NIUSIA

Niusia was a Holocaust survivor. Charming, savvy, and–if you ask her granddaughter, Beth–a pretty mean lady. She is ready to learn who Niusia was, but soon discovers there is no straightforward story. 

Reading, interviewing, and weaving memories and handed-down stories, Beth sets out to understand her nana’s complex legacy. She gives voice to the cruel thoughts you should not have about your holocaust-surviving nana, stumbles upon her own Jewishness (something she used only to evade school church services), and ultimately confronts how deeply embedded these horrific memories are in her family line. She asks: “I have somehow always known these stories. When did I learn these stories, and how?” 

Journey with Beth as she is shown the tenderness she missed out on, learns to laugh at the unlaughable, and wades through the complexity of trauma-laden memories, love, and familial relationships.