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 .