The Pageant (2020) Movie Script
One moment.
These are like the others, it's all purple.
Beautiful!
Did you like it?
Sorry, whats your name?
Tami.
Tami, which one did you say?
I'll show you.
Very elegant.
The mustard color with purple...
Let's see what else we have here.
Three,
four,
five...
No, we have it.
It has to be.
I choose this for all of them.
Seven...
I can't cut it for you.
No, it's OK.
Eight...
There is enough.
Nine,
ten.
Wow, it's beautiful!
I also want a scarf.
Yes, that's it!
Perfect!
The tailor will need to check
the measurements again.
It's for Holocaust survivors.
They deserve a discount.
That, we will have to...
What is the price for a meter?
29.
We represent the Home
for Holocaust Survivors.
We're doing a beauty pageant
for Holocaust survivors.
Their ages are between the 70s and 90s.
Yes, that's the age.
So we're asking for a special discount.
Look at it over black.
Beautiful.
It's eye-catching.
Because of the yellow.
The yellow...
I'm imagining it on the
stage, with everyone.
...with everybody.
Perfect.
If there's one extra, I want it.
There will be an extra.
Not everyone is the same size.
If we reduce the size to 1.80m,
we can have one for each us.
The fabric is magnificent.
That purple has a shocking effect.
It's not yellow, it's mustard!
Very beautiful and elegant.
What's the price you have in mind?
100 shekels.
No.
What can you do?
Whatever you can do. As I told you,
this is a very important event.
Where are you?
I need you by the cash register.
I will send Ania upstairs.
29. That means 30.
That makes 600.
Right?
Its OK.
I will ask her to...
500 shekels.
We'll try.
It's a good deed!
Ladies and gentlemen,
I hope that the photographers
and all the TV stations,
including CNN and Al Jazeera
that they are all ready
for this exciting moment.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the winner of our beauty contest,
the winner of Miss Holocaust Survivor
Beauty Pageant 2013 is...
contestant number 2!
Shoshana Kolmer!
Shoshana Kolmer!
Certificate of Participation
in the Beauty Contest
for Holocaust Survivors
2013: Shoshana Kolmer
In Auschwitz, they told us...
"You need to keep working now.
Later you will join your parents."
They told this all day.
And we all knew where
mother and father were.
They were supposed to
wake us up at 4-4:30 a.m.
But they would wake us up at 1 a.m.
and make us wait outside in the snow.
They were such bad souls
and pretended not to know anything.
So that people would
think it's a work-camp.
Home for Holocaust Survivors
Thursday morning, we'll
meet for the rehearsal.
Gideon, we're meeting in the afternoon.
Next Wednesday, we're going to the big show
in front of all the Christians
in Jerusalem. OK?
The night of the Tabernacles fest.
Come on, let's begin Gideon.
Attention everyone.
I survived
I survived, I survived, I survived
I survived, I survived
I also survived against
hostility and hatred
I also feared from loneliness and enmity
I knew that the day would arrive
and the sun would shine again.
I also learned to stay alive in war
My heart, my identity
got lost in the darkness
I knew that all this would pass
Hi, Ela?
Good afternoon, this is Tami
from the Home for Holocaust Survivors.
How are you?
Are you also a Holocaust
survivor? From where?
Romania? Nice.
Listen we don't know you,
but we've heard about you
from the people in our social club.
Yes.
So let me give you an
idea about the contest.
This contest is not about...
Can you hear me?
The contest is not just a beauty contest.
Its about their inner world.
How they survived and remain strong.
Thats what the contest is about.
So were not exactly looking
for beautiful women.
We want women with strong character.
Doesnt matter.
No, no. My pleasure.
So glad you want to participate.
Its a nice atmosphere. Very beautiful.
So you will learn how to catwalk.
There are hair stylists.
From Holocaust to Rebirth
Our policy can be summed up in three words:
Steadfastness against agression.
Steadfastness on defense,
steadfastness on deterrence,
steadfastness against anyone
who threatens to destroy us.
Because today another regime
is threatening Israel,
as well as the peace of the world.
This regime openly states
it wants to destroy us -
the Jewish state.
The nuclear agreement has
unleashed the Iranian regime,
and since then it has been
devouring state after state,
just like Nazi Germany did
in Europe in the 1930s.
I have a message for the leaders of Iran.
This place used to be
very tidy and beautiful.
That's how she was.
She would dress up nicely
and take care of herself.
We were four children.
Chava was the youngest.
She became Miss Holocaust Survivor
because she was a very nice person.
She organized the event.
Some people didn't like
that it was called a beauty pageant.
They said: "Old people
are not beauty queens."
But the name stuck.
Did you ever consider participating?
Me?
No.
Even now I don't like to talk
in front of the camera.
I don't like to be seen.
I'm only talking because
it's in memory of Chava.
I don't like to talk like this.
I'm old.
I can't tell my story like people
who tell it all the time.
