THE WILD ONE

The documentary traces the life journey of an enigmatic artist, Jack Garfein, his Czechoslovakian youth, his family’s fleeing the Nazis, surviving in Auschwitz and other camps, his 1946 arrival at sixteen in New York and coming under the wing of Lee Strasberg, Hollywood, and his marriage to actress Carroll Baker It examines how his experience in the concentration camps shaped his vision of acting as a survival mechanism. Narrated by Willem Defoe, the film explores the importance of his legacy as an artist who confronted censorship and reveals how art can draw on personal memory to better enlighten our present. Winner Best Cinematography in a Documentary Film Tribeca Film Festival, Winner Jury Prize Best Documentary Festival 2 Vincennes.

“A brilliant tapestry of these two different sides of Garfein, telling both the story of his showbiz career, and his survival of the Holocaust.” –Tilt Magazine

“Blending old film clips and photos with commentary from Jack Garfein’s friends and family, this work celebrates the controversial filmmaker with grace and style.” –Film Threat

DIRECTOR
Tessa Louise-Salomé