It was during Tyler Gildin’s great aunt’s funeral when his grandfather, Herb Gildin, talked about the time he and his sisters escaped Nazi Germany to Sweden. Partly because Gildin rarely heard stories about his grandfather’s upbringing, it provoked his want to learn more. And he did.  

“The Starfish,” a documentary directed and produced by Gildin, a Syracuse University alumnus, will show at the Syracuse International Film Festival at the Bill & Penny Allyn Theatre on Sunday at 1 p.m. The film centers around Herb and his sisters, who escaped Nazi persecution during the 1930s with the help of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. 

Herb grew up in a Jewish family in Landsberg, Germany. He and his sisters fled the country to live with their non-Jewish family in Sweden because of Nazi occupation. Herb and his sisters were separated from their parents for around two years until they sought refuge and reunited in the United States.  

Growing up, Gildin said he didn’t know a lot of these details about his grandfather’s upbringing. This was also apparent in how little his grandfather talked about his family.  

“It’s something that he kept to himself most of his life,” Gildin said. “And it’s something that we address from his children’s point of view in the piece.” 

It was after hearing the story at the funeral when Gildin became inspired to create a documentary about his grandfather’s life.  “It was a bit of a challenge for him to open up, but once he did it was really interesting,” Gildin said. 

But Gildin wasn’t the only family member who wanted to preserve Herb’s stories. His cousin, Alex Utay, also worked as the producer and musical contributor for the film.  

Originally, Utay recorded on an iPad with the grandparents sitting and answering questions, he said. The video, in effect, had a very amateur, mediocre feel to it. But after Gildin heard about the clips, he wanted to pursue it professionally, Utay said.  

Utay’s music ended up being a key part in setting the tone for the documentary, which was very personal to him, as well.  

“I think we tried to get a consistent sound palate and we used consistent themes to get different emotions in different parts of the story,” Utay said.  

Along from the stories he got from Herb, Gildin also heard recounts from his father and other family members who survived the Nazi persecution. Gildin said his great aunt’s immediate family was especially helpful in breaking down the story of how they came to the U.S. 

Animation was used to help illustrate their story instead of just using archival footage and standard interviews. Gildin said animation was used as an aid to allow audience members to better understand the family’s experience. 

Gildin said that he hopes that throughout all this, the audience will be able to see the qualities in a story that are so close to his own life.  

“It’s a personal story to me, obviously,” he said, “but it’s a story that a lot of people can identify with it as human beings.” 

Gildin said he thinks that the film leaves a good reflection on his grandfather and that it will be a shining light to show his legacy. While Herb passed away in May, Gildin said he was able to see the completed piece while attending the world premiere in Miami.   

“I was very thankful for that,” he said. 

Published on October 9, 2019 at 1:22 am

Contact Mateo: mtestlin@syr.edu