Building a film story...

A STRING OF PEARLS: The Small Miracles of Charles Middleberg, threads together luminous story pearls of hope, one by one, sifted from the debris of a man's epic life, journey and fate.

PEARLS, our new documentary film-in-the-works, is a series of vignette remembrances of a Holocaust survivor looking back at his 9 year old self in Paris, France, from his vantage point at 90 years of age.

Backstory to a Film...

I first met Mr. Middleberg at  a public presentations of his Holocaust memories. He emphasized his continuing message of hope against hate -- a simple, obvious yet disarming message. He is a witness, amongst a now rarified group of people who know first hand -- it is not a given that hate will be vanquished.

What is remarkable is that, despite  harrowing escapes, dislocation and tragic family losses, Middleberg remains an optimist. His life is focused on a string of pearls,  the "small miracles" of improbable, serendipitous fortune that have been the hallmark of his life.  This film will be both an historic archive of his remembrances and an uplifting vision of hope that Middleberg has  gifted to us.

Sketch for "Pearls" film | Joseph G Brin copyright 2019

"As youngsters in the Occupation, my little brother and I were sent to the country to be protected, adopted by a Christian family. We had to observe their religious practices to fit in by taking Communion. One day there was a festival at the church. I emerged from the church and sat on a curb sobbing uncontrollably. I didn't know why." (paraphrased from Middleberg's presentation)