ANNA is a story is set in 1990 Poland, not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Anna Edelstein who lives in Canada, learns from her dying mother, a Holocaust survivor, that she had an older sister, who went missing during WWII in Poland. She sets out to find her with surprising consequences.
ANNA, Set in 1990, this is the story of a forty-year-old Canadian surgeon, Anna Edelstein who learns from her dying mother, a Holocaust survivor, that she had an older sister, who went missing during WWII in Poland and now after Solidarity, Anna sets out to find her sister with surprising consequences. When Anna finally arrives in Poland, after many challenging days looking for her long-lost sister, she finds a woman, Irena, a survivor like her mother, who becomes a catalyst and ultimately helps her navigate the complex, emotional journey. When she finally does find her sister Katya, she discovers Katya was abducted by the Nazis as a four-year old and raised by Polish collaborators. Katya rejects Anna and her Jewish identity. At the end of the film, Anna realizes it’s Irena who has found -- the Aunt, Anna never had. Somehow Anna knows she will see Irena again.
A former Montrealer now living in Toronto, Francine’s work as a director is inspired by her profound connection to French Canada. She graduated from film at McGill University; studied directing at Columbia University, NYC and writing at Script Factory, London. She has won numerous awards and been recognized at film festivals around the world. Her strong cinematic vision and her love for working with actors is evident in her films, THE ATWOOD STORIES; PUNCH ME IN THE STOMACH; PASSENGERS and MR. BERNSTEIN and her documentaries HALF THE KINGDOM; EXPOSURE; WE ARE HERE and AFTER MUNICH has taken her to New Zealand, England, Sweden, Poland, Germany and Israel. She has recently completed her feature documentary AFTER MUNICH about the aftermath of the Munich Olympic massacre of eleven Israeli athletes in 1972 and how four women’s lives are changed forever. It toured to Germany; Israel and England this past year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the terrorist attack. She is in development on a dramatic series based on world renown writer Margaret Atwood’s first novel THE EDIBLE WOMAN and a Canada/Poland co-pro feature film ANNA, a Canada/French co-pro ALMA ROSE and a Canada/New Zealand co-pro A PLACE CALLED HOME.
