BLIND LOVE:
A Holocaust Journey Through Poland with Man’s Best Friend
“An inspirational and heartwarming movie.”
““Blind Love” packs an emotional punch out of proportion to its short run time…showcasing the deep and mutual devotion the visually impaired have with their guide dogs.”
Blind Love recounts a trip to Poland of six blind Israelis and their guide dogs who took part in the annual March of the Living, where they visited once thriving sites of Jewish life and culture. On Holocaust Remembrance Day, the blind participants and their guide dogs marched from Auschwitz-Birkenau in memory of the victims of Nazi genocide and against prejudice, intolerance and hate.
The Holocaust survivors who appear in the film are Belgian Auschwitz survivor David Shentow and Polish-born Max Glauben, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto and Majdanek. Both survivors reflect upon the dramatic contrast in the usage of dogs by those who sought to harm innocent people and those who employ dogs in the service of others.
Holocaust survivor, David Shentow.
David Shentow describes his arrival in Auschwitz at age 17, recalling how the man standing next to him was attacked - and killed - by a German Shepherd upon the order of a Nazi guard for refusing to part with a family photo. Max Glauben shares his impressions about seeing guide dogs on the March of the Living, helping - not attacking - the blind Jewish visitors walking through the former concentration camp. Holocaust survivor David Shentow also appears in the film, recalling his first moments in Auschwitz, when the German guards set their dogs upon the prisoner standing next to him, killing him instantly.
Blind Love premièred in November 2015 as part of Holocaust Education Week in Toronto, with the co-sponsorship of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. It was also broadcast on the CBC's Canadian specialty channel Documentary in late 2015. In 2016, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland, screened the film several times, including one screening at a disabilities program. The Polish version of the film was narrated by Magdalena Cielecka, a well-known Polish film and theatre actress. It was also screened at the Edmonton Jewish Film Festival on May 23, 2016.
On April 24, 2017, Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Blind Love premiered in Israel on Channel 10 (Israel) and was simultaneously broadcast in Canada on CBC's Documentary Channel.