Samuel Bak: Painter of Questions

Directed by Christa Singer (Canada, 2003) * 48 minutes * English

This gripping documentary explores the work and life of Samuel Bak through the lens of his childhood that came to an end the day his family was marched into the Jewish Ghetto, changing his life and his artistic vision forever.

"Ignited by haunting images from his memories of the horror of the Holocaust, Bak*s work reflects not just the fragility of human existence but also the triumph of the human spirit in the face of atrocity. The imagery in his paintings, from discarded and distorted teddy bears to his immensely moving self-portrait, in which a wide-eyed boy emerges from a burlap sack...allows viewers to travel in both time and state of mind to places far beyond the Holocaust."

Filmmaker Christa Singer