Be Kinder - A Story About Light Out of Darkness

ABOUT "BE KINDER"
2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, and it's a reminder that we're losing the generation who survived the horrors of the Holocaust.

We need to document and share their remarkable stories before it’s too late.

Prior to his passing in 2015, Auschwitz survivor Bill Gluck worked with his adopted daughter Yael to document his miraculous story of survival. But this comprised just one chapter in his long and remarkable life.
 
While Vancouver was the chosen home for Bill and family, and life on Canada’s west coast gave him great joy, the horrors Bill witnessed in Auschwitz at age 13 never left him. A sense of guilt over his inability to save those closest to him stayed with him for the rest of his life.
 
Today, Yael wonders if part of his legacy was to save her instead. Adopted by Bill and wife Shirley in 1971, Yael ultimately found her biological siblings and critical information about her birth mother with her father’s unerring sixth sense, unraveling a new, complex, and familiar story of tragedy, luck and the power of family.
 
Through interviews with Bill Gluck’s wife, children and families, Yael’s biological siblings and hours of footage of Bill himself, this documentary intends to examine Bill’s unique perspective on the light and kindness he received during the darkness of human misery, and from the unlikeliest of sources.
 
How Bill survived the war ultimately became his true legacy. He harnessed kindness and created luck amidst human horror, and carried it forward to save another.

HOW WILL YOUR DONATION BE SPENT?
With over 20 hours of video testimony and footage of Bill and Yael shot from 2011-2014, additional filming is now required to tell the rest of the story. Most of the filming will occur in Vancouver, with travel to Montreal required for some interviews.

Editing will then complete this intimate and unique family portrait, with the final documentary film estimated to be between 30 and 60 minutes.

An experienced documentary filmmaker, and a production crew with access to state of the art production equipment, have already committed to working on the project at discounted rates.

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?
Only witness testimony about the atrocities that took place during WWII can possibly ensure we do not fail to call out and defeat injustice, extremism, and violence.

As someone with a lifelong awareness of Bill Gluck's experiences as a boy in Auschwitz, and unique perspective on the light that can come from darkness, Yael feels a responsibility to share this story of determination.
 
Before Bill died, Yael pledged her dedication to tell his story, and those who didn't survive. His message is bigger than a single person, but it lives in his story.
 
Today’s generation of storytellers owe it to him, the other survivors, and all who were lost, to shine a light on their remarkable sacrifices.

Be Kinder is a story about the kindness given to those who need it most, from the most unexpected people in the most tragic of circumstances.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Donate whatever you can to help Yael complete the story of "Be Kinder".

Then help Yael get the word out - share this link and encourage people to donate!

No amount is too small.


Interviewees:

Bill Gluck - Bill knew the importance of  sharing his story before he died. Along with this interview footage, his family will reflect on his life and how his legacy was much more than his Holocaust survival story.

Yael Stein - In addition to telling Bill Gluck's survival story, this is also Yael's personal story. Through uncovering the details of her own adoption, she hopes to shed light on the fullness of her father's legacy.
Shirley Gluck - Shirley was married to Bill for over 50 years, and with him raised a family. Having herself survived the war, as air raids and bombings shattered her childhood in London during the early 40's, Shirley provides unique perspective on both Bill and Yael's lives and stories, and the challenges and victories of experiencing trauma.
Stephen Gluck - Bill and Shirley's biological son, Stephen offers the perspective of a father's life that only a son can give, including the pressure, the expectations, the challenges, and ultimately the unconditional love he felt from his Dad.
David (aka Stephen) Lazare - Born in Montreal in 1969 and given up for adoption soon after, Yael's biological brother David was unaware of his biological roots throughout his childhood. A chance conversation and his unique medical history pulled him into Yael's world, and changed his life - and the life of another Hungarian child surviving trauma - forever. 
Edina Landesman - The woman who gave life to Yael and David left Montreal in the early 1970's, returned to Hungary. There, she had a third child, Edina. Circumstance, and echoes of Nazi-era anti Semitism, led Edina to lose her mother and gain a new life in Canada. And thanks in part to Bill, she would soon discover new branches of her family tree.
Talya and Mikal Stein - Bill's granddaughters and Yael's teenaged daughters, Talya and Mikal offer their insights on their grandfather's legacy, and the responsibilities it has imparted on them as representatives of a new generation committed to social justice.

Lev and Rory - Bill's grandchildren and Stephen's teenaged children Lev and Rory, offer their insights on their grandfather's legacy, and the responsibilities it has imparted on them as representatives of a new generation committed to social justice.