San Diego International Film Festival to Feature Story of Holocaust Survivor’s Courage

By Eva Trieger

SAN DIEGO — I always find myself looking forward to mid-September as I eagerly anticipate my phone interview with Tonya Mantooth, CEO and Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the San Diego International Film Festival. Our conversations are always fun, eye-opening, inspired and while we’ve never had the chance to meet, extremely personal. I often feel like I’m catching up with a delicious friend I haven’t seen in a while. Therefore, I was not at all surprised when I read all of this woman’s accomplishments and accolades in the 11 years since she’s taken the helm.

Awards seem to gravitate toward this firebrand, and Mantooth has produced national TV campaigns, documentaries for Fortune 500 companies, four feature-length films, and a Nickelodeon series. I think it’s safe to say no grass grows under this woman’s feet.

Our SDIFF 2023 phone call focused on a beautiful biography of Holocaust survivor Simone Veil nee Jacob. Simone: Woman of the Century reveals the strength, courage, and enormous empathy this woman drew from her experiences to fight for humanity, dignity, and compassion for the marginalized. Just days after her high school graduation, Veil was deported along with her sisters and mother. Her brother, Jean, and her father were also taken, but once the males were separated from them, it was just the three women. While interned at Auschwitz, Simone, her sister Milou, and their mother stuck together. As the film reveals, they successfully were kept in the same barracks, clinging together almost until liberation, even when changing camps or being forced on the Death March.

Following her liberation from Bergen-Belsen, Veil and her sister returned to Paris where they struggled with reassimilation to the society. This disconnect was partially because they saw themselves as French citizens and yet, their own government, under the Vichy command, had betrayed them. Perhaps the greater reason for the difficult re-entry was that just two weeks before liberation, Simone’s mother, Yvonne Steinmetz Jacob, succumbed to typhus and passed away. She had been Simone’s rock and now she was no more. Unable to locate her father or brother, Milou was Simone’s only remaining family.  Even that comfort was taken away when Milou unexpectedly died in a car accident two years post-liberation.

Back in Paris, Simone returned to school. In a snippet from her early life, the film shows us an 8 or 9-year-old Simone, declaring that “I want  to be a lawyer when I grow up.” Sticking to her convictions, the young woman pursued her degree in law and political science. Not willing to stop there, Simone entered a highly competitive program and passed the Magistrate’s exam. While going to school, Simone married Antoine Veil and had three sons.

Having lived through the deprivation and abuse of the Holocaust had ignited this woman’s passion and mission to champion those who were unable to fight for their rights or their needs. The first obvious group was French women who lacked many rights, markedly in the penitentiary system. While the number of women imprisoned was significantly fewer than men, the conditions in which they were kept were abominable. As National Penitentiary Administrator, Veil made a point to group the Algerian female inmates together and provide them with an education. A few years later, in 1964, she was appointed Director of Civil Affairs and had greater control over passing legislation to give single women legal rights, custodial and adoption rights.

In 1974, after her appointment as the Minister of Health, Simone Veil spoke out critically and vociferously for abortion rights. This was extremely radical as abortion had been outlawed in France since the 1920s. Under the Vichy regime, abortion was considered “a crime against the state, punishable by death.” To her horror, her detractors likened abortion to the Nazi’s extermination of the Jews, calling Veil a murderer. The film reveals that Simone Veil put herself in harm’s way by promoting such a controversial issue. However, her steely resolve did not allow her to succumb to her antagonists.

Elsa Zylberstein and Rebecca Marder portray Simone at different ages. Zylberstein met with Veil who stated that she “was someone who can do my life story.” Director Olivier Dahan is known to us for La Vie en Rose and Grace of Monaco. His film, while not always adhering to chronology, reveals the emotional and human interpretation of life and its unanticipated twists and turns. Luckily for audiences, Zylberstein will be on hand for the Q&A following viewings.

Festival director, Tonya Mantooth, shared with me the fact that although socially Veil was celebrated it was not without a cost. Her family life suffered. Veil’s husband and children complained of being left behind or neglected by their mother. In later years, Simone understood that her political career had fractured their relationships. Simone: Woman of the Century is but one film premiering at this world-class festival. Ninety-one films will be shown, featuring documentaries, shorts, and full-length feature films. Mantooth is very eager to create a film community to discuss film and the power it has to bring social issues to the forefront.

I wanted to know more about this year’s San Diego International Film Festival, and Mantooth was obliging! She is most proud of the partnerships that will promote social change. Again, as long as I have been aware of Tonya Mantooth, I’ve been inspired by her commitment to selecting films that promote this agenda.

Mantooth shared that this year’s partnerships are really outstanding and are going further than ever before.  In her quest for partners, Tonya Mantooth seeks out organizations that share a vision and a shared mission.  This year Gary Sinise is partnering with SDIFF with his film Brothers After Arms. His organization supports military service men and women suffering from PTSD, experiencing trauma, or struggling to reintegrate into civilian life. The foundation will host a panel discussion to inform the public about the variety of workshops offered by Sinise’s organization and the critical services they provide. Another exciting collaborator is the San Diego Museum of Art which will feature an Iranian artist who challenged the government against the Shah’s suppression.  Many of his paintings were confiscated or destroyed, but this did not silence the artist’s vocal resistance.

One very exciting facet of this year’s festival is the extent of its reach beyond the AMC Westfield UTC and Balboa Park. There is a thrilling focus on an educational series that brings short films into San Diego Unified Schools! There is now a written curriculum, delivered by a host of teachers, and eminent speakers, that will bring topical themes to high schools. These cinematic offerings will address the environment, LGBTQ challenges, violence against women, and other issues that are present and deserve exploration. Local high schools are not the only beneficiaries, as the program is also being launched at San Diego Community Colleges as well as in high schools on our indigenous tribal lands.

The Festival will open with a VIP reception on Thursday, October 19, held in the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. Guests will enjoy cocktails, tasty orts, and a fashion show, accompanied by music and the thrum of anticipation.  On Friday night, October 20th, the Festival hosts Party with a Purpose. This high-energy event will benefit Impact Educational Program, held at Vinfast showroom in Westfield UTC. For a complete listing of Festival offerings, visit https://sdfilmfest.com/film-festival-2023/.

A favorite and delectable feature of the 23rd SDIFF is the Culinary Cinema which takes place on the final night of the festival, this year, Sunday, October 22. For this extraordinary event, six chefs create dishes inspired by the films complete with wine pairings. The late afternoon soiree promises a magical setting for sampling fabulous foods dreamed up uniquely for discerning film enthusiasts with a social conscience. Tickets for each event and film may be purchased separately, but with these opportunities sure to sell out, you would do well to buy the VIP pass and treat yourself to the overflowing bounty of San Diego’ International Film Festival 23.

SDIFF runs from Thursday, October 19-22, 2023. Passes may be purchased online at sdfilmfest.com or by phone at (619) 818-2221.

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