Brief Description/Synopsis: “A Journey: 72 Drawings by Si Lewen” is both a deeply personal tribute and a historical reflection on the life and art of Si Lewen (1918–2016)—a remarkable artist whose visual storytelling and humanistic vision left an indelible mark on twentieth-century art. The film presents, for the first time, all 72 sequential drawings from Lewen’s powerful visual narrative A Journey, accompanied by an original score composed and performed by his grandson, Damon Kardon, who also produced and edited the film. The presentation opens with an introduction written by publisher Thomas Yoseloff and is narrated by Erin Kardon, giving voice to Lewen’s legacy through his family’s creative lens. Si Lewen’s life embodies the 20th century’s most profound struggles and redemptions. An immigrant who fled Nazi Germany, he returned to Europe as a U.S. Army soldier—one of the famed “Ritchie Boys”—and bore witness to the horrors of Buchenwald during its liberation. His subsequent artistic career transformed trauma into universal imagery, exploring the cyclical nature of war and humanity’s longing for peace. Art Spiegelman, creator of Maus, has called Lewen one of the “grandfathers of the graphic novel,” and Albert Einstein once wrote to him, “Our time needs you and your work.” This documentary seeks to honor that legacy—bringing together Lewen’s art, words, and family to illuminate both history and the enduring power of creative resilience. (Official Trailer Below).
Brief Description/Synopsis:
New Documentary by Damon Kardon/ Coming in 2026
“Two Brothers. Their Grandfather’s Novel. A Path Out of War.”
Chronicle from Witzburg is a full-length documentary by Damon Kardon that traces the early life and artistic awakening of Si Lewen—an artist, immigrant, World War II veteran, and liberator of the Buchenwald concentration camp—whose work stands as a profound testament to memory, trauma, and the necessity of creative expression. Through Lewen’s paintings, illustrations, and writings, the film examines how art became a vital means for him to process the unspeakable realities of war and the Holocaust. Central to the documentary is Lewen’s haunting, unpublished novel Chronicle from Witzburg, a fictionalized account of life inside a concentration camp that blends imagination with lived experience.
Guided by Damon Kardon alongside his brother Mason Kardon and their mother, Nina Kardon, the film unfolds as both an investigation and a deeply personal journey. The Kardons explore how Lewen transformed historical reality into symbolic narrative, using art and literature to confront violence, dehumanization, and survival. As they delve into his body of work, the documentary reveals the porous boundary between fiction and truth, showing how Lewen’s creative world allowed him to articulate emotions and moral questions that history alone could not contain.
Drawing on their own backgrounds in theater, filmmaking, and music, Mason and Damon ultimately stage a live reading of Chronicle from Witzburg, bringing Lewen’s words into a contemporary performative space. This act becomes a bridge across generations—between witness and interpreter, past and present—illuminating how storytelling, performance, and art can carry memory forward. Chronicle from Witzburg is both a portrait of an artist shaped by history and a meditation on how creativity helps us endure, understand, and remember. (Official Trailer Below).
DK ART &DESIGN 