What if a girl in the Holocaust had Instagram? Éva's Story as a case of indirect translation. (1st December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kohn, Ayelet; Weissbrod, Rachel
• Is Part Of: Journal of adaptation in film & performance. Volume 13:Number 3(2020)
• Page Start: 285
• Page End: 303
• Publication Date: 2020-12-01
• Subjects: Film adaptations -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Motion pictures and literature -- Periodicals; 791.43605
• DOI: 10.1386/jafp_00032_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1753-6421

Abstract

This article deals with the adaptation of a written text ‐ the diary of 13-year-old Éva Heyman who died in the Holocaust ‐ into a series of Instagram stories, joined to create a 50-minute film. We employ translation studies and the concept of 'indirect translation' to investigate this unique case in which a genre characterized by its ephemerality is used to commemorate and perpetuate the past. The project, which caused a furore because Instagram was considered inappropriate for dealing with such a grave subject, was motivated by the desire to transmit the diary to contemporary audiences and retain its relevance for them. We have found that the diary served as a general framework, but its contents and the character of Éva that emerges from it were overshadowed by two factors: turning Éva into a contemporary youngster, so as to attract today's youth; and relying on Hollywood traditions of filming the Second World War and the Holocaust.