Ex Libris is a hybrid non-fiction film using animation, collage, and first person narrative to trace the vanished world of the ex libris collection my grandfather, Marco Birnholz, commissioned, created and lost in Vienna between the two world wars. Ex Libris will explore the intimate, intricate universe my grandfather created in his collection, and the exploding world he recorded in his diaries. Ex Libris will be completed in fall 2020.
Melissa Hacker – Filmmaker
Melissa's film My Knees Were Jumping; Remembering The Kindertransports was screened at film festivals and on television worldwide and shortlisted for Academy Award nomination. My Knees Were Jumping tells the story of the Kindertransports, a rescue mission that saved the lives of nearly 10,000 children in the months before World War II. My Knees Were Jumping is available on itunes, netflix, and dvd.
Melissa received a Fulbright Artist-in-Residence award in Vienna to develop Ex Libris, a New York State Council on the Arts Production Grant, as well as residencies at Yaddo, VCCA, Playa, Escape to Create, Saltonstall, and Digital Arts Studios.