New documentary on local woman survivor to premiere

RUTH RAVINA was 2 when the Nazis arrived in her Polish hometown of Kozienice in 1939. By the war’s end, Ruth had survived three concentration camps and years on the run. Her father was dead, and she was the only child from Kozienice who remained alive. She and her mother moved to the United States, and Ravina grew up, attended college, married, and raised a family.

Now the longtime Montclair resident’s story is told in a documentary, “An Inconvenient Time: The Story of Ruth Ravina,” that will have its premiere on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 11 a.m. at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in Livingston.

It wasn’t until her husband, Oscar, passed away in 2010 that Ravina began to share her story of suffering and survival as a speaker for Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ’s Holocaust Council.

The film was created, produced, and scored by Denny Klein of North Caldwell, whose family grew close to Ravina six years ago when his twin daughters were paired with her as part of the council’s Twin with a Survivor program for their b’not mitzvah.

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“Ruth’s incredible odyssey is a captivating and unique story of survival and triumph,” said Klein, whose production partners were Joe Schreiber of 3 Penny Films, and illustrator/animation supervisor Greg Betza. “Her message of ‘Never Again’ is even more important in this era of rising anti-Semitism.”

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is strongly recommended; visit jfedgmw.org/inconvenient-time or contact Jamie Carus at jcarus@jfedgmw.org.