By Jesus Olivares
A Film By: Nick Davis (You Had To Be There/ TIFF 2025)
Executive Producer: Albert M. Tapper (Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy)
Haunting and unforgettable, THIS ORDINARY THING brings to life some of the non-Jewish people across Europe who helped Jewish families during The Holocaust. The film consists of a combination of never before seen archival and originally filmed footage with voice performance from transcripts from interviews with over forty different people who, working independently and at great risk to themselves and their families, saved thousands of Jewish strangers from almost certain death. The film is a timely reminder of the pockets of goodness that can rise in a sea of evil: everyday people helping others who were “different” from them.
Notably, none of the people featured in the film thought of themselves as heroes. And yet the film, with immense contemporary resonance, causes each of us to ask ourselves: “What would I have done?”
The film employs some of the world’s greatest actors, performing excerpts translated from the original transcripts. The cast, including Helen Mirren, F. Murray Abraham, Carrie Coon, Jeremy Irons, Ellen Burstyn, and Stephen Fry, have amassed five Oscars (and over twenty nominations), over sixty Emmy nominations, and over twenty-five Tony nominations in their illustrious careers.
The music for the film is by Tony-Award winning composer Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins) and numerous other stage and screen productions.
Enjoy the interview:
Website: https://www.series-
