We are grateful to share that, thanks to an artistic scholarship from the President of the City of Białystok, we will be continuing work on a new short experimental documentary film rooted in the Jewish history of the city. The 5–10 minute film focuses exclusively on the story of the return of Carmel Tanaka’s grandmother, Szyfra Atłasowicz, to Białystok in 1945. Building on earlier research and field work in eastern Poland, the project explores memory, absence, and transmission across generations through this singular, intimate historical thread. The story will be told through an animated documentary form, allowing us to move beyond traditional representation and engage with what is fragmented, imagined, or no longer visible.

As part of the production process, we will also experiment with AI-supported creative tools, treating them not as a replacement for human experience, but as a means of reflecting on gaps, loss, and the instability of historical memory. The artistic scholarships awarded by the City of Białystok support creators working across disciplines and recognize projects that contribute to cultural reflection and local heritage. For us, this support is both practical and symbolic—it affirms the importance of working with difficult histories through art, sensitivity, and contemporary forms of expression.

The completed film will be presented as part of the commemoration of the next anniversary of the outbreak of the Białystok Ghetto Uprising on 16.08.2026. We look forward to sharing the next stages of this project as it develops.

The photo was taken on January 28, 2026 during the ceremony of awarding the artists with artistic scholarships from the Mayor of Białystok. Photo by: Jakub Tomasz Gwiazdowski. Source: https://www.bialystok.pl/pl/wiadomosci/aktualnosci/stypendia-artystyczne-prezydenta-wreczone.html