Save The Date—–A Story of A Hidden Past

“The Stairs”

The World Premiere

An independent film directed by Hakym Reagan

Produced by Blake Laitner and Mort Laitner

Cast: Dennis Fitzpatrick, David Poland, Anne Voxx, Daniel Timothy Treacy, Peter Glazer, Drew Thacher, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Max Albright

USA | 2016 |Short Drama | Not Rated

English with no subtitles

A ten-year-old boy hides on top of the stairs listening to his father tell his harrowing story—a story about almost being gassed to death in a Nazi concentration camp. The boy doesn’t dare ask his father to explain. His dad offers no further details.

Join us on the red carpet for the World Premiere

Cinema Paradiso 503 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Saturday, June 25 at 6:00 PM

Featuring a Q&A with screenwriter Mort Laitner

Meet and Greet at 5:30 PM in the Courtyard

RSVP at mortlaitner@bellsouth.net

Limited Seating–Reserve Your Seat Today

Donations accepted on behalf of the U.S. Holocaust Museum

Top Indie Film Awards Nominee

Constructed in 1926, Cinema Paradiso is South Florida’s most unique art-house theater

View trailer at: mortlaitner.com/2016/03/30/the-stairs-trailer/#comment-3376

What the readers are saying:

Mazel-tov, Mort!  You had an important story to tell, and you did it in print and film.  Good for you!  I am often in touch with Mel.  The Leitners were important people in Zaglembie.  My Dad used to live in a  “Lajtner building” in Dabrowa Gornicza.  Wolf Lajtner was a heroic doctor in a number of the forced labor camps.  I wish you every success with this production.— Hannah

Gosh you should be so proud!— Elaine

Our best wishes for a successful premier! … Hope to see this film be an award winner!—
Bob and Sandi

Can’t wait!!!!! Red carpet, here I come!—Cami

Congratulations- what an accomplishment!—Judy

Dear Mort; Congratulations! It is a real achievement.—Ulrich

Wonderful news, Mort!—Lois

Congrats, Mort.  How exciting.—Lynn

Lots of luck. With what I know it will be a great event!— Penny

On the left are the laurels we won on May 10, 2016.  I know award-winning films receive them and then post them on their movie posters and websites.

Here are the four questions. (Highly appropriate for this time of year)

Where did this symbol come from? In the movies, I have seen them on the heads of Roman emperors and Napoleon.

Wasn’t it given as an Olympic Prize? It was given as a prize in the Greek Pythian Games.

Why is Italy different than all other countries? In Italy, graduating students were crowns of laurels instead of the mortar board hat. May not be true, I read it on Wikipedia.

What tree grew these leaves? The laurus nobilis— AKA the Bay laurel which is a aromatic evergreen. Yup the bay leaves we use in seasoning. Time to take a deep breath and remember the smell of bay leaves.

So I browse the net to learn more about this fashionable twig and leaves. In ancient Greece, laurel wreaths were symbols of status or victory.  It is a symbol of the highest status. A ‘laureate’ was originally a person crowned with a laurel wreath. i.e. Nobel and poet laureates. You guessed it. It is also the source of the word baccalaureate. Today they are most commonly associated with the phrase,”resting on ones laurels.”

Well, we won the Top Indie Film Awards for Best Short, I now have to do  the following:

Not to rest on my laurels;

To pray to the Greek G-d know as TIFA (It worked “Best Documentary Short);

To smell some bay leaves at Publix;

To add some ground bay leaves to my pasta sauces and to my next Bloody Mary.

Finally, a toast to my film buddies:

May your head be crowned with a wreath of laurels and my the wreath’s aroma lead to the sweet smell of success.

I can still remember opening my mailbox in the Woodridge Post Office and scanning each envelope’s return addresses to see if any of the letters were from the ten colleges I had applied to. It was the Spring of 1967 and my hands shook as I shuffled the envelopes. If one of those letters was from a college, I tore it open and quickly read the first sentence. Curious aren’t you? How many schools accepted him. Well, three out of the ten made me happy. Well, in baseball batting 300 is considered an excellent average. Thank G-d for safety schools.

Well, life is circular; this time (2016) I open emails without the shakes. Instead of  acceptances into colleges, it is acceptances into film festivals.

Here is my first one. YIPPIE KI-YAY COYOTE!

Dear Mort Laitner, Your entry has been accepted by the Top Indie Film Awards. Nominees and winners will be posted on www.topindiefilmawards.com by May 10th. Laurels will also be emailed by then.

“The Stairs”   Accepted Project has been selected to be included in festival.

Thanks Top Indie Film Awards. You made my day.