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A Story of Kindess and Human Spirit

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The Story:
Ronia, a hidden child in Nazi Germany, at age four, was smuggled out of a Nazi detention camp in France by the Swiss Red Cross and put into hiding for two years. At six years old she was one of only two children to have successfully escaped across the French-Swiss border…by herself. As a four-year old child of tender years, Ronia’s journey to freedom was only possible through the kindness of strangers who placed themselves in harm’s way.  All the while her parents, Paul (Adolf) and Alice, hid in the ceiling of a barracks in the detention camp hoping and praying for survival. Like his daughter, Adolf and Alice's paths to freedom was also aided by the kindness of strangers.  
In 1987, Paul (Adolf) recorded the events of his capture, detention, and escape which provides the roadmap of this documentary. Ronia and her two daughters travel to Europe to re-live, recreate and chronicle Ronia’s authentic story of escape from the Nazi horror camps. This is a story of kindness and human spirit and illustrates its importance in today's world.  

Our total budget is $550,000,   but don't be dismayed, every single contribution helps us pay for something !

We are now in: Phase 2: Filming the Survivors and Evidence: $80,000


My mother was asked to speak in Freiburg, Germany for the 80th anniversary of Kristal Nacht.  
(November 16th-29th). This current fund raiser is to raise money to hire a professional film crew to continue filming  in Germany and Switzerland while my mother is there.  
This includes, but is not limited to, travel cost, for crew, 6 people, hotel, food, transportation, equipment rentals, supplies, hard drives, SD cards, location costs, production insurance, legal costs,  directors of photography, sound technicians, boom operators. lighting. 

There are Four Phases of raising money-  Phase 1: was our first crowd funding campaign on you caring.  We raised $25,000 from you and an additional $50,000  from us and  in kind services, which enabled us to shoot  our first discovery trip,  11 days and 30 hours of footage shot on a Red Camera and a Canon 5 D.   On that trip we discovered witnesses and survivors in their late 80’s to 100’s, historians who proved my mother's story.   We now need to go back and film them.  

Phase 3:  June 2019:   France: My mother returns to the internment Camp of Rivesaltes  in the Pyrenees, and we follow the escape route  Adolf and Alice followed through the Alps and smugglers routes while searching for the people who helped.  We will also be filming  re-creations of the story with actors.  Cost wise we will need all the above plus the cost of actors. 

Phase 4:  July 2019   Post-production: that would include things like video and sound editing, music licensing, coloring, animation and other post-production costs.


Alice, Adolf, Ronia Reutlinger circa 1937


Why It’s Important?

2018, Anti-Semitism and hatred has risen by 57% this year in the USA and around the world and this month we've
witnessed the shooting of innocent worshipers in a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Our story is not just the story of a family escaping the Holocaust, it mirrors the desperate situation of the refugees around the world today, who fear for their lives and their journey to escape war, ethnic cleansing and terrorist regimes.

There are only a small number of Holocaust survivors left who can give testimony of what they witnessed.  That number continues to decline as time progresses.

We become complacent.  We think it cannot happen to us.  History has proved otherwise.

The refrain has always been, “never forget”, but we are forgetting, and we constantly need to be reminded that things can change in an instant as it did with the election of Hitler in 1933. 

The fate of the Jewish refugees in the 1930’s is a cautionary tale of the consequences of inaction and indifference in the world today.  This documentary will show how current events can parallel the past, and the importance of people truly seeing and helping each other. 

We must share the stories of those that experienced it, so we never forget the horrors they faced and never let humanity sink back into another time period like it.
Elsie Werly,  Zurich Switzerland, 98 years old, Swiss Refugee helper who befriended my grandparents. 


How Can You Help?  You ask?  :)

Making a film is very expensive, and in order to continue the production of our film we need you, and any donation you can give!  

I believe that the best way to combat hatred and ignorance, is with kindness and understanding. We are making this film, along with launching a kindness campaign, to try and make a difference.My hope is that by sharing my family’s positive story, we will spread the message that light illuminates even the darkest corners of humanity.  

Join our family and come along with us on our journey. 

Please give what you can and share this campaign with your friends.
Every donation is meaningful and appreciated. 


Gifts:
$100 1 ticket to the cast and crew screening.  
$250 get a "Kindness is the Language of Life" t-shirt and 2 tickets the cast and crew  screening
$500 get  a "Kindness is the Language of Life" t-shirt" and two ticket to the cast and crew screening, and after party.
$1000 get two tickets to the red carpet premiere, and a private backers reception
$2500 get two tickets to the premiere, and a private backers reception, and a one on one Q & A with the director!
$5000 get two reserved tickets to the premiere, a private backers reception, and a printed  copy of "My Name is Not Adolf" the Kindness of Strangers" package, and special special thanks, and a one on one Q & A with the director!
$10,000  or more gets producer credit plus all the above. 

My name is Judi Beecher.  I am the director the feature-length documentary, “My Name is Not Adolf: The Kindness of Strangers.”   

I'm an award-winning actress, producer and filmmaker; and, along with my grandparents, mother and sister, the subjects of this documentary.  This is the true story of my family.  

My producing credits include "Only in Paris," which won Best Short, Best Romantic Comedy, and Best Actress at the New York International Film Festival, the "Cannes Cannes", and the up-coming indie feature film coming to theaters near you.. "Tango Shalom" with Renee Taylor and Lainie Kazam and Joe Bologna.  
There is also  investment possibilities please contact me directly if you are interested!

If you already donated last year we thank you and if you are able - please consider donating again  we still need you.  :)

In Love and Gratitude and Light Please help us make a difference .. 

Judi Beecher

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Donations 

  • Carolyn Meehan
    • $100 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer

Judi Beecher
Organizer
New York, NY

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