ABOUT

The Podkamieners is a series of short films that reimagines the Holocaust documentary genre by juxtaposing rich and realistic animation with moving first and secondhand accounts. The series follows a group of related Holocaust survivors who were forced to flee their small town of Podkamien, Poland and hide in the woods at the peak of WWII.

Each film in “The Podkamieners” illustrates stories of survival that words alone could not justify, from a family of 30 finding refuge in the basement of a monastery, to a mother and son hiding in a coffin-sized bale of hay for more than 16 months.

But beneath those extraordinary stories lies the subtext of the lingering aftermath of the Holocaust, and its effects on survivors and their children alike. The films are punctuated by the complex nuances of surviving genocide, highlighting the contrast between those survivors who choose to remember their experiences and those who’d prefer to forget.


YitzchakFour siblings share how their late father turned being a sole survivor into the essence of their family’s foundation.

Yitzchak

Four siblings share how their late father turned being a sole survivor into the essence of their family’s foundation.

IsidoreIsidore reveals how he and his mother hid buried in a bundle of hay for nearly a year and a half, with nothing but the clothes they had on.

Isidore

Isidore reveals how he and his mother hid buried in a bundle of hay for nearly a year and a half, with nothing but the clothes they had on.

MarkMark describes in powerful detail some of the near-death experiences of the war that left him with haunting memories.

Mark

Mark describes in powerful detail some of the near-death experiences of the war that left him with haunting memories.

BennyBenny recounts a childhood filled with war-torn memories in what became a real life game of hide and seek.

Benny

Benny recounts a childhood filled with war-torn memories in what became a real life game of hide and seek.

Fay and JoshTwo siblings exchange personal recollections of their survival as young children during WWII.

Fay and Josh

Two siblings exchange personal recollections of their survival as young children during WWII.