I don't talk a lot.
But I sometimes do.
2.5 months ago, when she was sick,
I was quite broken.
She couldn't speak but knew it was the end.
So she held my arm.
To say goodbye.
She couldn't speak.
It's a shame.
But...
It's important to know how to die.
If she was alive,
maybe the competition
would be more organized.
I dont know who theyll bring this year.
Its very hard to find new people.
Were doing this only for them to help us.
So that we could live here.
In order to live here
peacefully in our remaining days.
This is why we participate
in all these activities.
Theres a lot of people
that need to be treated.
We need donations.
Electricity, water... It
costs a lot of money.
But where can we get the money from?
On Wednesday, were traveling to Jerusalem
to the Christian organization.
So we try to do activities
in order to get donations.
With the help of the Christian Embassy,
I know that were
supported and well cared for.
We live a good life.
In spite of all,
we never gave up.
Loudly we shall sing
in the face of the world.
In the name of love, we won't give up,
and together we shall face any crisis.
Were Yad Ezer Lechaver forever.
I survived!
What a pleasure!
This contest is one of the big events
organized by the Home
for Holocaust Survivors.
Yes, I've heard about it.
Now...
As part of the program,
there is a beauty pageant
that we are organizing for the fourth time.
Seventh time?
Fourth time.
Yes, I've heard about it.
We're organizing it for the fourth time.
I didn't know but my daughter told me:
"Why don't you do this?
You're very beautiful."
I told her, "I'm not
beautiful. No, no, no!"
She dragged me here today.
Good job.
I told her, "OK, who knows..."
I was told that...
I read in the newspaper
that you were looking for...
Candidates, yes.
No, no...
I was born on June 24th, 1941.
The war started on the 22nd.
Wait, say it again.
The war with Russia
started on June 22, 1941.
That's right.
I was born on June 24th.
In the middle of the war?
Now I get it.
You're saying you
remember things as a baby.
I don't remember anything.
So all you remember are
stories from your parents.
Stories from my father and my mother.
That's fine.
So let's start. What's your name?
Ana.
My name is Heli.
Nice to meet you.
Family name?
Grinis. G-R-I-N-I-S.
Grins.
No, no.
There's another "i" there.
Now, I want to tell you about myself.
I also was a beauty queen once.
I was young and beautiful, OK?
It's not the same concept.
We're looking for a
different kind of beauty.
We don't judge the contestants based on
the ideal body measurements, 90-60-90.
We don't look whether their eyes
are green or brown.
We look at their stories,
and their message for the next generation.
In this event, we're also trying
to raise money for the survivors.
In order to do this, we need the
survivors to tell their difficult stories.
They stand on the stage with pride and say:
"Here we are. We're
telling what happened to us."
It's a very strong message
that resonates around the world
because it will be on television,
all over the world.
Its important that these stories
remain in the public consciousness.
If you want me to tell my story now,
I need to prepare myself.
I can't...
That's OK.
It's not nice to rush things.
It doesn't matter. Come anyway.
OK? So we speak on the phone.
Would you like to have my number?
Yes, sure.
Is that OK?
My name is Heli Ben-David.
My number is 052...
There was a candidate
who came this morning.
She was on a walking stick
and afraid to participate.
So now, we now have 12 candidates.
It's OK.
I need help to shorten their stories
and write them on the computer.
And their messages.
I can help you. No problem.
This time I also added the hobbies.
Everyone will also mention their hobbies.
Why is that?
I'll tell you why.
Some of the contestants...
Their stories are not very...
...not very impressive.
So I want people to learn
about their personalities.
Besides their jobs, their personal stories,
the audience will also see
what they do in their freetime.
Don't you want to find
something more meaningful?
Hobbies are not so...
I think it shows what one loves to do.
After all they've been through,
if they still have hobbies...
It's not an ordinary thing.
OK.
Think of Mania: She writes, she paints.
It's very important
and connects it to the present.
What about those who don't have hobbies?
So they don't.
It's not a problem?
No, it's OK. So I added this new thing.
Rachel Weiner, number 9.
Galina, number 10.
OK? Galina, number 10.
And?
Goldstein.
Goldstein. First name?
Goldstein, Sima.
Sima, you are number 11.
22 contestants of the Miss Israel
Beauty Pageant 1979.
This is Vered Polgar.
Dana Feller, 2nd Prize.
Heres the Beauty Queen.
And Im the Grace Queen.
This is the following year.
Here you have five queens
and two past winners.
They taught us how to walk on the stage.
All the stuff that I teach at the Beauty
Pageant for Holocaust Survivors.
Miss Israel.
We went to Japan.
In kimono. How nice...
Queen for a Day.
Its not true.
Always a queen.
Its not just for one day.
One always stays a queen.
Years go by but...
We stay queens.
Beautiful, wonderful.
OK, lets see.
A little smile. Even if its difficult.
Beautiful.
