This Ordinary Thing has been nominated for the Cinema for Peace Documentary of the Year award, a peace and justice prize presented during the Berlin Film Festival.
The ceremony takes place at the Brandenburg Gate, with awards presented by Sir Bob Geldof, who has called Cinema for Peace “the Oscars with brains.”
Learn more about the nomination here.
THIS ORDINARY THING is a poignant but wholly unsentimental examination of what it is that brings out altruistic instincts in people who are witnesses to a catastrophe-- in this case, the Holocaust. Nick Davis has found a group of witnesses who hid Jews or intervened in other ways and let them speak of their motives and actions in a way that will cause anyone who watches this film to think about what he or she would have done in similar circumstances. It is a deft, subtle piece of filmmaking, one devoid of righteousness or preachiness, and speaks with directness and clarity to the issue of acting humanely in inhuman times.
Daphne Merkin, Literary critic and essayist
THIS ORDINARY THING is no ordinary thing…. simple poetic imagery, exceptional choices….An inspiring Holocaust film… The length of the film at one-hour is a perfect choice. And the brief selections of anecdotes and details make them all the more powerful in their brevity. The shortness gives the film a tremendous momentum…. I had tears streaming down my face by the end.
Paul Barnes, Editor and Producer for Ken Burns
THIS ORDINARY THING is a riveting documentary that uncovers haunting stories of non-Jewish people who miraculously helped save thousands of Jewish lives across Europe during World War II.
Susan Hornik, AISH.com
Holocaust movies are often problematic. So much of the material is familiar and repetitive. Many audiences have grown inured to the subject if not downright turned off, for whatever reasons. Instead of focusing on the relentless atrocities and victims, his film, THIS ORDINARY THING shines a light on the often forgotten heroes of the era….. The 62-minute film, with haunting music by Tony-winner Adam Guettel, is understated and subtle. Set within a chronological structure, starting at the cusp of the Holocaust and continuing post liberation and beyond, these courageous figures recount matter-of-factly what they observed and experienced. Devoid of back stories, short of their names and countries of origin, they become, in the film, at once heroes and historical witnesses…. The word “inspiring” does not cut it. I watched this one gob-smacked.
Simi Horowitz, Forward