NEW YORK, October 27, 2014
–
Italy
and the Holocaust Foundation, Inc. (the "Foundation), a non-profit
organization committed to telling the little known story of the role Italy and
individual Italians played in helping Jewish people during the Holocaust, congratulates
Director Oren Jacoby and Executive Producer Joe Perella on the world premiere
of MY ITALIAN SECRET: The Forgotten Heroes
at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 12, 2014. MY ITALIAN SECRET was well received by two
sold-out audiences at the festival.
After
the film's success in New York, MY ITALIAN SECRET played at the Rome Film
Festival on October 16 and October 21. The
screenings at the Rome Film Festival were attended by several survivors
featured in the documentary and received significant Italian media
coverage. The screenings were met with
an enthusiastic reception from the audiences.
MY
ITALIAN SECRET: The Forgotten Heroes is
a feature length documentary that tells the story of courageous
Italians, including sports idol Gino Bartali, who carried out ingenious
schemes to rescue and protect Jews in Nazi-occupied Italy. Although
Gino Bartali is a sports legend, his most daring triumph came when he risked
his life countless times to save Jews threatened by Nazi extermination. The story of Bartali and the secret network
he worked with is just one example of the heroism exhibited by thousands of ordinary
Italians who risked their lives to save others from capture and death. As an
entire continent was engulfed in a genocide which took the lives of most Jews
in Nazi-occupied Europe (11 million people perished, including 6 million Jews),
approximately 80 percent of Italy's Jews survived. Bartali, like most of
the rescuers, never sought recognition or reward. Few of those he helped knew
his name or what role he played in their rescue.
In
addition to Gino Bartali, thousands of conscientious individual Italians risked
their lives in order to assist people who in many cases were complete strangers.
Most of these heroes never spoke of their courageous deeds. MY ITALIAN
SECRET begs the question: would you risk your life to save a stranger and then
never talk about it?
The film was written, produced and directed by Oscar nominee Oren Jacoby.
Isabella Rossellini serves as the
narrator, and Robert Loggia is the voice of Gino Bartali.
For more information about MY
ITALIAN SECRET: The Forgotten Heroes,
please visit: http://myitaliansecret.com/
About Italy and the Holocaust, Inc.
Italy
and the Holocaust, Inc. (“the Foundation”) was founded in 2010 as a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit organization to share the little known story of the role of
Italy and many individual Italians in saving approximately 80% of the Jews in
Italy during the Holocaust. Our goal is to share stories of survival that
were possible because people had the courage to care for their neighbors.
In sharing these little known stories, the Foundation will educate generations
to come that if you are not indifferent, things can be different. For
more information, please visit: http://www.italyandtheholocaust.org.
About Storyville Films
Storyville
Films was founded by Oren Jacoby to develop and produce documentaries, dramas,
and series driven by strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and
innovation. Documentary films produced
by Storyville have played in theatrical release and premiered on the BBC, PBS,
HBO, ABC, TBS, Discovery, VH-1, Arté,
NHK, and Bloomberg. Storyville's films are currently available on DVD and
steaming home video release from First Run Features, New Video/Docurama, Sony,
PBS Home Entertainment, SnagFilms, and on iTunes and Netflix. Storyville and Oren Jacoby have produced
films recognized by the American Film Institute, the Alfred I. Dupont/Columbia
Awards, Britain’s Royal Television Society, the MacArthur Foundation, the
Sundance Institute, and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and
Sciences. For more information, please
visit: http://www.storyville.org.
Media Contact
Laura Newman
Italy and the Holocaust, Inc.
Lnewman@italyandtheholocaust.org