Milkweed
An animated feature adaptation of the critically acclaimed young adult novel by Jerry Spinelli
Email Producer Gail Rosenblum for information or to get involved.
LATEST NEWS: OUR HOLOCAUST TEACHING PILOT JUST WRAPPED UP AND IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS! LEARN MORE ABOUT IT BELOW.
As many of you know, our animated feature film project, “Milkweed,” won a $20,000 grant from the esteemed Covenant Foundation of New York to create an accompanying series of empathy- and social justice-based teaching lessons for middle school students around the country. That pilot just wrapped up in 14 schools across North America and it was amazing! Take a look here: https://youtu.be/Gw3mBrliXQw
Jerry Spinelli (“Stargirl,” “Maniac Magee,” “Loser”) takes us into the devastating setting of Nazi-occupied Warsaw and tells a tale of hope.
A tiny bread thief with no name survives in the shadows of Nazi-occupied Warsaw. A serendipitous encounter connects him to the family he longs to have, then leaves him with the devastating weight of carrying their memories. A story of love and heartbreak, chaos and survival, and a lifelong search for identity.
The Story
The year is 1942. The setting, Warsaw, Poland. Our tiny protagonist, clutching a loaf of bread he has skillfully snatched from a baker, runs for his life as the rotund baker angrily screams: “Stop Thief!” The boy, no more than 7 years old, with disheveled hair and torn clothing, has heard the cry so many times he believes it is his name.
Stopthief.
One sunny day on a hunt for tomatoes, Stopthief crosses into the garden of a stately home owned by a Jewish family. He becomes love-struck as he catches the eye of the owner’s beautiful little girl who watches him from a distance, waiting to see if he will discover the wrapped butter cream heart she has buried for him in the dirt. He does. But Stopthief is more fascinated by her black shoes – so shiny that he can see his face – and by the strange bird-shaped pods of a bursting fluffy weed around them.
Milkweed.
Milkweed, based on Jerry Spinelli’s sobering and ultimately uplifting novel, is a story of enduring love, loss and healing and, in the end, our universal search for belonging.
Our Team
From left, Art Director Annita Soble, Co-director Mike Owens, Co-director Wendie Owens, Producer Gail Rosenblum, Animation Producer Audrey Favorito, Music and Soundtrack Supervisor Tom Lieberman.
For Educators
While our goal is to reach a world-wide film audience, we are also piloting a contemporary and interactive Milkweed Holocaust Education Project in 14 middle schools across the country this Fall as part of our nonprofit educational mission. The lesson plans, focused on empathy, social justice and activism, have been created by veteran curriculum developer KK Neimann, M.A., and Dr. Ellen Kennedy, Ph. D., founder of World Without Genocide, and meet curriculum standards for social studies, English and language arts. There is an urgent need for this education:
A 2018 Claims Conference survey showed that 49 percent of American millennials can’t name a single concentration camp or ghetto, 64 percent don’t know that 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and 66 percent don’t know what Auschwitz is. The survey concluded that “there is a broad-based consensus that schools must be responsible for providing comprehensive Holocaust education.” As per the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, currently only 18 states require teaching about the Holocaust.
Yves Kugelmann, a Swiss Jewish journalist who sits on the board of the Anne Frank Fonds in Switzerland, supports another defining rationale behind the project, “The main challenge of Holocaust education is to tell the story in ways that evolve to stay relevant to new generations.”
Our Milkweed Education Project is funded, in part, from generous financial support from RIMON: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
“As a former middle school teacher of kids with emotional and behavioral disorders, I often read books to them to begin discussions and further social and emotional learning skills. Jerry Spinelli was a go-to author.”
“I teach fourth grade in Jacksonville, Florida. We do an in-depth unit of study on the Holocaust and we just finished reading Milkweed… And every kid to the letter said it was their favorite book of all time! I look forward to the movie! ”
Get Involved
Donate to Milkweed
Please join our growing list of generous donors who are helping us make Milkweed a reality. We cherish your support and belief in this project.
Your donation towards Milkweed is tax-deductible.
Follow our story
See behind-the-scenes as our talented team brings Misha’s story to life. You won’t want to miss this.