premiere

21May2023Blog post, My Polish Wisniaeducation, How Saba Kept Singing, My Polish Wisnia, PBS, premiere, RetroReport, video, Youtube

How To Watch “How Saba Kept Singing”

The feature documentary about my family
“How Saba Kept Singing” is now available EVERYWHERE!

You can find the full version available to stream on YouTube.

Watch the documentary trailer:

Watch the full documentary:

This is the Director’s Cut (79min), the same version that has been screened in theaters, with over 20 additional minutes that could not fit on TV for the PBS broadcast – this version includes more songs, music by both me and my Saba, more details, more context, and a pretty decent joke about a first-class banana.

After the premiere on PBS, the producers at Retro Report have decided this story is too important and should be accessible to everyone. And we agree.

I hope everyone gets to see this film, to take it in to your hearts, to think about it and talk about it, and to meet my Saba. If you missed it on PBS, or if you just want to see it again and SHARE it – now you can!

The world needs to hear this story. Watch it HERE.

ABOUT THE FILM: The award-winning documentary film, How Saba Kept Singing, shares the story of Cantor, Holocaust Survivor, and Military Veteran, David “Saba” Wisnia, who spends his later years traveling with his grandson and musical accompanist, Avi Wisnia, sharing the story of how he survived the Holocaust through music which the duo perform together. For years, Cantor Wisnia’s story centered around the belief that he survived Auschwitz mainly by using his beautiful singing voice to entertain his Nazi captors. These performances in the death camp gave him status as a ”privileged prisoner.” However, when David takes his family back to Poland for one last performance, Avi starts asking questions and they discover that someone else had a hand in Saba’s survival. A powerful and uplifting story about music, faith, family and resilience, proving love can grow and take hold in even the darkest of places. This film is directed by Sara Taksler (Tickling Giants), and Executive Produced by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton.

David Wisnia’s story became an international sensation when featured in the New York Times and Buzzfeed. The film How Saba Kept Singing premiered at the HotDocs Toronto International Documentary Festival (2022) and made its national TV debut on PBS in 2023. The documentary was recently honored with the Audience Award at the Rutgers Jewish Film Festival.

Now screening in select cities, hosted by Avi Wisnia.
See the tour page for film dates and details.

Teachers! Educators! Community Leaders!

“How Saba Kept Singing” is now available with Education Resources, Lessons Plans, Film Clips and Discussion Guides – along with short clips and the film itself. Consider incorporating the documentary into your curriculum this year. Join the journey with my grandfather to learn about the Holocaust.

Access everything for free:
>> www.retroreport.org/education/resources/how-saba-kept-singing-film-screening

“Classroom resources accompanying Retro Report’s documentary “How Saba Kept Singing” will help students gain a deeper understanding of life at the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp; explore the connections in music, humanity and perseverance; and examine how anti-Semitism has evolved through modern history.” Resources are divided up by age group, theme, and activity.

Please share this link with your friends, educators, school districts and communities.
Let us make sure that future generations Never Forget.

You can find all education resources and read more about the film HERE.

The Wisnias had a Watch Party for the National PBS Premiere of our family feature documentary
How Saba Kept Singing.
Thank you for watching with us!!

Read more about David Wisnia’s story of survival with his memoir ONE VOICE TWO LIVES.

Read more about our travels & the music we made together by visiting the page MY POLISH WISNIA.

Read more about How “SABA” Became A Film.

Avi Sara Dan Q&A on stage Saba Philly Premiere

15Apr2023Blog post, My Polish WisniaFilm, How Saba Kept Singing, My Polish Wisnia, Philadelphia, premiere, Sara Taksler, Weitzman Museum

Scenes From the Philadelphia Film Premiere

Sold Out! Standing Room Only!
You absolutely filled this room to the brim.

THANK YOU for coming to the premiere of our film “How Saba Kept Singing” at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.

I don’t how to express all the feelings, there were so many – but just know that every laugh, every tear, every gasp, every sigh, I felt it right alongside you, and it meant the world to be able to share that with you. I have never felt a room so full of love and intention.

This documentary about my grandfather’s survival is so important to me and my family – and to be in the room with all of you, with you who know us and you who have been following this journey I’ve been on with my Saba, this was the perfect way to celebrate this film ahead of its nation-wide release.

I can’t wait to hear your reactions, what has landed with you, what you took away. Let’s keep talking, and let’s keep telling the story. This is only the beginning.

Watch the TV Premiere on PBS on April 18, 10pm ET
How To Watch >> https://www.pbs.org/show/how-saba-kept-singing/

Photo Credit: Jordan August Photography

You can read more about my travels with my grandfather by going to the blog at MY POLISH WISNIA.

