Film

Behind the scenes at the 2024 News & Documentary EMMYs.

Awards for the News & Documentary Emmys were announced on September 25, and the Wisnia Family was invited to celebrate this monumental achievement.

It continues to amaze me how much my grandfather’s remarkable story – captured in this documentary film How Saba Kept Singing – still resonates and impacts everyone who hears it. Huge congratulations go to director Sara Taksler, and the team at Retro Report who put it together, and everyone who worked on getting this film to PBS TV and out in the world.

This recognition validates the work of very talented and dedicated people, and underscores the love in our family and the bravery of my grandfather to share his story of survival with the world.

Arriving at the Palladium Theater in New York City… 

Some thoughts from behind the scenes at the EMMYs:

• Going to the EMMY Awards to celebrate a nomination is exciting and fun. Would recommend!
• I enjoy getting dressed up and seeing all the Red Carpet Looks up close, but it really is much more comfortable watching award shows at home from your couch in pajamas.
• Because of the quirky nomination process, our film “How Saba Kept Singing” was nominated on the News night of the News & Documentary EMMYs.
• A tribute to the late Barbara Walters won in our category, and we are not sad about it. We love Barbara.
• Christiane Amanpour gives such a good interview that one of her long-form interviews beat out her competition: 2 other Christiane Amanpour interviews.
• I bumped into Christiane Amanpour at the cocktail buffet and all I could think about was how much my grandfather would have loved schmoozing with her about politics.
• Saba would have definitely loved the huge buffet spread they had during the extensive cocktail hour. That’s the part of the evening my grandfather would have been talking about the most. The food.
• By the end of the evening, because everyone in attendance is nominated for something, one-fifth of the audience had an Emmy in their hands. And they were all hanging in the lobby outside the auditorium face-timing their moms.
• In 2022, it was the festival premiere in Toronto. In 2023, it was the Chappaqua NY screening with Hillary Clinton. This awards ceremony may be the last time we all gather, the entire team that worked on filming and producing the documentary How Saba Kept Singing, to celebrate the film. And that is bittersweet.
• It’s a clichéd refrain, “It’s an honor just to be nominated.” But it’s true. It really is. An incredible honor.

EMMYs Red Carpet photos.

I learned the proper way to fold a pocket square for just this moment. Celebrating the nomination of “How Saba Kept Singing” with family and friends, and all of you cheering us on around the world.

Read more about the film: HOW TO WATCH SABA

Read about how the documentary came to be: HOW SABA BECAME A FILM

Read about my travels with my grandfather & the music we made together: MY POLISH WISNIA

The award-winning documentary “How Saba Kept Singing” tells the story of how singer David “Saba” Wisnia survived the Holocaust and how his journey back to Poland with his grandson Avi Wisnia unlocks the secret about someone else who had a hand in his survival. The soundtrack features music by both David Wisnia and Avi Wisnia, plus a brand new original song composed for the film. Directed by Sara Taksler, and executive produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. Experience this powerful film, which explores themes of faith, family, and resilience, the persistence of discrimination and the power of music, and the urgency of telling these stories today.

Watch the film trailer HERE.
Watch the entire documentary, now streaming on YouTube, HERE.