Menachem and Fred

Meet Menachem and Fred, an Israeli professor and an American space engineer, brothers who are now reuniting as adults. When they separated during the Holocaust, Fred moved to New York, changed his full name and raised all-American Christians; Menachem is a religious Jew and lives near his children and their West Bank settlement. The men avoided their history for over sixty years until letters from their mother surfaced and forced them to confront the past. We travel with them to Germany on an emotional tour of the many homes and refuges they had, including their original family home, a hiding place when they were driven out on Kristallnacht, an orphanage and a camp. Both Menachem and Fred have blocked out parts of their youth so that we, as viewers, have the odd feeling that we are learning about their childhoods at the same time as they are, from old neighbors and from each other. The most difficult meeting is with the Hopps family, son and daughter of the Nazi who forced the brothers and their parents from their home. The Hoppses play a pivotal and somewhat controversial part in the reunion in Germany of Menachem and Fred’s families. This stranger-than-fiction tale is told beautifully, both visually and through Fred’s and the filmmakers’ lyrical narration, inviting viewers to join in questioning the meaning of home, identity and fate.

Ronit Kertsner Resume Education · 1977 - 1981 Cinema and Television Department, Tel Aviv University Professional Experience · 1999-2001 Director and Editor of a 55-minute documentary film, "The Secret" (produced by Belshir International) with the help of: Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation and The Fund for original programming on cable- Israel · 1997 - 1999 Editor of the following documentary films: "Ethiopia, Israel, Jamaica" for Israel's Channel 2 TV station "Strangers in their Country", a documentary for "Fact ", an Israeli investigative TV program "Dancing up a Storm - Jacques Demboise" (40 minutes - for JCS) "The Silver Leaf of the Golden Age" (30 minutes, produced by Shira Skolnik) "The Last Theater Play " (30 minutes, for Israel's Channel 2 TV station) "Makhram Khouri Makhoul" (for Israel's Channel 2 TV station) "School for Engineers (for Israel's Channel 2 TV station) "The Children of the Submarine" 1998 Jerusalem Festival (30 minutes, for Israel's Channel 2 TV station) "Much more Than a dream"(55min.)1999 Haifa festival · 1993 - 1999 Permanent senior editor for the Israeli cable TV stations "Tevel" and "Golden Channels" · 1985 - 1992 In-house editor at Beacon, Tel Aviv As part of my work in Beacon, I edited documentary films, cinema advertisements, public service announcements, as well as approximately 200 image and sales films for companies in all sectors of industry. I edited a dramatic series for young people - for the Israeli National Film Service. I also edited multi-screen (3 to 5 screens) presentations, among them: Five screens - "Always 18", an Israel Defense Forces presentation for Israel's 40th Independence Day celebrations (joint production of Beacon and Telemedia) Three screens - "A Cave of Prehistoric Man", produced by Anima (screened at the site of the cave of prehistoric man in the Carmel Caves). Three screens - "Netafim" - Ministry of Defense (for the Paris Air Show). Three screens - "The Armored Corps" (screened at the site of the Armored Corps at Latrun). · 1981 - 1985 Editing of video films Documentary films for Israel Television's Documentary Department and the Israeli National Film Service, including: A series on the streets of Jerusalem, another series on Israeli painters, a documentary on Zvi Ben-Yosef, poet and composer, and several other documentaries. Features for the Mabat and Second Mabat current affairs TV programs. Editing of a TV drama, "Tailspin", for Israel Television's Drama Department -,