Journey to Jerusalem - Ivan Nichev - Bulgaria

Journey to Jerusalem - Ivan Nichev: The rescue of Jewish children during World War II

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Journey to Jerusalem (Patuvane kam Yerusalim, 2003)
Bulgaria

Director: Ivan Nichev
Cast: Elena Petrova, Aleksandr Morfov and Vasil Vasilev-Zueka

Presentation:

Ivan Nichev has made his name as the most prolific director out of Bulgaria. His films are full of raw human emotion told through the eyes of some unusual yet captivating characters.

Bulgarian films are not easy to come by, but the few films that do emerge are for a select audience that usually sees them in film festivals. Ivan Nichev however, has become a name associated with great Bulgarian filmmaking since the 1970s. They have withstood the test of time thanks to their unique qualities that are enjoyable by everyone and are still admired to this day.

Synopsis:

Two German-Jewish children escaping the Nazis during World War II face an unprecedented tragedy when their uncle dies during the journey. Luckily, they come across a traveling theatrical troupe which takes them in and helps them reach their relatives in Palestine.

Ivan Nichev speaks about Journey to Jerusalem

“I’m telling the story of two kids. It’s a true story told by a man working in the railways. He couldn’t tell what exactly happened to the kids after they were found at a Sofia railway station. Fleeing from Germany escaping from the Nazis… I gathered all the possible materials for the ships sailing from the Black Sea ports to the promised land saving Jews from West Europe. Of course, I have used my imagination as it is inevitable in a feature film.

“The whole time I did my best to navigate towards the end of the film wishing that the two kids were saved and to be living a new life after the war… The bitter truth is that very few survived the ship was bombed…

Dear viewers, if someone of you finds in the fates of these children something from his own memories, I’ll be glad if the film touches your souls. About the salvation from the most horrible act in our world of the last century, Nazism; what we call today a Holocaust and genocide hoping it will never happen again.”

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