The Optimists
(original title Avenue of the Giants)
2023, 1 hr 42 min
 

Herbert Heller, the owner of a toy store in California, survived the Holocaust in his teens. The Nazis forced him into the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp at the age of 12, but he managed to escape three years later and kept the secret from everyone - including his own children - for 60 years. When Herbert is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he befriends Abbey, an isolated teenager whose own brush with pain and death inspires him. Abbey and Herbert reveal their stories to each other, forge an unlikely intergenerational friendship and together find a path toward healing.

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The film festival committee strives to use the power of film to entertain, educate and connect audiences to issues related to Jewish life in the U.S., Israel and around the world.

The film festival is organized by Temple Beth El.

_______________________________________________________________

The film festival committee strives to use the power of film to entertain, educate and connect audiences to issues related to Jewish life in the U.S., Israel and around the world.

The film festival is organized by Temple Beth El.