Join us for a screening of Singing Up the Past, followed by an in-conversation with Project Creator and Producer Dr Joseph Toltz.
Singing Up the Past tells the remarkable story of Guta Goldstein, a 96-year-old Polish-born Australian Holocaust survivor who has lived in Melbourne since 1949.
Seven decades after she learned and sang them, Guta has kept alive a collection of the songs that sustained her through the ghetto, through Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, and Mehltheuer, from where she was liberated.
In the absence of material traces of her loved ones, these songs keep memory alive. Featuring performances by Guta and the Lodz Children’s Choir in new arrangements by Dr Joseph Toltz, this powerful documentary explores memory, survival, and the sustaining power of music.
Screening will be followed by an in conversation with Project Creator and Producer, Dr Joseph Toltz. Hosted by Dr Simon Holloway, Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
Dr Joseph Toltz is a musician, performer and Jewish music researcher, affiliated with the School of Languages and Culture at the University of Sydney. His field of expertise is in the musical experiences and memories of Jewish Holocaust survivors. In 2023, he created and produced Singing Up the Past with director Tim Slade.
Dr Simon Holloway is Manager of Community and Corporate Programs at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, with a strong commitment to preserving the legacy of Australia’s Holocaust survivors.
He previously worked at the Sydney Jewish Museum and the University of Sydney, delivering seminars on Holocaust history and Jewish studies.
Simon holds a PhD in Classical Hebrew and Biblical Studies.
18 June 2026 / 5:00 PM — 6:30 PM
Join us for the opening of the Glen Eira Storytelling Festival with Yorta-Yorta singer songwriter, Benny Walker.
Carnegie Library and Community Centre — Forecourt.
24 June 2026 / 7:30 PM — 8:45 PM
Join Stephen Hall for a night at the movies...with a difference.
Glen Eira Town Hall — Theatrette, corner Glen Eira and Hawthorn Roads, Caulfield
Glen Eira Storytelling Festival acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands upon which we work and live. We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' spirit, imagination and rich history of storytelling and humour that is an inspiration to all Australians.
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