Members of the Bulgarian Church were recognized for their role in stopping the
deportations of the Bulgarian Jews to the death camps.
The
Metropolitan Bishops Stephan and Kiril received an award in a
ceremony following the NY Premiere of the film The
Optimists: The Story of the Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from
the Holocaust.
This award
winning documentary
tells the inspiring story of how Bulgarian individuals helped their
Jewish friends and neighbors and managed to save 50,000 Bulgarian Jews. The
Optimists will open theatrically in NY on October 21st, at the
Quad Cinema. Director Jacky Comforty will be available to answer
audience questions after selected screenings.
The
event was sponsored by The Consulate General of Israel in New York, The
Consulate General of Bulgaria in New York, The American Society for Yad Vashem,
The American Jewish Committee, The American Sephardic Federation, The Center
for Jewish History and organized in collaboration with
The International Raoul Wallenberg
Foundation
Esme Berg, Executive Director of the American Sephardi Federation and H.E.
Arye Mekel, Consul General of Israel in New York, opened the event with
introductory remarks.
Following
the screening of the film, Father Dmitri Dmitroff a metropolitan of the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church accepted an award on behalf of the two Bulgarian
Metropolitans highlighted in the film, Bishop Stephan and Bishop Kiril, whose
acts of defiance during the war helped save 50,000 Bulgarian Jews from
deportation. The award was presented by Dr. David Elcott, the Director
of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee.
H.E. Arye Mekel, Consul General of Israel in New York, H.E. Stefan
Tafrov, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Bulgaria to the UN,
H.E. Elena Poptodorova, Bulgarian Ambassador to the United States;
Nikolay Milkov, Consul General of Bulgaria in New York; Victoria
Schonfeld, Honorary Bulgarian Consul in New York and Abigail Tenembaum,
Vice President of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation., were some of
the distinguished participants at the ceremony.
Film producer and director Jacky
Comforty and H.E. Elena Poptodorova, the Bulgarian Ambassador the
United States, were available for a question and answer session where
Bulgarians living in New York had the opportunity to express their gratitude
to the director for the production of the film. Comforty told the audience
about the almost twenty years it took to finalize the film, "I didn't make the
film for my mother, who appears and was saved by the Bulgarian people, I did
it in order to educate the world about the great deeds of these people and
about the power of individuals to have a positive impact and change the course
of history".
Photo: Father Dimitri Dimitroff presents the award bestowed to
Metropolitan Stephan and Metropolitan Kiril on their behalf. Consul General of
Israel in NY, Arye Mekel, and Ambassador of Bulgaria to the USA,
Elena Poptodorova in the back.
Hi Resolution JPG for print
More printable photos, press kit, and
trailer are available on -line at
www.theoptimists.com
* * * * *
The Optimists:
The
Story of the Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust
Starts October 21st at the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street,
New York, NY 10011
Show Times: 1:00, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:45
Director Jacky Comforty will be available for Q and A during the
first week
after the 1:00 PM and 7:30 Shows. Groups who would like to coordinate
additional appearances
please write comforty@comforty.com
or call toll free 866-690-6992
The
Optimists: tells the inspiring
story of how 50,000 Jews in Bulgaria survived the Holocaust because their
Bulgarian neighbors and friends helped defend them. Many individuals, each in
his or her own way, took action to foil the Bulgarian Government’s plans to
hand over the Bulgarian Jews to the Nazis. The film features everyday heroes
and role models from all walks of life. Their stories are an especially
compelling lesson for today’s world.
The Optimists is directed by award-winning filmmaker, Jacky Comforty,
whose family was among those who survived, and who worked 12 years to produce
this story.
The film informs and
inspires audiences of all ages and backgrounds and lends itself to exciting
post-screening discussions. Audiences come away with a heightened sensitivity
to personal responsibility, religious and ethnic tolerance, and to human and
democratic values.
The Optimists
has been publicly shown in more than fifty cities
around the world, and is
Co-Winner of The Peace Prize, Berlin International
Film Festival; First Prize for "Documenting the Jewish Experience," Jerusalem
International Film Festival; CINE Golden Eagle; Best Documentary, Hope and
Dreams Film Festival.
More information, including pres kit, audience evaluation, printable press
images and video excerpts are available at
www.theoptimists.com.
“Everyone
is entitled to his own faith.
No one should violate the intimate, spiritual life of another.
That’s how I think now, that’s how I have thought in the past,
and if I live any longer, that’s how I’ll think then.”
- Bishop Boris
Kharalampiev, the Bulgarian Orthodox priest
who helped stop the deportation of the Jewish citizens of his city in 1943.
“This
is a film that celebrates the human spirit. It offers hope that people of
different races and religions can learn to live together in peace.”
- Leora Frucht, The
Jerusalem Post
“The
Optimists is a wonderful film. The title refers not only to a Bulgarian jazz
band, but to how the audience feels after watching such a moving testament to
human decency.”
- Annette Insdorf, Author of Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust.
“This
film teaches how commitment to justice and respect for others can triumph
over oppression. A must-see for anyone learning or teaching the Holocaust.”
- Dr. Shani Beth-Halachmy,
Professor of Educational Psychology, National College of Education, National
Louis University
“The Optimists in a beautiful and
dramatic way tells what a community in extremis can do to help others in
distress. It is a powerful and a heartwarming story which deserves to be seen
and discussed. “
- Rabbi Peter S. Knobel,
Beth Emet the Free Synagogue
“I
am confident that the American audience will be impressed by the power and the
triumph of hope and human spirit in The Optimists.”
- H.E. Elena Poptodorova, The
Bulgarian Ambassador to the US
The Optimists is a presentation of
Comforty Media Concepts and The Chambon Foundation.
Directed by Jacky Comforty, Produced and written by Jacky and Lisa Comforty.
Distributed by Castle Hill Productions.
