We all understand the phrase, three times the charm. Well in our case of filming with five of Michigan's most respected cantors at the Holocaust Memorial Center for the unveiling of the museum-worthy creation from our Shoah Ambassador Hailey Callahan's train car, this could never be more true. Due to covid shut downs and issues the last two scheduled filming sessions over the last few months had to be cancelled. But not last night, with covid hopefully in the rear-view mirror and most of all the participants and crew vaccinated we were able to pull off one incredible production that came together right as planned. This was a very complicated four camera filming along with the flying of a drone indoors by our Top Gun pilot Hunter Mitchell.

This was not your everyday filming; this truly felt like a spiritual experience as the cantors filled the museum with a beautiful Jewish prayer, “Eil Malei Rachamin.” The five cantors included Daniel Gross from Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, Neil Michaels from Temple Israel, West Bloomfield, MI, Cantor Pamela Schiffer from Congregation Shaarey Zedek (East Lansing, MI), Cantorial Soloist Kelly Onickel from Temple Emanu-El (Oak Park, MI), and Cantorial Soloist Stephanie Michaels also from Temple Israel, West Bloomfield, MI. Cantor Gross composed a special version of the Jewish prayer “Eil Malei Rachamin,” and Gross’ daughter, Zosia Gross, recited the prayer in English.

The whole purpose of this production was for the unveiling of Hailey's one of a kind emotional art piece of the replica of the train car that sits in the Holocaust Memorial Center lobby in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Over the course of the last 14 months Hailey has been stepping into the lives of five of Michigan's Holocaust survivors so she could better understand the significance of what so many went through at the hands of the Nazi's during WWII. The 150 hour plus creative art piece crafted from her years of experience as a CCS student sat on a turntable as she talked about the significance of the glass butterflies she attached to the creation. All the while, the cantors accompanied by Nathan Bieber, a master violinist, played in the background. It was truly a magical evening that we are so excited to see featured in our film, Shoah Ambassadors.

A special thank you to the Holocaust Memorial Center and the team there with Event Director Sarah Saltzman who so patiently has let us step into the sacred space there to create what we know will be a historic film for the younger generation. Thank you to HMC’s Building Maintenance Director, Tim Zimmerman, for helping to fulfill all of our requests which tends to be lengthy with a production of this size. And of course, the Visionalist Entertainment Productions team for their deep passionate creative understanding of the story we are telling: Videographers Brendan Baxter Martin, Hunter Mitchell, and Kevin Hewitt, Associate Producer Sara Hall, Field Producer Hassan Ghoussaini, Sound Engineer Roger Smith, and Administrative Director Kara Shemanski Malack. As the Director/Producer, I am so grateful.