I dressed especially for the picture.
Yes, I saw it, very beautiful.
Your earrings are knitted, you know?
Yes.
They are knitted. It's very special.
Very special.
They do it by knitting, by hand.
In any case Sophie, thank you so much.
I'm so happy that you're participating.
And we will meet...
It will take your mind away
from this place of sorrow.
You're doing something
that Chava would like you to do.
All these years, you
didn't want to participate.
No, I didn't because I
wanted her to be the focus.
So that she's the star.
Yes.
Now tell me...
about the beginning of the war.
How old were you? How many kids
were there in the family?
We were four kids.
Two parents and four kids.
Yes.
And when we went to Transnistria...
From where?
From Romania.
Yes.
My parents died in the first year.
Both parents?
Yes.
How?
From diseases.
We had paratyphoid. Do you know what it is?
Its typhus in the stomach.
You get constant diarrhea.
We didnt have any food.
And we had non-stop diarrhea, so they died.
We had to take care of ourselves.
Wherever we could find food.
There was so little of it.
They gave food to pigs.
We took the leftovers.
We did whatever we could to survive.
After four years in the camp,
in December 1944, on
Hannukah, we came to Israel.
They decided where every kid would go.
Me and my older brother,
we went to Mikveh Israel.
And Chava and the younger brother
went to Kfar Haroeh.
There were friends. We helped each other.
So we started going out with these guys.
And we married.
Everyone married the first boyfriend
they had, here in Israel.
Four, six...
Seven, eight...
Nine, ten...
Wait, eleven...
Why doesn't it work?
Come forward here.
Stand here.
Now you come.
Come here.
Who's next? Malka, you come here.
Fani... No, you stand here.
Like this. Beautiful. Fani, you stand here.
OK, Batsheva, you stand here.
How many do I have
here? Three by three, OK.
Raya, you stand here.
You stand here, yes.
And Rachel here.
Now I want...
Yes, yes, you can wear it.
As she likes it.
As long as it's comfortable on the stage.
I want to take a picture
for the total number.
Later on, I'll give you
new individual numbers.
One second.
Sophie, Salomea...
It has your number on it.
You don't really need to
pay attention to everything.
But keep an eye on your number.
Chaya Kaspi.
Just one page.
Gurka Malka?
Do we get another one?
No, only one per couple.
Galina Lifschitz... one moment.
Contestant number 8: Fani Amar.
It's all good. Yudith...
No...
Impossible. It won't have
everything word by word.
I've made a summary.
But where does it say that the father...
It's a summary.
And mother took the baby in her arms.
But this is very important.
There is a long version,
and a short version.
This is the short version.
The presenter can't read
your entire story to the audience.
He will read five sentences.
But this is important.
Yes, but we have it.
...and I was walking by foot.
But we have it.
It is written in the longer version.
Yudith Moshkowitz
There you go. One moment.
Raja Reichman?
One moment.
Rachel Weiner.
Thank you.
Thank you contestant number...
Was she 12?
No, she was 12, and she was 11.
OK, nice.
No, no, Rachel!
The second time you don't do it again.
You just walk and come back, OK?
Beautiful.
Now...
Contestant number 13,
Galina,
I tell your story, that you
live at the retirement home.
She was born in Russia.
Leningrad.
Leningrad.
Then comes your lifestory.
The presenters will read that.
Whats your message to the world?
Ladies!
There are some contestants here
who walk the wrong way.
I want to show you how
to walk correctly, OK?
Don't walk like this.
No!
Walk with your arms relaxed.
Relax the arms.
Relaxed arms, OK?
Not like this.
Yes, move the arms.
OK, we begin.
Fast or slow?
No, walk slowly.
Go back to your place.
Not now. Back to your place.
Please stand in your place.
Stand in your place.
Before we begin, why are we so tight?
We need a place for Nancy as well.
So move on a little.
Nancy will stand next to me, we need space.
Move, move!
More to the left. Move a little more.
Move more.
Is it on the floor, or is it
like a stage? No, on the floor.
The audience sits around the stage.
Here and here.
Why dont we build
something of wooden pallets?
The width will be 2.40m.
And the height 20 cm, at least.
But wide enough.
Yes, wide enough. 240 cm.
So that people see them.
Older people are not 1.90m tall.
You can't see them walking on the floor
if you sit 50 meters away.
You don't see. Let me show you.
Do you think that those
20 cm will have an impact?
If one of them falls, it's over.
Red carpet would be a better idea.
I am really afraid of this.
The whole event is worthless if,
God forbid, one of them falls.
Okay.
My fear is that whole
event is not worth it if...
So maybe we have to put ropes?
Ropes are needed, yes.
From 17:30 to 18:45,
entrance of the guests and dinner.
Is there a musical theme at this point?
DJ? Live music?
Background music.
Nice, easy-listening background music.
Wait a second.
If you have some budget,
we could add in some entertainment.
