From Philadelphia to the Front
From Philadelphia to the Front is the first documentary to focus on Jewish American World War II veterans. Many documentaries have been devoted to the topic of the destruction of European Jewry in Nazi-occupied Europe but relatively little attention has been focused on Jewish Americans who participated in the Allied victory in World War II.
This film focuses on six Philadelphia veterans in their 80’s, and their individual experiences during the war and a bittersweet reunion they share in their old age. For Jews, the war to defeat Hitler had deeply personal significance. Combined with photographs from the men’s personal collections, the film includes rare archival footage, stills, and newsreels including Jewish soldiers celebrating Shabbat and Passover during wartime and the first Jewish service at Dachau after it was liberated. Milton Dank, a noted physicist and historian who flew glider planes in World War II, contributed hundred of photographs he took on the front lines.
Awards
Best Documentary, Second Place Aarhus Film Festival, Denmark
Audience Award Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival
New Filmmakers Award Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
Best Documentary, Second Place Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films
Audience Award - Documentary Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films
Best Documentary, Second Place Warsaw Jewish Film Festival
Screenings
Kehillah of Chester County Summer Shorts Film Festival
Museum of Tolerance International Film Festival
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Bowdoin College, Maine
Globians Film Festival, Germany
Krakow Festival of Arts and Culture
Aarhus Film Festival, Denmark
Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival
Palm Beach International Film Festival
Shreveport Jewish Film Festival
San Diego Jewish Film Festival
International Conference on Jewish Genealogy
Jewish Museum of Maryland
National Yiddish Book Center
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Fall Series)
Vilna Shul, Boston
Maine Jewish Film Festival
National Museum of American Jewish History
Vancouver Jewish Film Festival
NCJF Jewishfilm
Sarasota Film Festival
Miami Jewish Film Festival
Delray Beach Film Festival
New York Jewish Film Festival
Washington Jewish Film Festival
Warsaw International Jewish Film Festival
Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films
Rhode Island International Film Festival
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
San Fernando Valley International Film Festival
