IFF- The Kozalchic Affair / Where is Elle Kari

THE KOZALCHIC AFFAIR

Yakov Kozalchik was known as “The Warden of the Death Block”. He was also a Jewish Kapo in Auschwitz, who sacrificed his life to save Jews, and was a well-known strongman who performed all over the world. But his heart could not stand the accusations that he collaborated with the Nazis, and at the age of 53, already living in Israel, he took his own life. His 68 year old son, is now embarking on a remarkable journey to recover the past and discover his father. As with so much that has to do with the Holocaust, this story is not clear-cut and the idea of who hero and victim can often get confused. The audience follows along as the son travels to Auschwitz to begin to confront a murky past.


WHERE IS ELLE-KARI AND WHAT HAPPENED TO NORIKO-SAN

During the 1950’s a series of books called “Children of the World” became very popular. The books, which are still printed in Israel, were created by the Jewish-Swedish photographer, Anna Riwkin-Brick (1908-1970). Nine of the books were written by Astrid Lindgren (who also wrote “Pippi Longstocking”).

“Where is Elle-Kari and What Happened to Noriko-san?” is a documentary which looks for some of the heroes of the series: Elle-Kari from Lapland, Noriko-San from Japan, Dirk from Holland as well as some of the Israeli heroes. Were they real children? Where are they now?

The film is a poignant reminder of vanishing childhood – the childhood of the children from the books, of the creator of the movie and of the children of pre-television Israel when trips to foreign places were such a distant dream.