① memo 20171125 ~ Lon’s World Premiere ~ Last week the short documentary film LON by Nina Landau had its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) , with showings from November 16-24th in one of the most beautiful cinemas in the world , the Tuschinski Theater in Amsterdam , Holland – a modern style mixed Art Deco , Jugendstil movie palace , opened in 1921 by the jewish polish immigrant Abraham Tuschinski (murdered in Auschwitz in 1942).
Lon Landau is a promising Jewish stage designer whose life takes a turn during World War II. He is held captive in a Belgian nazi camp, but decides to stay positive and do what he knows best: building dream worlds. LON is an ode to the power of imagination and how people maintain their dignity in difficult times.
Link to Trailer LON documentary
I first watched LON via the Belgian channel Canvas | VRT.be – which aired the film November 19th. Yesterday I watched the film in Tuschinski – and enjoyed the fine quality of the film on that big screen … and , by the way , the rich colors of the image I contributed – the picture of the oil-painted ‘Robin Hood’ marionette made by Lon Landau.
In Lon’s artistic spirit , Nina Landau shows the story of her great-uncle Lon in her short documentary animation film ‘LON’ , on a ‘stage’ of paper sheets , were hand-drawn figures , sketches , are brought to life , just like the marionettes Lon made 75 years ago for the puppet show he prepared for the children around him , living like he in the Nazi transit camp Kazerne Dossin – waiting for deportation to a death camp. Lon’s puppet show did not premiere for the children in the camp , because he was deported to Auschwitz shortly before the envisioned performance.
This 7 minute short Flemish version of ‘La Vita è bella’ by Nina Landau , and co-workers Jamie MacLean, Penelope Deltour , Gert Van Goethem , and Sus Slaets will be screened again in december in Belgium at the international Kort Film Festival in Leuven ; and next Saturday , December 2nd 2017 at ‘Kortfilms in Dossin‘ , in the Kazerne Dossin museum in Mechelen .
Selections 4×7 docs December 2017 – Broadcast Belgian Canvas TV
‘LON’ van Nina Landau wordt je warm aanbevolen door Kathleen Cools :
“Nina vertelt dit verhaal zo ontroerend, ontwapenend, eerlijk en ook vol liefde dat we vooral aan Lon denken als een kleine, heel sterke held in dat verschrikkelijke, grote verhaal dat oorlog heet.” –
Preview by CANVAS – VRT – Belgian TV – facebook