We could bring in entertainers
from the world of beauty.
For example during Purim,
we do interactive stuff
with people sitting on the tables.
It just depends on what you want.
What do you want at the end?
Confetti!
After the announcement,
should we end with the anthem?
Definitely. The national anthem.
The national anthem, of course.
And everybody stands up?
Yes, it's very emotional.
People cry.
People...
People cry during the national anthem.
At the very end, people cry.
It was three years ago.
At around 10:30 p.m. as I
got home, my doorbell rang.
It was a Holocaust survivor
lady and her husband.
She told me about her childhood,
how she suffered like hell.
She was raped by the Germans
during the Holocaust.
She was thirteen at the time.
She told me how important
it was for her to win.
She needed to feel that she won
and say: Here I did win after all!
I cried as I listened to her.
And I saw her willingness to win.
It would be like an answer to
the suffering she endured.
I was very moved and told her:
If it were up to me,
you would be number 1,
but the competition has rules."
Youll become beautiful.
Yes?
You will be the beauty queen, youll see.
Who me? Fine.
Its not about beauty,
its about character.
Not only that.
Not only that, but also the beauty.
Beauty not so much. But its alright.
Thank you.
But really...
Honestly, I mean it.
Of all the activities of Yad Ezer Lechaver,
around 90% of it was made possible
thanks to the evangelical Christians
around the world who love Israel.
They are doing an excellent work.
Let me tell you something.
Recently, there was a proposition
at the UN which said that
the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount
do not belong to the Jewish people.
The Christian ambassadors demonstrated
against this everywhere possible,
on social media and Facebook,
that Jerusalem remains the capital
of Israel forever and ever,
including the Wailing
Wall and the Temple Mount.
We cannot thank them enough.
Wheres the applause? Come on, everyone!
When the war broke you were
with your parents and seven siblings.
Two of them were killed
and you remained with five siblings.
Your two brothers died in the death trains.
You, your mother and your siblings
were hiding in bunkers.
You stayed there until the end of the war.
You survived without food or water.
Now we would like you
to tell us your message,
to the world and the future generations.
I want to address the leaders of the world.
They shouldn't look
down on us like a stigma.
All the nations should survive
together without hating us.
As Jews, we want peace. No more wars.
Thank you Chaya Kaspi!
Wait a second, wait a second.
Do you have a message for Donald Trump?
No.
OK, I just wanted to ask.
Thank you Chaya Kaspi!
You were in Auschwitz and survived there.
Wow, she was in Auschwitz!
What's her name? Carmela.
Number?
Which number?
Wow, at Auschwitz!
Youre a mother of two
and grandmother of eight.
You brothers died from typhus
in the first year of the war.
Your hobbies are solving crosswords,
television, reading newspaper
and books, theater and films.
Now I would like you to tell us
your message to the world
and future generations.
Im Sophie Leibowitz.
Stop the music.
Im participating in memory
of my sister Chava Hershkowitz,
who was the winner of the first
Miss Holocaust Survivor beauty pageant,
which was organized by Yad Ezer Lechaver.
The message to the world is that
we should never go
through the Holocaust again.
The young generation should take
care of their parents.
The leaders of the country should
have a more caring approach
towards the Holocaust survivors.
And many thanks to Shimon Sabag
who takes good care of us.
[In Russian] Perhaps I can say it in
Russian and someone can translate.
To sum it up, she said she wants peace.
She actually said she
wants to speak in Russian.
Then we will translate because
her Hebrew is not so good.
[In Russian] I bow before this country.
I love all of you.
I kiss this holy land.
I need to interrupt for twenty seconds.
I want to welcome the first lady...
Ms. Sara Netanyahu!
She supports this event every year.
Here she comes, applause!
Let's give her a big applause. Thank you.
Let's applaud!
So beautiful!
Do you want to compete with them?
You look so beautiful!
Sorry, that's it!
Then she should get another award.
We don't have another ribbon!
We don't have another crown.
Let's do without the ribbon!
No, no, that's no good.
We need to hurry up.
They are waiting for us.
So wait, about Kaspi?
What?
Second Prize: Yehudith Moshkowitz.
Grace Queen: Carmela Ben Yehuda.
Audience Favorite: number 13, Galina.
What prize do we give to number two?
We can't give any!
I dont have any prizes left.
We only have five prizes.
And now...
The Beauty Queen
of the Holocaust Survivors for 2016 is...
Number 9: Ana Grinis!
Very beautiful.
But everyone is beautiful.
Everyone is a beauty queen.
We also have a crown.
The Beauty Queen: Ana Grinis!
Are you excited?
Very much.
I'm so happy!
I'm so grateful.
Thank you so much.
Now we will sing the national anthem.
Are we ready?
Everyone, please stand up.
Deep in the heart,
the Jewish spirit is yearning.
With eyes turned toward the East,
looking towards Zion,
Then our hope will not be lost,
The hope which is two-thousand-years-old,
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Remember
These are like the others, it's all purple.
