MIAMI (WSVN) - A story of survival is coming to South Florida theaters.
“My Name is Sara” is a film based on the true story of Sara Goralink, a 13-year-old Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust.
“She lost her family and her brothers in the Holocaust and had to set out on her own, living in the woods for about a week and then, ultimately arriving at this Ukrainian farmer’s house and getting a job there posing as her friend,” said Steven Oritt, director of the film.
Oritt, who is from South Florida, said he spoke to the real Sara about what she went through.
“The first question that I asked her was, ‘How does a young child survive such and ordeal?’ and she said immediately, ‘By listening and not talking,'” Oritt said.
The film details how Sara hid in plain sight in Ukraine and stole the Christian identity of her best friend after escaping the Nazis.
“Sara explained that she really went through her day, her daily chores, she worked on a farm, she took care of two little boys as a nanny, and she really just tried to keep a low profile as much as possible,” Oritt said.
After the war, Sara emigrated to Detroit with her husband, who was also a Holocaust survivor.
She passed away in 2018.
Oritt said she hid her story from her family for more than 50 years.
“She had a very difficult time going there and recounting some of her experiences, for obvious reasons,” Oritt said.
After getting delayed due to Covid, “My Name is Sara” is finally being released nationwide.
Oritt said that recent events in Ukraine have brought more relevance to the film.
“The film was made in 2018, and there’s no way that producers and the writers and I would have ever anticipated that Russia would have invaded Ukraine, and that the story would be more relevant today than when it was originally supposed to come out in 2020,” he said.
Oritt also hopes “My Name is Sara” has an impact on moviegoers both young and old.
“I think the message resonates, and they walk away from seeing the film with a new perspective on the Holocaust,” Oritt said.
The film comes out Friday at Miami-Dade College’s Tower Theater, Regal Oakwood and Regal South Beach.
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