We are thrilled to announce “Malka” will have its world premiere screening at the Miami Jewish Film Festival January 10-24, 2025! Anyone who lives in Florida can watch the Narrative Short Block for only $10!

Thank you to the over 600 backers who helped us reach our initial fundraising goals. “Malka” has been completed and has been submitted to dozens of film festivals. Updates on where it is screening will be available soon!

While we are through with the official crowdfunding, submitting to festivals, then traveling and staying nearby will add up quickly. We are still accepting donations to cover those. If you are generous and would like to help support these endeavors, please send Venmo to @seth-bisen-hersh (4518 are the last 4 digits of my phone number) or PayPal at paypal.me/sethbh. Please mark that this is for “Malka” in the comments. No amount is too small! Thank you!

“Malka” is a 17 minute musical narrative film starring 4 time Tony/2 time Emmy Award nominee Tovah Feldshuh and Broadway/TV regular Annabelle Wachtel. (See Tovah talk about “Malka” below:)

Malka, a Holocaust survivor, starts to see visions of her life at the camps during a present-day family seder. As time falls in on itself, Malka must find the hope in the present that she did in the past in order to survive.

Older Malka watches her family prepare for the seder. Her great granddaughter starts complaining about the food, and as she asks “Why do I have to eat this food?” Malka is transported back in time in her mind and witnesses her younger self and her sister Ruchel huddle in Auschwitz, starving, unwilling to eat the barely edible, disgusting food.

Throughout the film, music is used to flash back to hardships Malka endured in her hometown of Klečenov (in the former country of Czechoslovakia) as the Nazis took over and then as her family is rounded up and brought to the camps.

When Malka sees a gorgeous sunrise, she is inspired to continue, and back in the present, Older Malka reaffirms her belief in hope and survival for the Jewish people.

MALKA: THE SUN WILL RISE AGAIN

In every talk/interview my grandmother gave (which was many), she mentioned the sunrise she saw on the train to Auschwitz as proof of the undeniable beauty in the world, even in the worst of times. I wrote her a song about that experience entitled “Sunrise” which is featured in the film. In the film, as in life, the sunrise renews her optimism even as she heads into the unknown atrocities to come.

My grandmother was a remarkable woman, and without her perseverance I would not be here today. There are so few Holocaust survivors who remain, and at times it feels like the world has completely moved on from this horror. It took decades before my grandmother began to talk candidly about what she had experienced. Once she opened up, her mission became clear. She talked in any temple or school that would have her. She gave multiple interviews for papers, was featured on a few cable TV shows, and her story appears in Stephen Spielberg’s Holocaust anthology. In the last few years of her life when she was confined to a hospital bed, she told her story to students via Skype.

Following the path she set upon, I have vehemently taken up her mantle. I am honored to immortalize my grandmother in this short film to keep her story alive.

Check out some interviews I did on the project: here (article) and here (video). And you can watch my grandmother talk about her life here.

THE TEAM

Tovah Feldshuh (Older Malka) is a six-time Emmy & Tony nominee and has been awarded three honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters. Additionally, for her theatre work, she has won four Drama Desks, four Outer Critics Circle, three Dramalogues, the Obie, the Theatre World, and the Helen Hayes and Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Actress. She is a playwright, concert artist, and author. Broadway: Funny Girl (Rosie Brice), Yentl, Cyrano, Rodgers & Hart, Dreyfus in Rehearsal, Sarava!, Lend Me a Tenor, Golda’s Balcony, Irena’s Vow, and the show-stopping, trapeze-swinging Berthe in Pippin. TV: Erin Foster TV series “Nobody Wants This” for Netflix, Harlan Coben’s “Shelter” (child-saver Lizzy Sobek) for Amazon Prime, Deanna Monroe on AMC’s “The Walking Dead”, Danielle Melnick on “Law & Order”, POTUS Pauline Mackenzie on “Salvation”, and Naomi Bunch on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Scenes from a Marriage” for HBO playing Oscar Isaac’s mother.  Film: “Kissing Jessica Stein”, (Golden Satellite Award), “A Walk on the Moon”,”Brewster’s Millions”, “Just My Luck”, “Daniel”, “The Idolmaker”, and Ms. Feldshuh’s award-winning performance as Prime Minister Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony which has been made into a film entitled “Golda’s Balcony”. https://www.tovahfeldshuh.com​

Annabelle Watchel (Young Malka) is a Playwright, Director, Actor, Singer and Dancer originally from New York City. Annabelle’s play “Le Bruit de L’Ennui” had its staged reading this summer off-Broadway at the MCC Theater in NYC. Annabelle was on Hulu as a recurring character in the television show “Up Here”. She has also directed several short films, including “Plantman” and was a lead actor in the short film “Sunday with Monica”. She recently performed off-Broadway at The Atlantic Theater in NYC in “The Bedwetter” written by Sarah Silverman. In 2022, Annabelle played the lead in the musical “When Zaydeh Dances on Eldridge Street” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Annabelle got her start at the age of 9 when she was cast as Molly in “The National Tour of Annie” directed by its author Martin Charnin. At the age of 10, Annabelle made her Broadway debut as Marcy in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical School of Rock . She first appeared on Television at just 11 years old when she guest starred as Charlotte Kensington opposite Michael Weatherly on the holiday episode of the CBS show “Bull”. https://www.annabellewachtel.com

