Where is Anne Frank: A Film Review
by Karen Pecota

Ari Folman | Belgium | Luxembourg | France | Netherlands | Israel | 2021

I am from a generation that has read The Diary of a Young Girl and heard the story of Anne Frank countless times and never tire of it. I have visited the grounds of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where Anne Frank and her sister Margot were taken and died of typhus shortly before the British liberated the camp on April 15, 1945.

Thanks to the openness and support of the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel giving filmmaker Ari Folman privileged access and permission to research Anne Frank’s diary, various texts and family archives, WHERE IS ANNE FRANK, has come to fruition. Folman acknowledges that in reality, he and Anne Frank wrote this particular story together.

In addition to a unique collaboration, the two have something deeper in common. Folman’s parents were forced to enter the Auschwitz concentration camp during the same week as Anne Frank’s parents.

To give more contexts the Anne Frank Fonds tells us that Anne’s father, Otto Frank, after he published the diary of his daughter in 1947, decided to have it adapted for stage and film. The success was overwhelming. To ensure that all royalties were used to support charitable and educational works, Otto Frank established the Anne Frank Fonds in 1963, which he appointed as his universal heir. His nephew Buddy Elias chaired the foundation until Otto Frank’s death.

Together with the family, the Anne Frank Fonds sought to reach a younger generation in order to introduce them to the lessons of history, the Holocaust, discrimination and anti-Semitism. They asked Ari Folman to write a script and direct an animated film where Anne Frank’s imaginary friend comes to life. It took years to accomplish this task; but finally, the film was released with great fanfare in 2021. Notably, Anne and Kitty’s story continues to generate success now over seventy-five years after the first publication of her diary.

Folman and Frank creatively use Kitty, Anne’s imaginary friend to whom she writes in her diary, and beautifully exquisite animation, to bring their narrative to life for younger generations, possibly unaware of the history and results of the Holocaust. Producer Jani Thiltges notes that using animation to tell Anne’s story allows her legacy to live on, to be more accessible and even more relatable for the generation of today. Educating the public of stories, such as the Frank’s, during the Holocaust is one of the missions that the Anne Frank Fonds is keen to present, especially in schools. The animation genre proves to be the right choice.

Synopsis:

Kitty, the imaginary friend to whom Anne Frank wrote in her diary, comes to life in present-day Amsterdam. Kitty believes that if she is alive, then Anne must be alive too. Kitty is unaware that three-quarters of a century have passed as she pursues a quest to find her soulmate, Anne Frank.

Kitty holds in her possession Anne’s Diary as a roadmap. Along the way she incorporates help from Peter, who runs a secret shelter for undocumented refugees and together they follow Anne’s life while in hiding that started in what was called the Secret Annex.

A happy end to Anne’s whereabouts was not what Kitty discovered; but while on her quest, Kitty and Peter discover that refugees from all over the world were running away from war zones. They take up the task to assisting others who seek refuge in a land not their own, by speaking truth to power, presenting hope to the injustices that even children might endure. Kitty knew that Anne would want this message made known to the world, and knew she’d be proud of Kitty in her fight for this cause.