SUMMARY:

 

A Woman. A Violin: The harrowing, interwoven tales of two Holocaust survivors.  

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The black winter night sky is filled with flurries. As we follow the flurries down, we see the top of a chimney spewing clouds of ash on to the scene below: a ramshackle orchestra, a beat-up violin. We are in the Auschwitz Death Camp. Hungry, cold musicians  play "The Beautiful Blue Danube”. The air is so thick from ash, they can barely see their music.  A young girl, Edie, 16, is pushed in front of them. She is frozen in shock. She arrived at Auschwitz that day. She sees the violin. It implores her to dance...to save her life.

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Our story follows ninety-four year old, Dr. Edith Eger. She is a New York Times best selling author, practicing Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Edie specializes in treating PTSD patients. She knows it intimately.  She is a feisty, stylish, sought-after oracle. With the 2016 release of her New York Times Best Selling memoir, “The Choice”, Dr. Edie became a celebrity at ninety years young. Oprah calls her work “Life Changing”. Steven Spielberg heralds her book.  She appears  in pod casts, Ted Talks, and receives many honors globally for her life-affirming philosophy. 

She is passionate about passing on her message that the worst prison we can experience, is the one in our own mind, and that through forgiveness we find healing.

Dr. Edie's unifying voice is vital to the survivor in all of us.  In our film, her messaging leads us to deep conversations with other radical change makers, pop culture icons, as well as young minds dealing with trauma.

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Her message is simple, not easy. 

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In Israel, a Hungarian violin, which was salvaged from Auschwitz, is brought to a master violin maker. He nurtures our violin back to life. Our violin travels from musician to musician, and is played around the world. Its unforgettable melodies underscore our film. Its journey is visually woven throughout our story, through the use of animation. 

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In Michigan, a Music Professor and Historian, Dr. Patricia Hall, brings back to life nine musical manuscripts that she discovered in the Auschwitz archives. With her student orchestra, she carefully recreates the pieces, penned by prisoners of war. These are the same arrangements that would have been heard by all upon their entrance to Auschwitz, on their way to work, or on their way to the gas chambers. The music is hauntingly upbeat and beautiful. We follow the rehearsal sessions and re-creation process until... 

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A Live Concert Event, “The Choice: An evening Of Words, Music & Dance Honoring Dr. Edith Eva Eger. This event celebrates the survivor in all of us. 

The theater is darkly lit.  We hear the upbeat music of “The Auschwitz Fox Trot” over the ambient speakers as we see the fog-filled stage, barren except for a piano and a chair, on top of which is our Hungarian violin.  The stage goes black as we here Dr. Edie’s voice

"We can't take away suffering.  

 We can't change what happened.

 We can learn to cherish the wound.

 It's our choice to find the Gift in ourselves."  

In the dark, we hear a single violin play...Etienne Gara, Founder and Artistic Director of the edgy, diverse, and self-conducted Delirium Musicum Chamber Orchestra, enters the theater from the back of house. As he plays he walks down the aisle  the lights begin to lift. He heads to the stage, and the lights come up as the Musicum Delirium Orchestra joins in. They are playing Dr. Patricia Hall’s archival music. After a few pieces of music play, the lights shift. Actress Tovah Feldshuh enters holding Dr. Edie’s book “The Choice”. In the first person, she reads an excerpt from the book which leads us to the next piece of music. We hear our violin play again and as it does, Etienne tells us the story f its recovery and survival... and how this Violin of Hope keeps the spirits alive. The orchestra plays two more pieces... Tova enters. She reads the passage where doctor Edie describes her first day in Auschwitz and being pulled out of the crowd of women to “entertain” Dr. Mengele.  New York City Ballet's Prima Ballerina, Tiler Peck enters the stage. She wears stripped pajamas. She is frozen with fear, unable to move. Our violin begins to gently play to her... “The Beautiful Blue Danube”, she can barely respond. It plays harder, imploring her to dance, and she begins to move with it. As her body moves, the violin and other instruments encourage her, playing more emphatically. She responds by dancing fully and as she does, the lights shift, and the music mashes into Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. Her striped pajamas pull away, revealing a beautiful white slip dress, and she escapes into her fantasy life performing at the Budapest Opera House. At the end of the piece, she comes forward to take her bow, the violin and orchestra  join her. She is presented with a bouquet of red roses. She steps forward and Dr. Edie is escorted to meet her center stage. She presents Dr. Edie with the roses and Dr. Edie bows with our cast, and throws hand full of roses into the adoring audience. A testament to life, joy and the survivor in us all.

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