Dear Fredy
Animation production for a documentary feature
Concept, direction and production of 40 minutes of animation and motion-comics scenes – from storyboard and design, to the final animation and compositing.
Documentary, Israel 2017, 74 minutes, Hebrew, English, and Czech.
Animation Producer and Director: Yael Ozsinay
Art Director and Background Artist: Or Drori
Character Design: Tal Rachmin
Animation: Yael Ozsinay, Ido Behar, Stav Levi, Naama Zarfaty
Director: Rubi Gat
Producer: Shahar Ben Hur
Editor: Erez Laufer
Visual Research: Lilly Yudinsky
Mind The Gap Animation
Animation producer and director: Yael Ozsinay
Art director and background artist: Or Drori
Character design: Tal Rachmin
Animation: Yael Ozsinay, Ido Behar, Stav Levi, Naama Zarfaty
Opener concept and animation: Inbal Ochyon
Fredy Hirsch was a proud Jew and an openly gay man living in Nazi-occupied Europe in WWII. As a teacher and educator, his life's mission was to look after children and youths, and try to provide them a sense of joy and security, even in those dark times.
The film depicts Fredy's journey – from fleeing Germany to the Czech Republic at 19, through the deportation of Jews to Theresienstadt Ghetto, and to the final months in Auschwitz – all the while trying to save and protect as many children as he could, and learning to accept himself for who he was.
The story of Fredy Hirsch is a tale of love, compassion, and humanity in the darkest of times, and an important link in the history of the gay community.
The film was produced for the Channel 1 Documentary Department and was supported by the AVI CHAI Foundation, the Gesher Foundation, the Jerusalem Film Project and the Claims Conference.
Sequences from animation scenes:
From the production process:
