On May 3rd, the film will be available in 75+ countries exclusively on iTunes (apple.co/WriteHistory) for two weeks, in 10 subtitled languages. Territories include USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Latin America, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Africa (excl. South Africa) and the Caribbean.
On May 17th, Who Will Write Our History will be available on additional platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, FandangoNow, Google Play and Vimeo On Demand. On September 1, 2019 the film will also be made available via TVOD in Germany and France.
Abramorama organized the encore engagement screenings and global TVOD release with Giant Pictures due to the overwhelming demand after their unprecedented global screening event on January 27, 2019. On that day, Abramorama, with the support of UNESCO, the World Jewish Congress’ #WeRemember initiative and others, organized 355 screenings in 55 countries, as well as a Facebook Live integrated event at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, with the participation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, Poland, Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and theAuschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Birkenau, Poland.
Abramorama Partner & Chief Operating Officer Karol Martesko-Fenster said “Roberta Grossman and Nancy Spielberg’s documentary has been a revelation for worldwide audiences including at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, where outgoing festival director Dieter Kosslick added it late to the lineup stating that everyone needs to see this film. We’re thrilled to extend the theatrical run that kicked off in January of this year with more than 100 encore screenings, and to partner with Giant Pictures on the multi-territory TVOD release, broadening the audience once again.
Writer, Producer and Director Roberta Grossman and Executive Producer Nancy Spielberg added, “In an era of rising totalitarianism and the truth being re-branded as “fake news,” audiences have resonated to the story of the members of the secret archive in the Warsaw Ghetto, brave spiritual resisters who were, literally, willing to die for the truth. We are so grateful to Karol Martesko-Fenster and Abramorama for creating unprecedented platforms for the film to be seen by millions of people around the world.”
In November 1940, days after the Nazis sealed 450,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, a secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders decided to fight back. Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, this clandestine group vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists but with pen and paper. Now, for the first time, their story is told in the documentary featuring the voices of three-time Academy Award® nominee Joan Allen and Academy Award® winner Adrian Brody. Written, produced and directed by Roberta Grossman, based upon the book Who Will Write Our History? by Samuel D. Kassow, and executive produced by Nancy Spielberg, Who Will Write Our History mixes the writings of the Oyneg Shabes archive with new interviews, rarely seen footage, and stunning dramatizations (shot on location in Lodz and Warsaw, Poland) to transport us inside the Ghetto and the lives of these courageous resistance fighters. They defied their murderous enemy with the ultimate weapon – the truth – and risked everything so that their archive would survive the war, even if they did not.
Who Will Write Our History had its world premiere at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival where it received the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film was released theatrically in the United States earlier this year and in February the film was a late addition to the Berlin Film Festival as a Berlinale Special, an unprecedented event as the film had already aired nationally on German Television.
WHO WILL WRITE OUR HISTORY (2018, USA/POLAND, 95 minutes, English, Yiddish, Polish) Abramorama, Giant Pictures, Katahdin Productions and Match&Spark Present in Association with ARTE / NDR, A Film by Roberta Grossman “Who Will Write Our History.” Based upon the book Who Will Write Our History? by Samuel D. Kassow. Written, Produced and Directed by Roberta Grossman. Executive Produced by Nancy Spielberg, Ronald S. Lauder, Al Berg, Ori and Mirit Eisen, Anna Różalska, Philippa Kowarsky. Co-Producer Tarik Hachoud. Line Producer Pavlina Zipkova. Commissioning Editor Katja Wildermuth. A Co-Production of EC1 Łódź-The City of Culture and Mazovia Warsaw Film Fund and A Polish Film Institute Co-Financed Production. Casting Piotr Bartuszek. Costume Designer Aleksandra Staszko. Composer Todd Boekelheide. Production Designers Frank Gampel, Marek Warszewski. Starring Joan Allen, Adrien Brody, Jowita Budnik, Piotr Glowacki, Karolina Gruszka, Wojciech Zielinksi. Editor Chris Callister and Ondine Rarey. Cinematography by Dyanna Taylor. Written, Produced and Directed by Roberta Grossman. International Sales & Distribution by Cinephil. An Abramorama North American Theatrical and Global Digital and Special Events Release.
About Abramorama
Abramorama is the preeminent global theatrical distribution and rights management partner for documentary and music films today and is recognized for the consistent high quality of its work on award winning feature films. An innovator in the focused, personalized form of film distribution and event cinema, Abramorama provides invaluable alternatives to filmmakers and content owners. An industry leader in marketing, promotion, and distribution, Abramorama continues to trail-blaze exciting new pathways for filmmakers to find their audience. Over the course of more than 15 years, Abramorama has successfully distributed and marketed hundreds of films, and recently launched its music-centric film fund focused on the global release of iconic music documentaries, alongside numerous live integrated special theatrical events. For more information visit www.abramorama.com
About Giant Pictures
Giant Pictures is a boutique digital distributor based in NYC and Los Angeles dedicated to elevating the digital experience. Working directly with filmmakers and rights owners, Giant distributes movies and TV shows to VOD & OTT platforms in North America and worldwide. Giant is a division of Giant Interactive, an award-winning digital media and technology services company, and is an iTunes Preferred aggregator and encoding house. Recent movie and documentary releases include: ‘Weed The People’ (Dir. Abby Epstein, SXSW 2018), ‘306 Hollywood’ (Dir. Elan & Jonathan Bogarin, Sundance 2018), ‘Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.’ (Dir. Steve Loveridge, Sundance 2018), ‘Newness’ (Dir. Drake Doremus, starring Nicholas Hoult, Laia Costa, Sundance 2017). Visit us at: www.giant.pictures
About Katahdin Productions
Founded in 2003 by Lisa Thomas, the former CEO and co-founder of Cliff Bar, Inc., Katahdin’s mission is to tell compelling stories – stories that inform, enlighten, entertain and inspire. Dedicated to creating high‐quality documentary films, educational materials and media projects, Katahdin productions tackle issues of social, political and historical interest. Since its inception, Katahdin has produced the award‐winning documentary, Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action (2006) 2006, Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (2008), and Hava Nagila, The Movie (2013). Katahdin co-produced Dorothea Lange: Grab A Hunk of Lightning andAbove and Beyond with producer Nancy’s Spielberg’s Playmount Productions (2014). In 2018, Katahdin premiered the Netflix Original Documentary Seeing Allred about famed women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred at the Sundance Film Festival in competition.
About Playmount Productions
Playmount is the literal translation from German to English of “spiel” and “berg.” Playmount Productions has been in the Spielberg family for more than 50 years. Started by Arnold Spielberg in 1962, it was first used by his son, Steven, for his early productions and is now headed by Arnold’s daughter, producer Nancy Spielberg. Playmount pursues projects with talented writers, directors, and producers to create meaningful and important documentaries and films.
About Polish Co-Production Company Match&Spark
Match&Spark is a production, talent management and packaging company founded in 2015 by Anna Różalska, Tarik Hachoud and Tomasz Rytlewski. Match&Spark produces international features and documentary films. Match&Spark also provides expertise and consulting services on feature projects, TV series and documentary productions, and manages outstanding Eastern European Talent, promoting them internationally. For more information visit www.matchandspark.com
