JCC Rockland 21st International Jewish Film Festival

Boy on the Run: An Extraordinary Journey of Survival

Expired June 8, 2023 3:59 AM
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Film Sponsors: Stefany & Simon Bergson; Edgewood Country Club; Marsha & Gary Forman; Lyn & Hank Meyers


Facing horrific circumstances - the invasion of Nazi Germany, separation from his family, and the traumatic impact of Antisemitism in 1940s Europe - Paul Galan recounts the unbelievable story of his survival of the Holocaust as a child.


Boy on the Run: An Extraordinary Story of Survival will be immediately followed by a panel discussion featuring film creators Brianne Berkson & Miguel Gluckstern and film subject Paul Galan.

Please note that this discussion is exclusively taking place at the in person screening on Thursday, April 20th. It will not be available virtually.


Brianne Berkson, born in NYC, and Miguel Gluckstern, born in Germany and raised in Spain, are BriGuel a duo on a mission to harmonize humanity through film and music. We met while directing / producing a short film "Fly Away," and haven't left each other's side since. We celebrate and inspire diversity every day, bringing together different cultures, genres and styles through the most powerful and inspiring mediums in the world: film and music. In 2020 / 2021 our doc-short film and song The Difference screened at Tribeca Film Festival and screened at 30+ festivals globally, winning multiple awards.  In addition to producing our own music and film, we operate BriGuel, a Production Company that services clients with their film and music needs. We're currently developing "Harmonize," a docuseries fusing music, art and social activism; producing "Alchemizing Auschwitz" a documentary feature filmed in the US, Poland and Austria; delivering impactful projects for clients; and raising our 2 beautiful daughters in NY. 


Paul Galan is a native of the former Czechoslovakia. He and his family were fortunate to survive the Holocaust through a series of unusual circumstances and a great deal of good luck. Mr. Galan immigrated to the United States as a teenager with his parents in 1951.


After completing his High School education he went on to the City College of New York where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and History. He had spent all of his working career in New York’s film industry as a Director of documentary television programs for ABC News and independent broadcast groups such as Westinghouse Broadcasting and Capital Cities Broadcasting. He also produced and directed hundreds of films for Fortune 500 corporations. His television work had earned him two EMMY nominations, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award in Journalism and numerous other professional industry recognitions.


As a director, he filmed and interviewed the famous and the less famous, ranging from statesmen such as Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, George Romney and others in the world of politics, to Nobel Laureates such as James Watson, to stars such a Tony Randall, Patrick Stuart, Red Skelton to Chairmen of Boards of major corporations such as IBM, Chase Manhattan and many others.

On his retirement in 2006, he decided to put his skills as a communicator towards disseminating the memory and the legacy of the Holocaust by sharing his own story of survival during that dark period in history with student as well as adult audiences. He also produced several video projects dealing with the Holocaust.


He and his wife Judy reside in Suffern. Their son Philip and his family live in Israel while their daughter Leslie and her family reside in Tenafly, New Jersey.

  • Year
    2022
  • Runtime
    68 minutes
  • Language
    English
  • Country
    United States
  • Premiere
    Rockland County Premiere
  • Cast
    Paul Galan