Irish Film Institute -FROM THE VAULTS: FRAGMENTS OF ISABELLA

FROM THE VAULTS: FRAGMENTS OF ISABELLA

Director: Ronan O’Leary

79 minutes, 1989, Black and White and Colour, 35mm


This film screened on Wednesday 21st  January 2015.

This screening is in memory of actor Gabrielle Reidy (1960-2014), who adapted the book by Isabella Leitner for the stage with director Michael Scott. She performed it from 1985 to ’89, bringing to the role of Isabella the conviction, intensity and luminosity for which she was known.

This film adaptation from director Ronan O’Leary foregrounds this remarkable solo performance which chronicles the experience of Leitner, a young Hungarian girl who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp to become the first survivor of the Holocaust to reach the sanctuary of the United States where she struggled for many years to rebuild the fragments of her shattered life. This powerful narrative is subtly amplified by Carl Davis’ fine score.

Photo Credit: Amelia Stein

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