Singing up the Past
A film about memory, survival, and the power of music to sustain.
‘When our yearning for food became unbearable, we sang.’
Eight decades after she learned and first sang them, Guta Goldstein has kept alive a repertoire of songs from the Łódź ghetto and from camps that she continues to perform in private. As a child in the ghetto, the songs gave Guta distraction, hope, and entertainment. From Auschwitz to Bergen Belsen to Mehltheuer, they became a way to focus, process experiences, to come to know others, and finally to retain a sense of humanity. Through the songs, performed in the film by the wonderful Łódź Children’s Choir, Guta can 'sing up' her past. Guta's story is unique; it is testimony through song, rather than spoken words.
‘'It’s a profound, exquisite and poignant film.
I’ve been thinking about the sensual inroads to
encounter in a world so dominated by the momentary
and commodified image. You have found such a way in.
You have created something of true value.'
'The film is a joy, absolutely fantastic...
an enormously interesting exploration
of music, memory, and historical trauma.’
‘I was completely immersed.’
About the filmmakers
Tim Slade (Director & Producer) is an award winning filmmaker. His films have been funded by the Rothschild, Ford, MacArthur and Henry Luce Foundations, and have screened at over 80 international film festivals and been broadcast in 50 countries.
Dr. Joseph Toltz (Concept & Producer) is a renowned scholar of music of the Holocaust. For 25 years, he has worked with Survivors, drawing out and recording their musical testimonies to build a vital chapter within Holocaust testimony.
Anita Vranjes (Co-Producer) was Co-founder of the Lodz Children’s Choir, until 2022 its Managing Director, and since 2022 an Advisor to the Choir. She produced over a hundred artistic events with the choir, including the children’s opera ‘Brundibar’ by Jewish composer Hans Krasa, which had been performed during the Holocaust.