Beautiful!
Did you like it?
Sorry, whats your name?
Tami.
Tami, which one did you say?
I'll show you.
Very elegant.
The mustard color with purple...
Let's see what else we have here.
Three,
four,
five...
No, we have it.
It has to be.
I choose this for all of them.
Seven...
I can't cut it for you.
No, it's OK.
Eight...
There is enough.
Nine,
ten.
Wow, it's beautiful!
I also want a scarf.
Yes, that's it!
Perfect!
The tailor will need to check
the measurements again.
It's for Holocaust survivors.
They deserve a discount.
That, we will have to...
What is the price for a meter?
29.
We represent the Home
for Holocaust Survivors.
We're doing a beauty pageant
for Holocaust survivors.
Their ages are between the 70s and 90s.
Yes, that's the age.
So we're asking for a special discount.
Look at it over black.
Beautiful.
It's eye-catching.
Because of the yellow.
The yellow...
I'm imagining it on the
stage, with everyone.
...with everybody.
Perfect.
If there's one extra, I want it.
There will be an extra.
Not everyone is the same size.
If we reduce the size to 1.80m,
we can have one for each us.
The fabric is magnificent.
That purple has a shocking effect.
It's not yellow, it's mustard!
Very beautiful and elegant.
What's the price you have in mind?
100 shekels.
No.
What can you do?
Whatever you can do. As I told you,
this is a very important event.
Where are you?
I need you by the cash register.
I will send Ania upstairs.
29. That means 30.
That makes 600.
Right?
Its OK.
I will ask her to...
500 shekels.
We'll try.
It's a good deed!
Ladies and gentlemen,
I hope that the photographers
and all the TV stations,
including CNN and Al Jazeera
that they are all ready
for this exciting moment.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the winner of our beauty contest,
the winner of Miss Holocaust Survivor
Beauty Pageant 2013 is...
contestant number 2!
Shoshana Kolmer!
Shoshana Kolmer!
Certificate of Participation
in the Beauty Contest
for Holocaust Survivors
2013: Shoshana Kolmer
In Auschwitz, they told us...
"You need to keep working now.
Later you will join your parents."
They told this all day.
And we all knew where
mother and father were.
They were supposed to
wake us up at 4-4:30 a.m.
But they would wake us up at 1 a.m.
and make us wait outside in the snow.
They were such bad souls
and pretended not to know anything.
So that people would
think it's a work-camp.
Home for Holocaust Survivors
Thursday morning, we'll
meet for the rehearsal.
Gideon, we're meeting in the afternoon.
Next Wednesday, we're going to the big show
in front of all the Christians
in Jerusalem. OK?
The night of the Tabernacles fest.
Come on, let's begin Gideon.
Attention everyone.
I survived
I survived, I survived, I survived
I survived, I survived
I also survived against
hostility and hatred
I also feared from loneliness and enmity
I knew that the day would arrive
and the sun would shine again.
I also learned to stay alive in war
My heart, my identity
got lost in the darkness
I knew that all this would pass
Hi, Ela?
Good afternoon, this is Tami
from the Home for Holocaust Survivors.
How are you?
Are you also a Holocaust
survivor? From where?
Romania? Nice.
Listen we don't know you,
but we've heard about you
from the people in our social club.
Yes.
So let me give you an
idea about the contest.
This contest is not about...
Can you hear me?
The contest is not just a beauty contest.
Its about their inner world.
How they survived and remain strong.
Thats what the contest is about.
So were not exactly looking
for beautiful women.
We want women with strong character.
Doesnt matter.
No, no. My pleasure.
So glad you want to participate.
Its a nice atmosphere. Very beautiful.
So you will learn how to catwalk.
There are hair stylists.
From Holocaust to Rebirth
Our policy can be summed up in three words:
Steadfastness against agression.
Steadfastness on defense,
steadfastness on deterrence,
steadfastness against anyone
who threatens to destroy us.
Because today another regime
is threatening Israel,
as well as the peace of the world.
This regime openly states
it wants to destroy us -
the Jewish state.
The nuclear agreement has
unleashed the Iranian regime,
and since then it has been
devouring state after state,
just like Nazi Germany did
in Europe in the 1930s.
I have a message for the leaders of Iran.
This place used to be
very tidy and beautiful.
That's how she was.
She would dress up nicely
and take care of herself.
We were four children.
Chava was the youngest.
She became Miss Holocaust Survivor
because she was a very nice person.
She organized the event.
Some people didn't like
that it was called a beauty pageant.
They said: "Old people
are not beauty queens."
But the name stuck.
Did you ever consider participating?
Me?
No.
Even now I don't like to talk
in front of the camera.
I don't like to be seen.
I'm only talking because
it's in memory of Chava.
I don't like to talk like this.
I'm old.
I can't tell my story like people
who tell it all the time.
I don't talk a lot.
