The Last Flight of Petr Ginz

The Last Flight of Petr Ginz

A testament to how a boy's creative expression represents the best of what makes us human.

Overview

Genre
Biography, Arts, and History
Synopsis

By 14 he had written five novels and penned a diary about the Nazi occupation of Prague. By 16 he had produced over 150 drawings and paintings, edited an underground
magazine in the Theresienstadt Ghetto, written numerous short stories and had walked to the gas chamber at Auschwitz.

Much of Petr's story was unknown until the 2003 Columbia space shuttle tragedy. Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, carried with him into space Petr's drawing, Moon Landscape. The publicity surrounding the flight and its explosion led to the discovery of Petr's diary and additional artwork and short stories in a Prague attic.

Through Petr's artwork, novels, short stories and magazine articles, the viewer will see Petr make the journey from precocious child to young adult, from innocence to the painful awareness of inhumanity, from gifted artist and writer to prodigy.

Stage
finished
Running time
67 minutes

Credits

  • Cindy L. Hill ... Associate Director, Editor and Director of Photography

Production Details

Prod. Co.
The Documentary Film Program and The Documentary Institute
Country
United States
Years of Production
3 years
Locations
Israel, Czech Republic and Canada
Prod. Partners
Yad Vashem Memorial, Jerusalem United Nations U.S. State Department Wake Forest University University of Florida Czech Embassies in U.S. & Israel Czech Foreign Ministry (patronage) Israeli Foreign Ministry European Shoah Legacy Institute Jewish Museum of Prague OPONA-Czech NGO for Democracy National Endowment for the Arts Jerome A. Yavitz Foundation Eugene and Emily Grant Family Foundation Karma Foundation

Distribution Details

Release year
2012
Festivals
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
Language
English, Czech, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Russian
Subtitles
Czech, Hebrew

Photos

8fa4e61b59539188c1e0a9a623e459be

Browse documentary films on The D-Word