“[The project] changed the way I am thinking about educating young people today,” said Dr. Anna Sommer Schneider during the webinar “Remember This: Jan Karski’s Call to Action,” with members of the creative team of the movie Remember This: David Strathairn, Emmy Award-Winning and Academy Award Nominated actor who portrays Jan Karski in the movie; Eva Anisko, producer and executive producer; Professor Derek Goldman, Chair of The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University, co-author and director; Jeff Hutchens, director and cinematographer; and Clark Young, co-author. Dr. Schneider, who is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University, moderated the discussion along with Helise Liberman of the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning,
The panelists talked about the origin of the production, which started with a theatrical production for the Karski centennial in 2014, featuring David Strathairn as Karski and an ensemble of Georgetown students. It later evolved into a one-man show and a visually striking black-and-white movie. They also shared their personal reasons why they got involved with the project.
When asked how Karski would react to the movie, David Strathairn speculated that – considering Karski’s humble personality – the attention would probably make him uncomfortable. “He would be conflicted,” he said. At the same time, the actor expressed confidence that – seeing the audience’s response – Karski would be grateful and feel his educational impact was still relevant.
Watch the whole webinar by following this link.
The webinar was organized by the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning in cooperation with Georgetown University’s Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics, Sobremesa Media, and the Jan Karski Educational Foundation. The movie Remember This is based on the original stage production Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski, co-written by Clark Young and Derek Goldman and created by The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University. The project has been realized with the support of the Jan Karski Educational Foundation.