But I sometimes do.
2.5 months ago, when she was sick,
I was quite broken.
She couldn't speak but knew it was the end.
So she held my arm.
To say goodbye.
She couldn't speak.
It's a shame.
But...
It's important to know how to die.
If she was alive,
maybe the competition
would be more organized.
I dont know who theyll bring this year.
Its very hard to find new people.
Were doing this only for them to help us.
So that we could live here.
In order to live here
peacefully in our remaining days.
This is why we participate
in all these activities.
Theres a lot of people
that need to be treated.
We need donations.
Electricity, water... It
costs a lot of money.
But where can we get the money from?
On Wednesday, were traveling to Jerusalem
to the Christian organization.
So we try to do activities
in order to get donations.
With the help of the Christian Embassy,
I know that were
supported and well cared for.
We live a good life.
In spite of all,
we never gave up.
Loudly we shall sing
in the face of the world.
In the name of love, we won't give up,
and together we shall face any crisis.
Were Yad Ezer Lechaver forever.
I survived!
What a pleasure!
This contest is one of the big events
organized by the Home
for Holocaust Survivors.
Yes, I've heard about it.
Now...
As part of the program,
there is a beauty pageant
that we are organizing for the fourth time.
Seventh time?
Fourth time.
Yes, I've heard about it.
We're organizing it for the fourth time.
I didn't know but my daughter told me:
"Why don't you do this?
You're very beautiful."
I told her, "I'm not
beautiful. No, no, no!"
She dragged me here today.
Good job.
I told her, "OK, who knows..."
I was told that...
I read in the newspaper
that you were looking for...
Candidates, yes.
No, no...
I was born on June 24th, 1941.
The war started on the 22nd.
Wait, say it again.
The war with Russia
started on June 22, 1941.
That's right.
I was born on June 24th.
In the middle of the war?
Now I get it.
You're saying you
remember things as a baby.
I don't remember anything.
So all you remember are
stories from your parents.
Stories from my father and my mother.
That's fine.
So let's start. What's your name?
Ana.
My name is Heli.
Nice to meet you.
Family name?
Grinis. G-R-I-N-I-S.
Grins.
No, no.
There's another "i" there.
Now, I want to tell you about myself.
I also was a beauty queen once.
I was young and beautiful, OK?
It's not the same concept.
We're looking for a
different kind of beauty.
We don't judge the contestants based on
the ideal body measurements, 90-60-90.
We don't look whether their eyes
are green or brown.
We look at their stories,
and their message for the next generation.
In this event, we're also trying
to raise money for the survivors.
In order to do this, we need the
survivors to tell their difficult stories.
They stand on the stage with pride and say:
"Here we are. We're
telling what happened to us."
It's a very strong message
that resonates around the world
because it will be on television,
all over the world.
Its important that these stories
remain in the public consciousness.
If you want me to tell my story now,
I need to prepare myself.
I can't...
That's OK.
It's not nice to rush things.
It doesn't matter. Come anyway.
OK? So we speak on the phone.
Would you like to have my number?
Yes, sure.
Is that OK?
My name is Heli Ben-David.
My number is 052...
There was a candidate
who came this morning.
She was on a walking stick
and afraid to participate.
So now, we now have 12 candidates.
It's OK.
I need help to shorten their stories
and write them on the computer.
And their messages.
I can help you. No problem.
This time I also added the hobbies.
Everyone will also mention their hobbies.
Why is that?
I'll tell you why.
Some of the contestants...
Their stories are not very...
...not very impressive.
So I want people to learn
about their personalities.
Besides their jobs, their personal stories,
the audience will also see
what they do in their freetime.
Don't you want to find
something more meaningful?
Hobbies are not so...
I think it shows what one loves to do.
After all they've been through,
if they still have hobbies...
It's not an ordinary thing.
OK.
Think of Mania: She writes, she paints.
It's very important
and connects it to the present.
What about those who don't have hobbies?
So they don't.
It's not a problem?
No, it's OK. So I added this new thing.
Rachel Weiner, number 9.
Galina, number 10.
OK? Galina, number 10.
And?
Goldstein.
Goldstein. First name?
Goldstein, Sima.
Sima, you are number 11.
22 contestants of the Miss Israel
Beauty Pageant 1979.
This is Vered Polgar.
Dana Feller, 2nd Prize.
Heres the Beauty Queen.
And Im the Grace Queen.
This is the following year.
Here you have five queens
and two past winners.
They taught us how to walk on the stage.
All the stuff that I teach at the Beauty
Pageant for Holocaust Survivors.
Miss Israel.
We went to Japan.
In kimono. How nice...
Queen for a Day.
Its not true.
Always a queen.
Its not just for one day.
One always stays a queen.
Years go by but...
We stay queens.
Beautiful, wonderful.
OK, lets see.
A little smile. Even if its difficult.
Beautiful.
I dressed especially for the picture.
