FILM
Anita Lester is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter whose work spans narrative shorts, music videos, and animation. Her films are known for their lyrical storytelling, emotional depth, and exploration of identity, faith, and memory. Her debut short, Noch am Leben, premiered to acclaim and was followed by projects in various stages of production, including Song of Songs, Crumbs, and The White Pigeon. Anita's unique visual language is shaped by her multidisciplinary background in painting, poetry, and music.
Song of songs
CURRENTLY IN PRE-PRODUCTION
Genre Drama, Romance
Writer/Director Anita Lester
Producer Jamie Bialkower - Executive Producer Shekhar Kapur
Synopsis Over the seven days of mourning following her grandmother’s death, Miriam forms a forbidden connection with a young Rabbi that sets in motion the unravelling of a complex family reckoning with their identities. As she navigates the dynamics of those left behind, and the truth about their matriarch’s controversial past, Miriam’s unexpected feelings for the Rabbi lead her towards a profound personal and spiritual transformation.
Distribution ANZ Umbrella Entertainment.
A Jumpstreet Films Production.
In accordance with Screen Australia.
crumbs
Title: Crumbs
Genre: Short
Writer/Director: Anita Lester
Producer: Jamie Bialkower
Synopsis:
Set over one day in a beloved Melbourne bakery, Crumbs unfolds through a series of intimate, overlapping vignettes that trace the quiet intersections of love, grief, memory, and tradition. Based on the “Railroad Stories” by Sholem Aleichem, this is a JIFF awarded short.
Noch Am Leben ‘Still Alive’
Haunted from the beginning to the very end, Noch Am Leben/ Still Alive is the story of a woman’s recollection of her mad Holocaust survivor great aunt.
Through the ghetto to cradling her dying sister, Eva Nagler left her mind on the beaches of the Baltic Sea during one of the largest death marches of WWII. Being only one of only a handful of survivors out of tens of thousands, we see vignettes of her perspective- distorted, romantic and affected by the muffled memories.
Narrated by her great-niece, the story captures a snapshot of the cold reality of war and its terrible lingering aftermath.
A film by Anita Lester
Music by Benjamin Riley
Additional narration by Eva Nagler, taken from the Spielberg Holocaust archives
Funded by The Jewish International Film Festival
A Broken Wing Films short
Broken Wing Films is the brother film company to Anita’s, run by her film maker, writer and artist Yoav Lester.