Frederic Bohbot, BA 01, executive producer of Oscar-nominated The Lady in Number 6
The founder of Montreal-based Bunbury Films, Bohbot isn’t the only Concordia grad behind the celebrated documentary. Also involved were Kieran Crilly, BA 03, director of photography; and Carl Freed, BA 94, editor.
Bohbot calls Crilly and Freed, “my most important collaborators.” The film marks the fifth collaboration between Bohbot and Freed and the fourth with Crilly, who he met while a student at Concordia.
The 38-minute documentary, noticed by Hollywood, is about a gifted 110-year-old pianist and Holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer. Bohbot and Crilly joined her in her London home — apartment number six in the building — in July 2010.
Originally from Prague, Herz-Sommer is the oldest Holocaust survivor in the world. Along with other Jewish celebrities and intellectuals of her day, she was spared death and featured in Nazi propaganda films.
Most remarkable about Herz-Sommer is her positive outlook on life, suggests Bohbot. “It’s compelling that you can go through that experience and still maintain that optimism.”
As Herz-Sommer remarks in the film: “No matter what you’re dealing with, it’s not so terrible. Life is beautiful.”
The 86th Academy Awards will air March 2 at 7 p.m. on ABC.