Seth Bisen-Hersh (Producer/Writer) is a prolific, versatile and award-winning composer/lyricist and performer.  His musicals include Love Quirks (AMT Theater 2022, Off-Broadway BroadwayWorld Award for Best New Score), The Diamond as Big as the Ritz (ATA Theater 2024, 2019 Finalist: Stiles & Drewe Best Song Award), Stanley’s Party (Manhattan Children’s Theatre, 2010), More to Love (2014 Winner: Best Lyrics, West Village Musical Theatre Festival), The Spickner Spin (2004 Fringe NYC Audience Favorite Award), Meaningless Sex (2003 Fringe NYC Audience Favorite Award) and the Broadway bound Agatha Christie’s The Secret Adversary. He wrote the score for the upcoming short musical film “Malka” starring Broadway legend Tovah Feldshuh inspired by his grandmother’s Holocaust experience. He has also written and starred in 10 cabaret song cycles of his work: And Then She Dumped Me, The Gayest Straight Man Alive, Meaningful Sex, Neurotic Tendencies, Why am I Not Famous Yet?, Writer’s Block: a cabaret that was hard to write, I’ll Relax When I’m Dead: a reluctantly prolific cabaret, If Adele Can Do It, So Can I: an evening of mostly sorrow, Not Your Grandma’s Cabaret (unless she’s really naughty) and Self-Isolation Song Cycle. He wrote/starred in the 5 seasons of the web series “Every Day a Little Seth,” co-wrote/co-starred in the TV pilot version and has emceed, produced and accompanied over 820 musical theatre talent showcases at Don’t Tell Mama. In addition, he has published 4 books: a memoir, “Sleep. Write. Now. Emerging from a dark year of insomnia, anxiety and depression from loss” and two books of essays: “Every Page a Little Seth” and “Millennials are Ruining the World!”, which he turned into an audiobook and podcast, and “The Making of a Musical: the 12 year journey of Love Quirks”. Also, he’s the winner of 4 ASCAP Plus Awards. Additionally, he’s had multiple crossword puzzles published in the New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Universal Crossword and Modern Crossword. He has two Bachelors from MIT (Computer Science & Engineering and Music Composition) and a Masters in Music Technology from NYU.  https://www.sethbh.com

Lenny Schwartz (Screenwriter) is an award-winning, Rhode Island-based playwright, screenwriter, film producer, and director. He is the founding Artistic Director of Daydream Theatre Company, where his productions have both entertained and baffled audiences for the past two decades. Among the dozens of plays he has written and directed are Buster Keaton: Fade to Black, The Social Avenger and Dramatis Persona. His upcoming plays are the adult holiday comedy The Three Scrooges this fall, and the drama Jerry and Joe: Birth of the Superhero in spring 2025. His screenwriting credits include: Normal, Before the Night Is Over, Accidental Incest, Long Night in A Dead City, The Assassination of Western Civilization, and the award-winning Higher Methods. Currently, he is filming his directorial debut of his new screenplay, “The Haunted and The Hunted” (Fall 2025).

Stacey Maltin (Director)  is an award-winning filmmaker and performer. A graduate from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a minor in journalism, Maltin has a unique perspective in storytelling, that is both authentic and entertaining. Maltin’s feature directorial debut TRIPLE THREAT premiered at Oscar-qualifying Cinequest film festival and is was released by Gravitas Ventures on June 21, 2022 to Apple TV. Her mini-series MASHED about female pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction which she directed and was produced by her production company won top awards including Best Web Series at Hollyshorts Film Festival, Series Fest, Nashville Film Festival, Bushwick FF, and Buffalo FF.  Maltin wrote, produced, and starred in her first feature film LANDING UP, which tells the story of a girl with nothing to lose and everything to hide. The project was a finalist for the 2016 Tribeca Film Institute All Access Grant. The film garnered attention from both the industry and the press, including interviews with People magazine and “CNN.” It premiered at Dances with Films in Los Angeles and Maltin picked up a ‘Best Actress’ as well as ‘Best Feature’ nomination. The film is distributed by The Orchard and available worldwide. Maltin is the co-founder of production company Besties Make Movies with close collaborators MARS and WIWU Productions with her partner Dani Tenenbaum. She is a proud member of NYWIFT, Film Fatales, and The Filmshop. https://www.staceylmaltin.com​

Jaclyn Amor (Producer) is often appropriately deemed as a “Jac of all trades”. She is an international, Filipino Australian, director, producer, writer and artist. With a unique background in creative direction, fine arts and performance, Jaclyn’s work includes music videos, fashion editorial films, branded content, influencer campaigns, digital series, VR projects, narrative shorts and features. From directing the Asian American International Film Festival and off-Broadway plays, to creating content for the likes of ABC Australia, Bravo, Google, YouTube, College Humor, Adaptive Studios, TikTok and Condé Nast (Architectural Digest, CN Traveler, Vanity Fair), Jaclyn has worked passionately towards highlighting the talents of fellow creators from diverse backgrounds, in hopes to contribute to the positive change in the entertainment industry. During the pandemic, Jaclyn shot a winning 2 minute quarantine film for the Reframe Women in Film competition (which has a permanent showcase on IMDB pro), produced and directed a weekly online live Zoom variety show for AAPI heritage month featuring celebrities with local LA hosts and started her own small production company – Agent 86. She most recently wrapped work on two indie horror features and currently has a couple of exciting new projects in development. https://www.jaclynamor.com