A5874
Based on the true story of Relly Neuman, A5874 is a drama in the vein of SCHINDLER’S LIST and the GREY ZONE.  A5874 is the number of the tattoo on the arm of a young woman who is an inmate of Auschwitz.  We follow her footsteps through the incredible hardships she endures in the course of one particular day.  She wakes in her barracks and the audience is immediately embroiled in the weight and pressure of her struggle to survive in the face of the brutality and random violence meted out by the S.S. guards.  She is emaciated; vision impaired, and lice infested which impedes her hearing.  It is a wonder she can walk, let alone perform the incredibly hard labor.  While working other inmates in her immediate surroundings are being slain mercilessly out of hand by the cruel guards.  Will she survive this day?


My goal for A5874 is that it will serve as a tribute to the indomitable nature of the human spirit.

A5874 takes you from the horrors of the Holocaust to the brutal realities of life in modern day Israel, as experienced by one survivor. Without the use of dialogue, we follow the struggle of a woman to survive the harrowing hardships of one specific day in a concentration camp. Then we flash forward 60 years where we witness her surviving a terrorists’ bomb on a street in modern day Israel. 

Growing up I would sit with my favorite cousin, Relly Neuman , and she would tell me in detail of her experiences as a holocaust survivor.  I never intentionally set out to write this project. Her stories haunted me.  I kept seeing images of the experiences she related in my mind and in my dreams until one day after her passing my pen just couldn't write fast enough. I wrote the script in a matter of minutes, because I had heard it all before.  I knew exactly how she saw what she saw, heard what she heard, endured what she endured and the stories that she miraculously lived to be able to share with me.

FACTORS FOR SUCCESS

There are several factors which will aid us in the success of this project. Because “A5874” is a short film containing no dialogue it is universally comprehensible and the powerful message will keep even the shortest attention span.  Via the use of point of view visuals and sound distortion the audience will be transported to a concentration camp with A5874.  They will hear what she hears and see what she sees, creating a personal and visceral experience for the viewer.  Any school in the world can show this and still leave plenty of time for a discussion afterwards. The film would even be able to be downloaded onto an I-pod. 

Today more than ever it is imperative that “A5874” is made. There are currently organizations and groups around the world either grossly underestimating the true extent of the holocaust or even denying its existence altogether.   In past decade the appalling instances of genocides occurring in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, and Burundi serve as a dismal reminder that the oft-heard pledge made in the aftermath of the holocaust of “never again” has fallen woefully short.  This film will not only to serve as a testament to the bravery of my cousin, but will also deliver a powerful message of hope and endurance in the face of the dangers of the global effects of hatred and intolerance.

IN CONCLUSION