Ex Libris traces the vanished world of the collection of exlibris, small works of graphic art, that my grandfather created and lost in Vienna between the two world wars. Ex Libris explores the intimate, intricate, universe Marco Birnholz created in his collection, and the exploding world he recorded in his diaries. In 1939, as he prepared to flee Nazi Vienna, the collection was seized by the Austrian National Library.
Synopsis
Ex Libris will frame and retell my grandfather’s story as he did: through his collection of ex libris, an art form and element of literary culture now almost forgotten. Ex libris, or bookplates, are small drawings, limited edition prints, commissioned to commemorate the people, places and times of the collector, designed to be glued to the inside front covers of books and used to indicate possession. Those pieces of paper marked and commemorated what was most meaningful to my grandfather. On the surface, he was an ordinary man caught in extraordinary circumstances. He was also an eccentric dreamer who created a vibrant universe parallel to his everyday life as a neighborhood pharmacist.
Marco was able to flee Vienna, first to England, then the United States. The oldest son, he was not able to save the siblings he felt responsible for. One brother was murdered in Dachau, another was sent with his wife and young son to Theresienstadt, and all three were killed in Auschwitz. After the war, as a penniless refugee in New York, Marco became obsessed with the idea that his ex libris collection could be reclaimed.
About the Director
Melissa Hacker is an award-winning filmmaker and editor. Her first film, My Knees Were Jumping; Remembering the Kindertransports was short-listed for Academy Award nomination, seen in film festivals, museums, and broadcast worldwide. Melissa’s video Venus was featured in the gallery exhibit “Objects of Devotion and Desire: Medieval Relic to Contemporary Art,” and received accolades in the New York Times review. Venus was also screened in Vienna, where it was filmed, at the Josephinium Medical History Museum. Melissa’s three channel video Letters Home screened at Stranger than Fiction at the IFC Theater in NYC, and the New York, Washington DC, and Toronto Jewish Film Festivals. Work as an editor includes the Academy Award nominated documentaries Sister Rose’s Passion and The Collector of Bedford Street. For Ex Libris, her current work in progress, Melissa has received a Fulbright Artist in Residence award in Vienna, and residencies at Yaddo, Millay, Digital Arts Studio Belfast, Playa, VCCA, and was a 2022 LABA Fellow. Melissa is a native New Yorker and a wandering professor.
Year
in production
Film Type
Documentary
Film Length
N/A
Language
English
Production Country
USA
Production Company
Bees Knees Productions
Distributor
N/A
Director
Melissa Hacker
Producers
Melissa Hacker, Tanja Meding
Editing
Melissa Hacker
Cinematography
Peter Roehsler
Music
Karen Goldfeder
Animation Advisor
Lisa Crafts
Funding
With Assistance from Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
Supported by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future and by the German Federal Ministry of Finance
Trailer
Stills