Yes, I saw it, very beautiful.
Your earrings are knitted, you know?
Yes.
They are knitted. It's very special.
Very special.
They do it by knitting, by hand.
In any case Sophie, thank you so much.
I'm so happy that you're participating.
And we will meet...
It will take your mind away
from this place of sorrow.
You're doing something
that Chava would like you to do.
All these years, you
didn't want to participate.
No, I didn't because I
wanted her to be the focus.
So that she's the star.
Yes.
Now tell me...
about the beginning of the war.
How old were you? How many kids
were there in the family?
We were four kids.
Two parents and four kids.
Yes.
And when we went to Transnistria...
From where?
From Romania.
Yes.
My parents died in the first year.
Both parents?
Yes.
How?
From diseases.
We had paratyphoid. Do you know what it is?
Its typhus in the stomach.
You get constant diarrhea.
We didnt have any food.
And we had non-stop diarrhea, so they died.
We had to take care of ourselves.
Wherever we could find food.
There was so little of it.
They gave food to pigs.
We took the leftovers.
We did whatever we could to survive.
After four years in the camp,
in December 1944, on
Hannukah, we came to Israel.
They decided where every kid would go.
Me and my older brother,
we went to Mikveh Israel.
And Chava and the younger brother
went to Kfar Haroeh.
There were friends. We helped each other.
So we started going out with these guys.
And we married.
Everyone married the first boyfriend
they had, here in Israel.
Four, six...
Seven, eight...
Nine, ten...
Wait, eleven...
Why doesn't it work?
Come forward here.
Stand here.
Now you come.
Come here.
Who's next? Malka, you come here.
Fani... No, you stand here.
Like this. Beautiful. Fani, you stand here.
OK, Batsheva, you stand here.
How many do I have
here? Three by three, OK.
Raya, you stand here.
You stand here, yes.
And Rachel here.
Now I want...
Yes, yes, you can wear it.
As she likes it.
As long as it's comfortable on the stage.
I want to take a picture
for the total number.
Later on, I'll give you
new individual numbers.
One second.
Sophie, Salomea...
It has your number on it.
You don't really need to
pay attention to everything.
But keep an eye on your number.
Chaya Kaspi.
Just one page.
Gurka Malka?
Do we get another one?
No, only one per couple.
Galina Lifschitz... one moment.
Contestant number 8: Fani Amar.
It's all good. Yudith...
No...
Impossible. It won't have
everything word by word.
I've made a summary.
But where does it say that the father...
It's a summary.
And mother took the baby in her arms.
But this is very important.
There is a long version,
and a short version.
This is the short version.
The presenter can't read
your entire story to the audience.
He will read five sentences.
But this is important.
Yes, but we have it.
...and I was walking by foot.
But we have it.
It is written in the longer version.
Yudith Moshkowitz
There you go. One moment.
Raja Reichman?
One moment.
Rachel Weiner.
Thank you.
Thank you contestant number...
Was she 12?
No, she was 12, and she was 11.
OK, nice.
No, no, Rachel!
The second time you don't do it again.
You just walk and come back, OK?
Beautiful.
Now...
Contestant number 13,
Galina,
I tell your story, that you
live at the retirement home.
She was born in Russia.
Leningrad.
Leningrad.
Then comes your lifestory.
The presenters will read that.
Whats your message to the world?
Ladies!
There are some contestants here
who walk the wrong way.
I want to show you how
to walk correctly, OK?
Don't walk like this.
No!
Walk with your arms relaxed.
Relax the arms.
Relaxed arms, OK?
Not like this.
Yes, move the arms.
OK, we begin.
Fast or slow?
No, walk slowly.
Go back to your place.
Not now. Back to your place.
Please stand in your place.
Stand in your place.
Before we begin, why are we so tight?
We need a place for Nancy as well.
So move on a little.
Nancy will stand next to me, we need space.
Move, move!
More to the left. Move a little more.
Move more.
Is it on the floor, or is it
like a stage? No, on the floor.
The audience sits around the stage.
Here and here.
Why dont we build
something of wooden pallets?
The width will be 2.40m.
And the height 20 cm, at least.
But wide enough.
Yes, wide enough. 240 cm.
So that people see them.
Older people are not 1.90m tall.
You can't see them walking on the floor
if you sit 50 meters away.
You don't see. Let me show you.
Do you think that those
20 cm will have an impact?
If one of them falls, it's over.
Red carpet would be a better idea.
I am really afraid of this.
The whole event is worthless if,
God forbid, one of them falls.
Okay.
My fear is that whole
event is not worth it if...
So maybe we have to put ropes?
Ropes are needed, yes.
From 17:30 to 18:45,
entrance of the guests and dinner.
Is there a musical theme at this point?
DJ? Live music?
Background music.
Nice, easy-listening background music.
Wait a second.
If you have some budget,
we could add in some entertainment.
We could bring in entertainers
from the world of beauty.
