OUR COMMUNITY

T

he short film Bear and Fred, 
which is a part of local filmmaker 
Keith Famie’s Shoah Ambassadors
Holocaust documentary, was featured in 
and won Best Documentary Short in this 
year’s Royal Starr Film Festival on Sept. 18 
at the Royal Oak Emagine Theatre. 
Bear and Fred has been touring with a 
great deal of excitement in film festivals 
nationally, seeing much success.
To date, the film has won Best 
Documentary Short in the Los Angeles 
Movie Awards and International 
Independent Film Awards-Spring Sessions, 
was an official selection in the Big Apple 
Film Festival and Dances with Films fes-
tival, a finalist in the Independent Shorts 
Awards (Los Angeles) and more.
The short film shows local Shoah 
Ambassador Hailey Callahan visiting the 
home of local Holocaust survivor Fred 
Lessing, who tells the story of a teddy bear 
that accompanied him in his wanderings 
from one hiding place to another during 
World War II. The teddy bear became a 
symbol after being loaned to Yad Vashem 
Holocaust museum in Israel in 1996 as part 
of an exhibition called “No Child’s Play.
” 
The story is also the subject of a children’s 
book released in May 2020, titled Bear and 
Fred: A World War II Story.
Lessing was in attendance and, after the 
short film was shown, he received a huge 
standing ovation from a sold-out crowd. 
Warren Rose, CEO of Bloomfield Hills-
based Edward Rose & Sons, the title pre-
senting supporter of the film for the launch 
on PBS, was in attendance as well. Having 
lost family members during the Holocaust, 
Rose knows how important Lessing’s story 
is for people to hear.
“It must have been tough for him to 
really try and tell that story and revisit 
some of those old memories,
” Rose said. 
“It’s an amazing, powerful story about spirit 
and humanity and his connection with 

this object, which he said became him, he 
transposed himself into this object. It was 
remarkable.
” 
Rose has worked with Famie before and 
when Famie presented the project to him, 
Rose was intrigued by the film’s new take on 
the Holocaust story being told to younger 
generations. Rose hopes the film promotes 
further Holocaust awareness with that 
younger generation. 
“I think some of that’s drifting, I think the 
story isn’t being told a lot, and the genera-
tion that experienced it is going away,
” Rose 
said. “So, I really thought it was a marvelous 
way to retell the story and connect it to the 
younger generation and what they’re expe-
riencing.
”
Seeing the short film on the big screen 
was great, Famie said, but he believes 
Lessing’s firsthand experiences with the 
crowd were the best part.
“I think the most exciting part is people 
could actually have a chance to meet Fred,
” 
Famie said. “He exudes kindness, warmth 
and humility, and it’s a powerful message for 
today’s generation to understand the lives of 

those who lived through the Holocaust.
”
Prior to the showing of the short film 
Sept. 18 during the Royal Starr festival, 
a four-minute trailer was shown for the 
upcoming Shoah Ambassadors movie. 
The film has been in production for more 
than 18 months and is focused on educating 
youth about the horrors and atrocities of 
the Holocaust through young ambassadors, 
including Callahan, a graduate of Detroit’s 
College for Creative Studies, who have been 
selected to tell the Holocaust story through 
their own unique artistic expression. 
Filming for the movie is in its home 
stretch. On Oct. 3, a big final scene was 
filmed at the Berman Center for the 
Performing Arts in West Bloomfield. 
Everybody featured in the film, the 
Detroit Children’s Choir, along with many 
Michigan-based Holocaust survivors, are set 
to be in attendance. “It’s going to be a really 
momentous scene,
” Famie said. 
Shoah Ambassadors will premiere at 
a community showing Nov. 11 at the 
Emagine Novi Theatre and make its debut 
on DPTV/PBS on Nov. 18. 

30 | OCTOBER 7 • 2021 

Short fi
 lm about local Holocaust survivor 
is part of larger Shoah documentary.
Earning Awards

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Local Holocaust 
survivor Fred Lessing, 
featured in the award-
winning short film Bear 
and Fred, and local 
filmmaker Keith Famie