27Mar2023Blog post, My Polish Wisniadocumentary, Film, How Saba Kept Singing, My Polish Wisnia, NMAJH, Philadelphia, premiere, video, Weitzman Museum

How Saba Kept Singing Philadelphia Premiere

You are invited to the Philly Premiere of
How Saba Kept Singing

Many of you know that I performed with my grandfather for many years before he passed away. One of the last trips we took together was to Poland in 2020 to perform one last time. That journey has now been turned into an amazing feature documentary, and I’d like to invite you to come see it!

“HOW SABA KEPT SINGING” will have a theater screening (APR 13) in Philadelphia, in advance of a TV premiere (*edited for time) on PBS! (APR 18)

The feature documentary follows our Wisnia family as we recently travelled back to Poland with my grandfather David, my “Saba,” and reveals the many ways he survived the Holocaust. Not only does the film tell my late grandfather’s incredible story, it also incorporates music by Saba and me, including a song he wrote while a prisoner in Auschwitz which I translated into English.

I hope you will join me and my family at this hometown screening, and help us spread the word about the film so that everyone can hear my grandfather’s story.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Sara Taksler and Avi Wisnia, David’s grandson. The Q&A will end with a special musical performance from Avi. All in attendance are invited to a casual post-film reception with the Wisnia family, including wine and food to celebrate the end of Passover.
*This film screening is likely to sell out, advance reservations recommended.*

Tickets and Information: https://theweitzman.org/events/how-saba-kept-singing/

For those unable to attend the Philly Premiere, you can catch it on PBS TV just a few days later. The documentary will air on Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day, Tuesday April 18 at 10pm ET /9pm CT in the United States (check your local listings).

How To Watch: Download the PBS app on your phone, tablet, or TV streaming device and access programs with PBS Passport. Check local listings for broadcast details in your area as times may vary. Read more at: https://www.pbs.org/show/how-saba-kept-singing/

You can read more about our travels together by going to the blog at MY POLISH WISNIA.

20Mar2023Blog post, My Polish Wisniadocumentary, Film, How Saba Kept Singing, My Polish Wisnia, PBS, premiere, Television

PBS Documentary Premiere

I’ve been waiting a long time to tell you, and now I finally can…
HOW SABA KEPT SINGING will make its televised premiere on PBS this Spring.

The documentary will air on Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day, Tuesday April 18 at 10pm ET /9pm CT in the United States (check your local listings).

The film about how my grandfather David Wisnia survived the Holocaust & our recent journey back to Poland as a family will be on TV! Not only does the film tell my late grandfather’s incredible story, it also incorporates music by my Saba and me, including a song he wrote while a prisoner in Auschwitz.

“Musician David “Saba” Wisnia believed that he survived the horrors of Auschwitz by entertaining the Nazi guards with his beautiful singing voice. Join David and his grandson Avi Wisnia as the pair embark on a journey exploring the mystery of Saba’s past.” Directed by Sara Taksler, and produced by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton.

We are so proud and honored to be able to share this family story with all of you, with everyone, and we hope you will tune in for this special event.

You can help spread the word by posting to social media, here is a sample of what to include:
Watch the TV premiere of this powerful documentary #HowSabaKeptSinging on April 18, 10pm on @PBS. Learn more: https://www.pbs.org/show/how-saba-kept-singing/ @AviWisnia

Stay tuned for more live screenings of the documentary film, including the Philadelphia Premiere Screening & Talkback Event coming up Thursday, April 13.

You can read more about our travels together by going to the blog at MY POLISH WISNIA.

Americana Highways Heat Lightning Premiere Oct2021

14Oct2021Blog postAmericana Highways, blog, Catching Leaves, Heat Lightning, new, premiere, press, single

Americana Highways premieres new song “Heat Lightning”

First Listen! Americana Highways brings you this premiere of Avi Wisnia’s song “Heat Lightning,” from his pending album Catching Leaves, available everywhere on November 5.

“Heat Lightning” is Avi Wisnia on piano and vocals; Erik Sayles on electric guitar; Ken Pendergast on electric bass and electric piano; Chuck Staab on drums; and Jeremy Grenhart and Samantha Rise on background vocals. Wisnia explores the powerful force of memory and the lasting effects of the painful ones in this song. The song itself expands and rises above the tension, and lands squarely in the realm of a memorable song — and makes the good kind of memory this time.

“Heat Lightning” is about that tension you have with the people who are closest to you, the people you share a history with. Old anger and remnants of issues left unresolved can reappear at any moment. When I was a kid up at summer camp, heat lightning was this natural phenomenon that I thought I experienced a lot on those dry summer nights. And I did not realize at the time that those streaking bolts of light were really just remnants of a drifting storm far off in the distance, and not from something close at all. I like playing with the idea of the past being something that still rumbles and reverberates into the present. — Avi Wisnia

Listen to “Heat Lightning” HERE.
Check out the full feature in Americana Highways HERE.