"THE BIRTHDAY PARTY"

A Documentary by Ruth Walk:

One day I received a phone call from a woman I once knew. She said she has an interesting story – her father has been celebrating a shared birthday with his friends for 40 years. It’s an event she recalls having occurred her entire life without understanding why. Now he is willing to talk. We met, she gave me a little more information – he survived Auschwitz as a child. I have a memory etched in my mind of the successive numbers scorched onto their arms. I met her father – Dan Levnovski. I was charmed by his personality, proud and full of life, but somewhat childish. Every detail of his life echoed his past. The large watch dog, the office situated inside the bunker. When he spoke of his parents, he lowered his eyes.
The image was becoming clearer. A group of children was sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Something prevented their immediate extermination. Since then, the children who survived the war meet every 5th of May to celebrate their mutual birthday, the day of their “rebirth”. I met with the other friends as well. Each energetic in his own way, yet “children” still. The group puzzle took the shape of a rare story. Historians claimed it couldn’t be, since the children were instantly taken for extermination. I was invited to their birthday on the 5th of May.
When I saw them dancing I knew this is a film I would make.