"The Flying Dutchman" A Documentary Film
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Help turn a 100-year-old Auschwitz survivor’s remarkable life story into a documentary
Hi, I’m David Mann, my father David “Dickie” Groenteman has one of the most remarkable life stories you will ever hear.
Dickie is one of the oldest living survivors of Auschwitz in Australia.
Born in 1923 in Amsterdam, this boy from Holland was a national ice hockey star at just 17 before Germany invaded the Netherlands and his life changed forever.
My father would survive death row and the death camps before making a remarkable journey across Europe to be reunited with his mother and grandmother (my grandmother and great-grandmother) who’d hidden in an attic for 3 years.
Dickie’s story doesn’t end there.
In search of a new life, he boarded a flight with his young family to shores as far from the tortures of his past as a plane would take him.
Dickie went on to become a hockey legend in Australia, hand-building rinks and helping promote the sport across the country.
The Flying Dutchman Podcast (available on Spotify or Apple) was the first time Dickie had shared every intimate, unfathomable and inspiring chapter of his life story.
The podcast has been downloaded more than 30,000 times and was #12 in Australia on the Apple Podcast Charts.
THE MISSION
After the success of the podcast about his life and calls from listeners to have his life story turned into a documentary, I’ve started this fundraising page to make it happen.
Dickie turns 100 in June.
He will travel back to his home city of Amsterdam to celebrate his milestone birthday.
This could be the final time The Flying Dutchman takes flight.
Time is of the essence.
Storyteller and creator of The Flying Dutchman Podcast, Mac Lyon, will be joining Dickie for the trip to document these final chapters.
He then plans to turn Dickie’s story into a feature-length documentary (see more details below).
So far Mac and our family have funded every step of this journey with no financial benefit to anyone involved.
This pursuit has purely been driven by our united desire to ensure Dickie’s story is not lost.
We believe the world could learn a lot from the wisdom of survivors like Dickie.
The harsh lessons he learned and perspectives gained remain as poignant today as they did more than 8 decades ago.
Dickie’s call for peace is simple but powerful: stop the senseless killing and coexist.
We hope you agree and can help us make that happen.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
As well as the noble act of supporting our mission to capture Dickie’s story and spread his wisdom to the wider community, those who support the film in this stage will be part of the journey receiving regular updates as the project progresses.
We'll also, of course, provide all contributors with a link to watch the film online once it is completed and launched.
THE PLAN
Sydney | June 9-12 2023
- Capture Dickie’s birthday on home soil with Australian friends, family and ice hockey fraternity.
- Filming and interviewing at the 100th Birthday celebration in Sydney
Europe | June 12-30 2023
- Amsterdam, Netherlands – film and interview at his 100th Birthday celebration in Amsterdam
- Film key sites include his childhood home, school, ice hockey arena, the train station where he was arrested, jail and his death row cell
- The Rhein River - where the bridges were bombed
- Harlem - Attic where mother and grandmother were house
- Holland Death Camps
- Blankenburg, Belgium - father’s old house and business
- Krakow, Poland - Auschwitz Camp
- Austria - Mauthausen Camp
- Linz, Austria - retrace steps after liberation.
- Paris, France - where he flew to after the war
BUDGET ($AUD)
• Hire a film crew and cameras $15,000
• Travel - $15,000
• Labour - project development & research $3,000
• Teaser editing and production $5,000
• Animations $2,000
Total = $40,000
TIMEFRAME FOR COMPLETION
We expect that it will take between ~12 months to complete the production stage, after which we will begin post-production which will take a further 2-3 months to complete the film and have it ready for release.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about my father and for supporting our mission to immortalise his life story.
Organizer and beneficiary
David Mann
Organizer
Ormeau, QLD
Mackenzie Lyon
Beneficiary