Screening & Discussion: "A Pocketful of Miracles - A Tale of Two Siblings"

In A Pocketful of Miracles: A Tale of Two Siblings, Berlin-born American filmmaker Aviva Kempner chronicles her mother Hanka and uncle Dudek Ciesla’s lives before and during World War II. From their idyllic Jewish upbringing in Poland through their survival of the Holocaust to their reunion after the war, this documentary follows the incredible story of these two siblings and the lives they built in America as painter Helen Ciesla Covensky and businessman and philanthropist David Chase.

The film had its world premiere on May 21, 2023, at the JxJ DC Jewish Film and Music Festival, where it won the Audience Prize for Best Documentary.

After the screening, Aviva Kempner will join us virtually for a moderated discussion:

Aviva Kempner is a Washington, D.C.-based filmmaker known for her critically acclaimed documentaries exploring Jewish history and overlooked historical figures. Her films include The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, an Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning documentary; Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, about television pioneer Gertrude Berg; Rosenwald, chronicling Julius Rosenwald’s efforts to expand educational opportunities for African Americans; and The Spy Behind Home Plate. She also produced Partisans of Vilna, a film about Jewish resistance against the Nazis. Beyond filmmaking, Kempner has a background in law. She advocates for Washington, D.C., statehood through DC Vote and is currently working on a feature-length documentary about Jewish writer and political activist Ben Hecht.

This event will be held in English.

Seats are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We kindly ask you to only reserve the number of tickets that you will definitely use.

You do not need to print out your Eventbrite ticket. The name under which you reserved your tickets will suffice to enter.

The venue is only partially wheelchair accessible. Please contact us prior to the event for further information.

This event is held in cooperation with and is kindly supported by the U.S. Consulate General Düsseldorf, U.S. Embassy Berlin and the Kreuzberger Initiative gegen Antisemitismus (KIgA e.V.).