Meet Blinky Bill’s creator

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The Jewish Holocaust Centre in Melbourne will host a special event attended by iconic animator of “Blinky Bill”, Yoram Gross and filmmaker Tomasz Magierski later this month.

Yoram Gross

On June 20 at 7.00pm, the film, Blinky & Me (2011), will be screened, followed by an interactive audience discussion with Gross and Margierki, the film’s director, who is visiting from the United States.

Gross’ powerful animated stories shaped the identities of countless Australian children who grew up watching them on film and television. Yet it is a little known fact that the many adventures of Blinky Bill, Gross’ depiction of Australian history in The Little Convict (1979), and many other influential narratives, were heavily influenced by his own personal experiences as a Holocaust survivor and the events that took place in Europe during that turbulent period.

Shedding light on this intriguing facet of Australia’s cultural history, Blinky & Me tells the story of Gross’ childhood experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. Travelling to present day Krakow with his grandchildren, Gross recounts how he narrowly survived persecution and reflects on the role of artistic creation throughout his life.

This screening is part of a broader series of films viewed and discussed by the JHC Film Club, a joint initiative of the Holocaust Centre and Deakin University. Since April 2011, the Film Club has hosted monthly screenings of important and little-seen Holocaust, genocide and other human rights-related films.

Mr Warren Fineberg, Executive Director of the JHC, said that “the Film Club is an immensely important part of the Centre’s work and has provided yet another way for us to engage with local communities who have suffered atrocities in the recent past.”

Dr Deb Waterhouse-Watson, a lecturer at Monash University who spoke at a screening of My Mother’s Courage last August, said that “these events make a valuable contribution to advancing knowledge of human rights abuses around the world. They speak volumes for how the Holocaust Centre takes on a pivotal role in commemorating genocide and educating the community.”

Bookings for the 20 June event are essential and can be made through the Holocaust Centre (9528 1985 or [email protected]) and tickets will be available at the door for $6 per person. Further information is available on the JHC website.