With Diana Groó and Judit Hoffmann: An Unforgettable Day

I have known Diana Groó for 25 years. We met in Denmark at the European Film College in Ebeltoft for a film event. Since then we have met in different places and she was the one, who introduced me in Budapest to Pál Schiffer, the legendary Hungarian director, who was the teacher of Diana. The filmography of Diana shows her talent for working in different genres, fiction, long and short, animation and documentary. Her film about “Regina”, the first female rabbi in the world, is based on ONE photo, amazing work that you can find on Netflix. And Diana has, of course, also worked for theatre.

Being here for the Verzio Film Festival, in the Hungarian jury, it was obvious that I had to see Diana on her home ground. She invited me to her home in the cosy neighbourhood near the Danube. Buildings from the 1930’es, Bauhaus-style as well, restaurants around the Raoul Wallenberg utca; we ended up in one called Frida, I got a ginger Palinka, never heard about that before, very tasty, a nice meal – and then to Diana’s home to watch material for the film she has been working on for years featuring her self and her grandmother… who is 97 years old, a holocaust survivor, and before coming to Budapest I kept on almost begging Diana to meet her.

The film with a quote from last year’s Verzio Doc Lab: “”Dear Helen- I am already them” is a film-letter, an experimental docu-diary, dedicated to my great-grandmother Helen, who perished in Rechlin KZ, in the arms of my grandma.”

From what I saw and heard from Diana in her cosy flat on the top of Budapest, a place she adores and names “Little Tel Aviv” as so many “modern Jews”, Diana’s expression, live there: it will be a great film about her grandma and her self.

I met Judit Hoffmann, grandma, in her apartment, close to the home of Diana. She had prepared some snacks for the visit at her place and she was completely fresh in mind during the little hour we spent together. She talked in English but we shifted to German, kein Problem for her, my German a bit more rusty. She did give me the story of her family being deported to Auschwitz in 1944, and from there to other kz camps, but that will all be in the film that her grand daughter Diana is working on. So I asked her about her life after the war and she told me what her experiences from the camps had meant for her. She had – on the horrible background – decided that no one should ever tell her what to do any longer. She married, got a child, and went into writing and taking photographs. We have a lot, Diana said, and my mother also took photos. Oh, I would love to see those photos, maybe Diana can use some of them in her film, or in another film maybe.

I am 20 years younger than grandma and of course I had to hear her tell me the secret of becoming 97… She thought a bit and told me to live life fully, enjoy it, inspire new generations. A smiling warm-hearted grandma with an unbelievable life story. Totally engaged in what happens now. Diana said that grandma was the first to tell he the dates and program of the Verzio festival!

I told Judit Hoffmann that I will come back to the premiere of the film and went for a film in the cinema, a film from today’s reality… it was not easy to concentrate after a day with Diana and her grandmother. Thank you so much!