My Yiddish Papi / Montréal, Canada / Louisiana Premiere

A young woman decides not to answer a phone call from her grandfather, unaware that it will be his last. When he dies, she is overwhelmed with guilt and regret and can’t sleep. But then she remembers a promise made long ago: to illustrate her grandfather’s wartime adventures and, in so doing, pass on a story of courage and resistance to future generations.

A short film about love, duty and the transmission of memory, My Yiddish Papi poetically evokes a promise that transcends the grave. The film explores the relationship between a woman and her grandfather, set against the indelible tragedy of the Second World War. Using ink-on-paper animation, Éléonore Goldberg reconciles the image of the elder she knew with a different version: that of a young Resistance fighter during the occupation of Paris.

Ink drawing, gouache, and pigment on paper.

Filmmaker Éléonore Goldberg is a COTB alum and past attendee and award-winner for her animated film Errance.

Director's Statement:

It was hard when I was writing the script. My grandfather’s death was still very recent; I had lots of lingering sadness and regrets and I kept bumping up against my own ignorance—little details like exactly how my grandfather had persuaded my great-grandfather not to open the door. I was terribly concerned about misrepresenting the facts. But all of this also motivated me to get the project underway. The time it took me to get funding in no way diminished my desire to do it. I sunk my teeth into it.

Making this film allowed me to make good on my promise to my grandfather to share one of his adventures. I chose this one because it was his first gesture of defiance—a gesture that ultimately led to his involvement in the French Resistance and the survival of his family.