For example during Purim,
we do interactive stuff
with people sitting on the tables.
It just depends on what you want.
What do you want at the end?
Confetti!
After the announcement,
should we end with the anthem?
Definitely. The national anthem.
The national anthem, of course.
And everybody stands up?
Yes, it's very emotional.
People cry.
People...
People cry during the national anthem.
At the very end, people cry.
It was three years ago.
At around 10:30 p.m. as I
got home, my doorbell rang.
It was a Holocaust survivor
lady and her husband.
She told me about her childhood,
how she suffered like hell.
She was raped by the Germans
during the Holocaust.
She was thirteen at the time.
She told me how important
it was for her to win.
She needed to feel that she won
and say: Here I did win after all!
I cried as I listened to her.
And I saw her willingness to win.
It would be like an answer to
the suffering she endured.
I was very moved and told her:
If it were up to me,
you would be number 1,
but the competition has rules."
Youll become beautiful.
Yes?
You will be the beauty queen, youll see.
Who me? Fine.
Its not about beauty,
its about character.
Not only that.
Not only that, but also the beauty.
Beauty not so much. But its alright.
Thank you.
But really...
Honestly, I mean it.
Of all the activities of Yad Ezer Lechaver,
around 90% of it was made possible
thanks to the evangelical Christians
around the world who love Israel.
They are doing an excellent work.
Let me tell you something.
Recently, there was a proposition
at the UN which said that
the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount
do not belong to the Jewish people.
The Christian ambassadors demonstrated
against this everywhere possible,
on social media and Facebook,
that Jerusalem remains the capital
of Israel forever and ever,
including the Wailing
Wall and the Temple Mount.
We cannot thank them enough.
Wheres the applause? Come on, everyone!
When the war broke you were
with your parents and seven siblings.
Two of them were killed
and you remained with five siblings.
Your two brothers died in the death trains.
You, your mother and your siblings
were hiding in bunkers.
You stayed there until the end of the war.
You survived without food or water.
Now we would like you
to tell us your message,
to the world and the future generations.
I want to address the leaders of the world.
They shouldn't look
down on us like a stigma.
All the nations should survive
together without hating us.
As Jews, we want peace. No more wars.
Thank you Chaya Kaspi!
Wait a second, wait a second.
Do you have a message for Donald Trump?
No.
OK, I just wanted to ask.
Thank you Chaya Kaspi!
You were in Auschwitz and survived there.
Wow, she was in Auschwitz!
What's her name? Carmela.
Number?
Which number?
Wow, at Auschwitz!
Youre a mother of two
and grandmother of eight.
You brothers died from typhus
in the first year of the war.
Your hobbies are solving crosswords,
television, reading newspaper
and books, theater and films.
Now I would like you to tell us
your message to the world
and future generations.
Im Sophie Leibowitz.
Stop the music.
Im participating in memory
of my sister Chava Hershkowitz,
who was the winner of the first
Miss Holocaust Survivor beauty pageant,
which was organized by Yad Ezer Lechaver.
The message to the world is that
we should never go
through the Holocaust again.
The young generation should take
care of their parents.
The leaders of the country should
have a more caring approach
towards the Holocaust survivors.
And many thanks to Shimon Sabag
who takes good care of us.
[In Russian] Perhaps I can say it in
Russian and someone can translate.
To sum it up, she said she wants peace.
She actually said she
wants to speak in Russian.
Then we will translate because
her Hebrew is not so good.
[In Russian] I bow before this country.
I love all of you.
I kiss this holy land.
I need to interrupt for twenty seconds.
I want to welcome the first lady...
Ms. Sara Netanyahu!
She supports this event every year.
Here she comes, applause!
Let's give her a big applause. Thank you.
Let's applaud!
So beautiful!
Do you want to compete with them?
You look so beautiful!
Sorry, that's it!
Then she should get another award.
We don't have another ribbon!
We don't have another crown.
Let's do without the ribbon!
No, no, that's no good.
We need to hurry up.
They are waiting for us.
So wait, about Kaspi?
What?
Second Prize: Yehudith Moshkowitz.
Grace Queen: Carmela Ben Yehuda.
Audience Favorite: number 13, Galina.
What prize do we give to number two?
We can't give any!
I dont have any prizes left.
We only have five prizes.
And now...
The Beauty Queen
of the Holocaust Survivors for 2016 is...
Number 9: Ana Grinis!
Very beautiful.
But everyone is beautiful.
Everyone is a beauty queen.
We also have a crown.
The Beauty Queen: Ana Grinis!
Are you excited?
Very much.
I'm so happy!
I'm so grateful.
Thank you so much.
Now we will sing the national anthem.
Are we ready?
Everyone, please stand up.
Deep in the heart,
the Jewish spirit is yearning.
With eyes turned toward the East,
looking towards Zion,
Then our hope will not be lost,
The hope which is two-thousand-years-old,
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Remember