Heartstone Studios is running a crowd funding campaign for a short documentary film based on the memories of Dutch holocaust survivor Ernst Van Gelderen.

At 3 years old, Van Gelderen was sent into hiding for his own safety. On September 7, 1943, a Dutch policeman working for the Nazis discovered him. He and the couple hiding him were locked up in Scheveningen Prison. He was then sent on to the Dutch Theater or Hollandsche Schouwburg. Finally, he was put on a train headed to the concentration camps. By some miracle he was snatched off of the train by a member of the underground resistance and saved from certain death. Hence the title of both Van Gelderen’s memoirs and the film, I Missed My Train.

After 71 years, Ernst Van Gelderen is ready to share his incredible story of survival during World War II with Seattle documentary filmmaker Elke Hautala. Hautala, along with her production partner Michael Kleven, have begun a month-long crowd funding campaign through the website Indie Go Go in partnership with the non-profit Filmmaker’s Alliance. The team is raising funds to create a short documentary film based on Van Gelderen’s memories with planned educational screenings in Seattle and the Netherlands at places such as the Holocaust Center for Humanity. They have already reached nearly 25% of their estimated target for funding with 23 days still to go.

Hautala explains: “It’s a story from that time with an unusually heartwarming ending that gives us universal insight into how this whole generation of children dealt with unimaginable trauma, questioned their fate and developed ties beyond blood relatives.” Van Gelderen himself states in his memoir, “…If I think about the fact that I was very close to a premature departure from this world, the question comes to mind: ‘Why me? Why was another child not standing closer to that door?’ Those are questions that cannot be answered in this life, so call it coincidence, predestination or karma.”

Pre-production began in August through collaborative research with the University of Washington and will continue through November 19th when the crew will head overseas for filming. They will shoot on location in the Netherlands for ten days in November with Ernst revisiting sites of his experiences during the war. They also feel strongly about connecting to the local area and will be filming several staged re-enactments here in the Pacific Northwest in early 2015. The estimated release date for the film is timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Dutch Liberation Day – May 5, 2015.

Hautala, a graduate of University of Washington’s Comparative History of Ideas program, and Kleven recently finished a short film for renowned local glass blowing artist Preston Singletary. That project, A Modern Creation Story, will be screening at the Local Sightings film festival on September 28th at 3:30pm. They have recently launched a collaborative production company called Heartstone Studios. Their goal is to bring the high quality aesthetic of commercial work to the storytelling of documentary for a new hybrid style.

Fiscal sponsorship through Filmmaker’s Alliance makes all donations to the project tax-deductible. Those interested in contributing visit: http://igg.me/at/Imissedmytrain. For more information on Heartstone Studios visit: www.heartstonestudios.com. Contact Elke at the phone or e-mail above to find out more about the film, set up an interview with Ernst or set up a future screening.