Suskind Film Update #6~ April 12, 2006

Hello and Happy Spring ~

I’m sorry so much time has lapsed between newsletters, but I wanted to be able to report this great news: The new pages for the Suskind Film website are up and running! We are very excited about this new material and we hope that you will take a look at www.morsephotography.com/suskindfilm

The new additions include Photo Galleries from both the American Premiere Party in September 2005 and the Dutch Premiere Party in February 2006. There is a page titled “Ries Vanderpol’s Story – In His Own Words” as well as pages describing “How the Story Found Us” and how the film was produced over the last several years.

We have added a calendar of Community Screenings and, under “Distribution”, you will see the names of the institutions where “Secret Courage” now resides, as well as a tally of film sales. Some of our favorite anecdotes can be found under “How the Film has Connected People”. Even this newsletter has a home on the site; copies of previous newsletters will soon be found through an “archive” link on the “Film Newsletters” page.

Please visit the site and let us know what you think. We have learned that different computer browsers view the pages differently, so we’d really appreciate hearing from you if you have any difficulty accessing any parts of the site. Thanks.

Meanwhile, we continue to work hard, following leads for distribution and marketing. We have found that one needs to have a “long view for results” in the film business, so we practice patience along the way.

The organization “Facing History and Ourselves” has purchased license agreements for seven copies of the film, one for each of Facing History’s regional offices in the U.S. We are delighted that these teachers and students, who treat this subject matter with such respect and care, will be able to share in the message of “Secret Courage”.

We have also had a wonderful conversation with the organization “Discovering Justice” about emphasizing the themes of dissent and resistance in a democratic society. We continue to explore possible curriculum development and co-hosted public events with this great group of people.

We had a very rewarding evening in March at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society Institute, hosted by Ries & Netty Vanderpol and Dr Gerald Adler. The staff there created a memorable event for all of us and the post-screening discussion was intense and thought-provoking.

The latest word from Janet Langdon in London is that our potential screening event there may be planned to tie-in with Holocaust Memorial Day in the U.K., in late January 2007. (The U.K. date roughly coincides with the new United Nations Holocaust Memorial Day of January 27.) This is all still in the early discussion stage, but is nonetheless very exciting.

We also are still in discussion with two of the major Jewish museums in New York City, hoping for screening events in the fall of 2006.

As we work in our Massachusetts office, information about the film is being passed among friends, families and survivors so that we now receive emails from places as diverse as California, Iowa, Illinois, South Africa, Europe, and Israel. The response continues to be positive and encouraging, and we feel an incredible bond with all of these folks who have made a connection to Walter Suskind and the cast of “Secret Courage”.

David Arnold is the Boston Globe journalist who, in 1990, researched and wrote the original piece in the U.S. about Suskind and the rescue effort. After the American Premiere Party in September, David wrote to Ries Vanderpol: “Suskind has his own momentum now. Dead more than one-half century and growing stronger by the year. Go figure.”

Go figure, indeed.

Best regards,

Karen & Tim