The Kaboom Animation Festival in Amsterdam opened in April with a festive screening of acclaimed Israeli director Ari Folman’s latest film, Where is Anne Frank.
The opening was attended by about 300 film professionals and other distinguished guests invited ty the Israeli Embassy in The Netherlands , including community leaders such as the Jewish Coordinator of Antisemitism in the Netherlands, Chairman of the Friends of Yad Vashem Foundation, Chairman of Keren Hayesod The Netherlands and the Chairman of the Central Jewish Organization of Dutch Jews.
Where is Anne Frank is an engaging, animated docu-drama about the young diarist murdered in the Holocaust, aimed at children, tweens and teens and it had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. It uses a device that might have come from a Disney film – Kitty, the imaginary friend to whom Anne addressed her diary, comes to life in contemporary Amsterdam and tries to find her – but it tells a decidedly un-Disney story, albeit in a way that is suitable for children.
When Folman was approached by the Anne Frank Foundation in 2013 to use animation to tell her story, he told the foundation’s representatives he would do it if the film could targeted at children aged 10 and up, that part of it would deal with the final seven months of Anne’s life, which were not covered by her diary and that it would be focused on teaching the Holocaust to and fostering empathy in today’s youth. Folman is one of Israel’s leading filmmakers, who made the first animated documentary, Waltz with Bashir, in 2008 . That movie was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe.
He was supposed to attend the Kaboom screening but he tested positive for COVID and gave his remarks via Zoom and also used that platform to give a Master Class to Dutch film students.
In March, the Israeli Embassy staff interviewed Folman for the Embassy's weekly podcast.