I still remember when my mom asked me if I wanted to take part in a Holocaust video project that was being created by our synagogue in Pennsylvania. Of course I did—who wouldn’t want to be in a movie! Soon after, though, I realized the movie was going to teach me much more than just how to use a boom and work a video camera.

I'll admit—I originally wanted to go to a screening of the 2006 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award-winning documentary God Grew Tired of Us so badly because Brad Pitt was listed as one of the producers, and I thought he and Angie might show. They didn't—however, it was still worth the bumper-to-bumper drive up the freeway to where the film screened, followed by a panel discussion at the American Jewish University (AJU) in Los Angeles, California.