64 Years ago today, April 11th, 1945, the US Army liberated the Buchenwald Concentration camp in Germany.    12 years ago,  my grandfather, Anthony Cuoco passed on, and in the aftermath we discovered that he had been there.  He never talked about it.  We were never able to hear the details first hand, but through those pictures I began to dig and research,  and the culmination of that research and his photos was this film.

It is very much a labor of love, but much more than that I felt a responsibility to make sure this story was told.  I had the tools, the training, the knowledge, and the proof.

My friend and producer Jeff Loach and I poured our hearts and souls into making the film happen.  Jeff as the amazing producer that he is, wouldn’t rest until we secured Harrison Young our first choice to play my Grandfather.

The film debuted April 9th 2005 at the San Fernando Valley International Film Festival,  just two days prior to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald.  The timing was not lost on me, and I felt there was more to it than serendipity.  Harrison Young, passed away only a few short months later.

Recently, I have seen a spate of blog posts, you tube videos, and other hateful communications saying that these concentration camps never existed.  That the  holocaust was a massive conspiracy.  I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears, even though my research had told me that 17% of American’s don’t believe this happened, it seems that worldwide those numbers are even greater.  For a moment I felt like a failure.  That despite my best efforts, we as human beings are doomed to repeat these horrible atrocities.  In the news, I see examples of ethnic cleansing still happening today and I’m sick to my stomach.

Then I received an e-mail from a history teacher in Bradenton, FL.  He had watched the film online on IMDB.com, and contacted me to get a copy of the film to show is students, telling me that, “It says more in less than 10 minutes than I could tell them myself in 90 minutes.”    I remembered, that this wasn’t the first such request.  I had received dozens over the years including a man from Italy who asked for a transcript since the online version had no subtitles.  While others can post world-wide about how it never happened, I can still provide that much needed counter-point.

So today, on the 64th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald, I am making the film available online for the first time in it’s full resolution via Vimeo.com.  I will also be releasing the the film to the public on DVD in cooperation with Amazon.com, and will be donating all proceeds from the sale of these DVD’s to the American Veterans Association and the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.

I know many have you reading this have seen it previously at film festivals, personal screenings, and on-line, but I urge you to please watch it again, then pass it on.  Share the links,  forward the e-mails, talk about it with your kids.  As I wrote in the film, “This can not happen again.”

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Paul Cuoco

Inheritance,  has had a long life as short films go, and on May 31st, just a few days after Memorial Day, it won its first award for best drama at the 4th Annual Universal Studios Hollywood Team Member Film Festival. This festival is open only to employees of Universal Studios, which is where I currently spend my days developing themed attractions. With a stellar panel of film and television professionals judging the films that included Ron Meyer, it was quite an honor to receive.

As much as it was an honor, however, that’s not why I’ve finally gotten back to blog. What’s compelled me to write is the reaction that I’ve received from the film. I’ve gotten accolades for the film in the past, the ubiquitous congratulations from friends and family. My wife tells me how it’s her favorite of all my films. I’ve shaken hands with people at film festivals, and been written to by folks around the globe from making it available on-line here and on YouTube, but this time it’s different. When it last screened at VIFFI, it played well and hushed the audience before sustained applause, but after we left the festival, the experience was over. With this screening, it again hushed the audience and drew two rounds of applause, but since it was screened for employees, the people I work with, the experience has continued for me in ways it hasn’t in the past. Other employees whom I have never met congratulate me on the elevator, in the halls, or at commissary. People have pulled me aside with tears in their eyes telling me what a profound effect the film has had on them. I’ve received e-mails requesting copies of the film on DVD. People have shared the online links with friends and family, and the messages still come days later. This has overwhelmed me, for the simple fact the heart and soul of the film, was to show these images to the world so it cannot be forgotten. That was the legacy of the film, and it is finally being realized. It may have had this effect all along, but that was never shared with me until now. I feel the films audience has grown exponentially thanks to this festival, and I am thankful to Karen Fung and Christiane Sentianin at Universal for putting it on.

That said, the film can still reach even more people, but it needs help. I’ve always wanted this film to reach as large an audience as possible and with the internet the audience is unlimited. Please visit these links and watch the film. Tell others about it. E-mail your friends, your families. Let it be known that the holocaust was real, that it cannot be forgotten, and cannot happen again.

Sincerely,

Paul Cuoco
30K feet over the Gulf of Mexico, 7:15 PST – 6/5/07