Aida's Secrets

Family secrets, lies, high drama and generations of contemporary history unspool in this documentary detective story that begins with World War II and concludes with an emotional 21st-century family reunion. Izak was born inside the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp in 1945 and sent for adoption in Israel. Secret details of his birth mother, an unknown brother in Canada and his father's true identity slowly emerge in this extremely personal investigative film. Timely questions of identity, resilience, compassion and the plight of displaced persons are brought to life as Izak and Shep, the almost 70-year-old brothers, finally meet in Canada, then head to a nursing home in Quebec to introduce Shep to his elderly mother, Aida, for the first time. Tight-lipped as she is, even Aida cannot take all her secrets with her to the grave.   - Chris McDonald, Hot Docs Festival Catalog