''Forgiveness'', also known as ''Esther's Diary'', is a 2008

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

dramatic Holocaust film written and directed by

Polish-American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

director Mariusz Kotowski, with a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

by Allan Knee. The film is marked as being the director's first

feature-length film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

Plot

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

child Apollonia Kowalski and a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

child Esther Blumenfeld, were childhood best friends in 1940's Poland. The two girls were separated when Esther was taken away to a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

. When the war ended, both girls separately emigrated to the United States with their families. They remained separated thereafter. Years later, Apollonia's daughter, Maria Patterson (

Shelley Calene-Black Shelley Calene-Black ( ) is an American voice actress who has provided voices for a number of English-language versions of Japanese anime films and television series. Her leading voice roles include Mireille in '' Noir'', Kyou Fujibayashi in ...

), and Esther's daughter, Sarah Blumenfeld (Sydney Barrosse), have become successful professional women, but each still deals with the memories of the Holocaust via strained relationships with their respective mothers. Esther dies but has left a memoir of her experiences in the camp with her daughter, Sarah. Apollonia ( Juli Erickson) is confined to a nursing home and, though Maria tries her best to care or her, she and her mother are at constant odds. A secret that Apollonia has been hiding comes to light, and the uncovering of this secret causes Apollonia and Maria to resolve their differences and brings Maria and Sarah into each other's lives.

Partial cast

as Maria Patterson * Juli Erickson as Apollonia Kowalski * Sydney Barrosse as Sarah Blumenfeld * Jamie Goodwin as Jeff Patterson, Maria's husband * Wilbur Penn as Clayton, Maria's co-worker * Dell Aldrich as Esther (voice) * Christina Childress as Jennifer * Jon Davis as Roger (voice) * Greg Dorchak as Pete * Chris Doubeck as Paul * Sean Elliot as Matthew * Krystal Morton as Young Esther * Kathryn Olsen as Young Apollonia * Steve Uzzell as Dean Denson *

Cyndi Williams Cyndi Lou Williams is an American voice actress and script writer. She has mainly appeared in anime series by ADV Films. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Actress for her performance in Kyle Henry's film, ''Room'' ( ...

as Lisa (voice)

Background

The film's story is told through a series of narratives from a fictional memoir of the period, illustrated with archival footage provided by the

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum () is a museum on the site of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwitz I and the remains of the concentration and e ...

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, additional archive material from the

Jewish Historical Institute The Jewish Historical Institute ( or ''ŻIH''; ), also known as the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute, is a public cultural and research institution in Warsaw, Poland, chiefly dealing with the history of Jews in Poland and Jewish cul ...

, and photographs of the

ruins by Michael Kenna. Some of the film's archival footage comes from the same sources used in the

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short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

Night And Fog ''Nacht und Nebel'' (German: ), meaning Night and Fog, also known as the Night and Fog Decree, was a directive issued by Adolf Hitler on 7 December 1941 targeting political activists and resistance "helpers" in the territories occupied by Naz ...

''. ''Forgiveness'' was shot on location in

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in August 2007, with the director having to deal with seasonal rains and the illness of one of the lead actresses.

Release

The film premiered at the Ninth Annual

Polish Film Festival The Gdynia Film Festival aka FPFF (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: ''Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni'') is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland. It has taken place every ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on April 26, 2008. After screening at film festivals through 2008 and 2009, including the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodi ...

and West Hollywood International Film Festival, Kotowski re-edited the film to feature a more central emphasis on the film's Holocaust story. The film was then re-titled ''Esther's Diary'' and re-released, having its premiere at the New Hope Film Festival on June 26, 2010, and screenings at festivals such as River Bend Film Festival in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. Director Mariusz Kotowski's production company Bright Shining City Productions released ''Esther's Diary'' on DVD in September 2010; the film is currently being sold direct via Bright Shining City Productions' official website.

Awards

As ''Forgiveness''

* Third Place Jury Award -

Bayou City There are many nicknames for the city of Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth-largest city in the United States. The city's nicknames reflect its geography, economy, multicultural population, and popular culture, including sports and mus ...

Inspirational Film Festival (2008) * Telly Awards - Silver (2008) * Silver Remi Award - WorldFest (2009) * EMPixx Awards - Platinum (2009)

As ''Esther's Diary''

* Best Narrative Feature - Great Lakes International Film Festival (2010) * Relix Award - Glen Rose Neo-Relix Film Festival (2010) * EMPixx Award - Platinum (2010) * The Indie Fest - Award of Merit (2010) * Telly Awards - Bronze (2010)

Reception

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Je ...

'' wrote "Forgiveness is like a complex jigsaw puzzle or murder mystery in which apparently disconnected pieces fall into place only gradually. For those looking for a movie dominated by strong, independent women, this is the one to see." ''

Jewish Journal ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by the nonprofit TRIBE Media Corp. It ...

'' contrasted the film against others at the Polish Film Festival by noting that, even though directed and written by a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and reflecting the memories of wartime Poland, it was filmed with an American cast and set in a contemporary American city. It was offered that the film had a compelling plot line, but its strength was in how it dealt with the relationships of its female characters. They summarize, "A bond between two adult, self-confident women has rarely been portrayed as effectively."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1300580 2008 films Films about the aftermath of the Holocaust American films based on actual events Films set in the 1940s Films set in the 2000s Films set in Poland Films about Jews and Judaism 2000s English-language films American drama films 2000s American films Films about Polish-American culture