Czechia-shot premiere of Holocaust survivor's story comes to Prague cinemas

“The journey of this film for me began in 2018, when I had the pleasure of seeing Herbert share his story with a gym full of students," director Finn Taylor described.

“Herbert sadly left our world, but his message of kindness and tolerance perseveres through his actions, and now our film. I believe that sharing his story of survival, and the power of healing he left in his wake, is more important to the world today than ever."

Directed and written Taylor (who was also behind The Darwin Awards and Unleashed), Avenue of the Giants is based on the heartrending true story of Herbert Heller, a Czechoslovak-born Jewish boy who, aged only 12, was sent to Terezín and Auschwitz, only to escape from the latter and emigrate to the U.S. after the end of World War II.

He kept his daring escape, as well as the unimaginable ordeal he went through in the hell of Nazi ghettos and concentration camps, a secret for more than 60 years, including from his own family and children. He passed away in 2021.

Drawing inspiration from his life, Avenue of the Giants starts off in Marin county, northern California, in the early 2000s, as now-aged, toy-shop owner Heller – played by Stephen Lang (Avatar) – is diagnosed with a terminal illness and starts feeling the need to open up about the tragedy he went through as a child.

Fate will soon lead him to befriend troubled teenager Abbey – played by Elsie Fisher (starring in Eighth Grade) – and both will learn, and teach one another, to overcome the pain and hurt they’ve kept bottled up inside.

A tale of intergenerational friendship and empathy, Avenue of the Giants goes back and forth between modern times and Holocaust-era flashback scenes.

After a number of screenings in the US, “this will be the first time the movie is showing in Europe," producer Dean Lyras, who shares his time between Prague and California, tells Expats.cz.

Of particular interest to local residents, many of the historical scenes were shot in Prague (mainly in the Old Town and Malá Strana districts), as well as the nearby villages of Kněževes and Chrášťany, or in the Ústí nad Labem region, where Heller was originally from.

Before passing away, Heller was involved in the making of the movie, for a time delayed by the Covid pandemic, confirms Dean Lyras. He tells Expats.cz of the production team’s initial trip to Prague “to see where Herbert grew up, where he went to school," as well as the building where he stayed hidden after escaping the death march.

Shooting additionally took place in Terezín, the former military fortress turned into a Jewish ghetto and concentration camp, while scenes taking place in Auschwitz were recreated in studio due to the filming ban in the most infamous Nazi death camp, located in modern-day Poland.

“We actually did shoot at Terezín, which was very haunting," Taylor confirmed. “And even though it’s true it was a show camp, 30,000 people were murdered there, so it’s not like it was a nice place by any means," he said – referring to the use of the ghetto in Nazi propaganda, most notably the embellished show put on during a visit by an International Red Cross delegation in June 1944.

“After the war, Herbert found his mother, and they later emigrated to the U.S., where he worked in Macy’s toy department in San Francisco,” producer Dean tells us. Quickly rising through the ranks, he later opened his own toy store, got married, and had two daughters. “For a long time, even they knew nothing of what had happened to him."

Movie creators are keen to remind that this is not just a Holocaust remembrance movie. Through the blending of past and present, Heller’s historical traumas and Abbey’s mental struggles in modern-day America, it aims to cut across decades to talk about trauma with an intergenerational viewpoint.

She adds that she hopes the film will resonate with young viewers who might identify with Abbey’s problems and, ultimately, help them feel less lonely, and less alienated.