Marina Willer, a filmmaker and graphic designer, wants to tell the story of her family, one of 12 to survive the Nazi occupation of Prague, Czechoslovakia and escape to Brazil in her new project, Red Trees. Their incredible journey will be formulated and told through the stories of Willer’s father, Alfred, an architect who was just a boy during World War II, and his father. And even though the film will focus on the Holocaust, it remains a story of strength and survival. Said Willer: “It was incredibly tough to go to the concentration camps where my great grandmother died. It was very tough to go to the synagogue where all those names are written on the wall of the victims of the Nazi[s]. It was devastating. But I want to make this film a really positive uplifting film.”
Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.
