictures opening their operation in Moscow, Russia, as VP Production, Russia and CIS, and before that as Executive i/c Production in Koln, Germany. For Warner Brothers Studios she served as production consultant in Berlin, Germany on the Wachowskis "Speed Racer".
She is a Director and UPM member of the DGA.
Currently she commutes between New York and Berlin, where she is completing "Stol*Pern = to Trip", her limited documentary series about antisemitism in current day Germany.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

It was pure chance that this documentary series came about: I was offered a job in Berlin and had very mixed feelings about it. Both my parents had been born in Berlin, but never ever spoke about it, and I was raised in post war Holland, where everything German was despised. The job offer made me wonder about prejudice, my own and the Germans, and if it could be overcome. So I took the job and started to explore the unknown: Berlin and Germany. While I was there I was offered a flyer for a Stolpersteinverlegung. I had no idea what a Stolperstein was, but once it was pointed out to me I saw them everywhere. Memorial stones, they are also a piece of art, a sculpture dedicated to an individual murdered by the Nazis.
I decided to shoot the unique event, where 40 of the memorial stones were being laid in front of a synagogue. And while practicing with the camera, I met two boys, who clearly didn't know what the stones were for, even though they crossed them when entered their house every single day.
And with that a passion project came into being which is now entering it's 9th year.