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Vishniac

Play trailer 2:16 Poster for Vishniac Released Jan 19 1h 35m Documentary Biography History Play Trailer Watchlist
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Roman Vishniac is best known for having traversed Eastern Europe from 1935 through 1938, on assignment to photograph Jewish life. Less than a decade later these communities would be wiped out and Vishniac's iconic photographs would provide the last visual records of an entire world. Through his photographs, we see Jewish life -- in Eastern European shtetls and in Weimar-era Berlin -- and witness the Nazi rise to power. After the war, his documentation continued with photographs of Berlin in ruins and Jewish children in Displaced Persons camps. Vishniac was also a respected scientist who made considerable contributions in the field of microscopic photography. His "Living Biology" series, funded by the National Science Foundation, were some of the first films depicting life through a microscope and became a staple in the 1960s and 1970s in classrooms across the United States. His pioneering microscopy transformed the nature of science photography. VISHNIAC delves into the person and story behind the photos as it frames Vishniac's legacy as a key modernist photographer and preserver of memory. Through his stunning images, VISHNIAC introduces new audiences to a lost world that is quickly fading from our grasp.

Critics Reviews

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Leonard Maltin leonardmaltin.com ‘Vishniac’ is a perfect marriage of subject and storyteller. Thank goodness Laura Bialis was able to interview Vishniac’s daughter Mara, who passed away in 2018, and accumulate all the background materials that make this film so vividly true Jan 22, 2024 Full Review PJ Grisar The Forward Bialis’ slick dramatizations of Vishniac’s life, while tastefully done, are underwhelming when paired with the immediacy of the photographer’s own images. May 14, 2024 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills The horror is offscreen yet inescapable... Feb 2, 2024 Full Review Jeanne Kaplan Kaplan vs. Kaplan Bialis has done a masterful job bringing Vishniac’s magic and passions to the big screen, which was her sincerest hope. Jan 23, 2024 Full Review David Kaplan Kaplan vs. Kaplan VISHNIAC represents a small piece of history, but certainly a fascinating one. Jan 23, 2024 Full Review Nora Lee Mandel Maven's Nest Bialis reveals his and his family’s lives behind iconic photographs from her access over three years to the complete Vishniac archive of over 23,000 items. She also well illustrates times and places with other apt archival footage and visual context. Rated: 8/10 Jan 19, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gene L Excellent documentary. Must see! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Vishniac

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Vishniac

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Movie Info

Synopsis Roman Vishniac is best known for having traversed Eastern Europe from 1935 through 1938, on assignment to photograph Jewish life. Less than a decade later these communities would be wiped out and Vishniac's iconic photographs would provide the last visual records of an entire world. Through his photographs, we see Jewish life -- in Eastern European shtetls and in Weimar-era Berlin -- and witness the Nazi rise to power. After the war, his documentation continued with photographs of Berlin in ruins and Jewish children in Displaced Persons camps. Vishniac was also a respected scientist who made considerable contributions in the field of microscopic photography. His "Living Biology" series, funded by the National Science Foundation, were some of the first films depicting life through a microscope and became a staple in the 1960s and 1970s in classrooms across the United States. His pioneering microscopy transformed the nature of science photography. VISHNIAC delves into the person and story behind the photos as it frames Vishniac's legacy as a key modernist photographer and preserver of memory. Through his stunning images, VISHNIAC introduces new audiences to a lost world that is quickly fading from our grasp.
Director
Laura Bialis
Producer
Laura Bialis, Roberta Grossman
Screenwriter
Sophie Sartain
Distributor
Abramorama
Production Co
Katahdin Productions
Genre
Documentary, Biography, History
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 19, 2024, Limited
Runtime
1h 35m