A Pocketful of Miracles: A Tale of Two Siblings

2 Screenings in New York City

“One of the Best Films of 2023”

–The Washington Post

Museum of Jewish Heritage

Sunday March 17th at 2PM

In A Pocketful of Miracles: A Tale of Two Siblings, filmmaker Aviva Kempner chronicles the lives of her mother Hanka and uncle Dudek Ciesla before, during, and after World War II. From their idyllic Jewish upbringing in Poland through surviving the Holocaust to their tearful reunion after the war, the film follows the siblings’ incredible story and the lives they built in America as painter Helen Ciesla Covensky and businessman and philanthropist David Chase.

Following the screening, there will be a discussion with director Aviva Kempner and Dr. Eva Fogelman, consulting producer on the film.

Click HERE to reserve tickets at the Museum of Jewish Heritage

Museum of Jewish Heritage
36 Battery Park Pl.
New York, New York 10280

Second Screening, Sunday March 17th at 7:00pm

New Plaza Cinema

Q&A with Director Aviva Kempner and Consulting Producer Dr. Eva Fogelman

New Plaza Cinema
@Macaulay Honors College
35 West 67th Street, New York, NY 10023

Date: Sunday, March 17
Time: 7:00 PM (106 minutes)
Location: New Plaza Cinema @Macaulay Honors College

“A Pocketful of Miracles: A Tale of Two Siblings” is an intimate and powerful family memoir directed by Aviva Kempner. Focusing on the World War II stories of director Kempner’s mother, Hanka Ciesla, who passed as a Polish Catholic within Germany, and her uncle, Dudek Ciesla, who survived Auschwitz, this documentary traces their journey from an idyllic Jewish-Polish family life in Soseniewc, Poland, through the harrowing experiences they endured during the war.

The film showcases their remarkable resilience as they navigated the challenges of wartime, ultimately finding each other after liberation in Berlin and forging new lives in America. Through heartfelt interviews, archival footage, and personal accounts, “A Pocketful of Miracles” offers a poignant and inspiring exploration of their survival and the success stories they achieved in their respective fields. The documentary also includes the story of Aviva Kempner’s father, Harold Kempner, an immigrant who captured post-Holocaust stories in Berlin as a military government journalist.

Having had its European premiere at the Berlin Jewish Film Festival in June 2023, with Aviva Kempner and editor Lucia Fox-Shapiro in attendance, “A Pocketful of Miracles” holds a special place for Kempner as she returns to her birthplace to share this intimate film about her family. The festival premiere adds to the significance of this deeply personal and captivating documentary, which sheds light on the indomitable spirit of resilience, love, and triumph in the face of unimaginable adversity.

See also:

John Kelly. Home movies personalize a film about one family’s Holocaust experience. 30 Oct 2023. Washington Post.

Listed as one of the Best Films of 2023 by The Washington Post and Winner of the Audience Prize for Best Documentary at the JxJ Film and Music Festival, “A Pocketful of Miracles: A Tale of Two Siblings” screens at the Museum of Jewish Heritage (36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280) on Sunday March 17th at 2PM and at the New Plaza Cinema (35 W 67th St, New York, NY 10023) on March 17th at 7:00PM.

From Aviva Kempner, the director of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg”, “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg”, and “Rosenwald”, comes her most personal film: the inspirational story of her mother and uncle’s incredible survival during World War II, told in their humorous and moving testaments given to the U.S. Shoah Foundation in 1997. From their idyllic Jewish childhood in Poland, they share how they survived their wartime experiences, the elation of their reunion in Berlin and finally their inspiring lives after liberation: as artist Helen Ciesla Covensky and businessman and philanthropist David Chase.

Q&A with Director Aviva Kempner and Consulting Producer Dr. Eva Fogelman after both screenings.

Click HERE to watch the Theatrical Trailer.