Alan & Naomi
| Alan & Naomi | |
|---|---|
 U.S. videocassette cover | |
| Directed by | Sterling Van Wagenen |
| Written by | Myron Levoy Jordan Horowitz |
| Based on | Alan & Naomi by Myron Levoy |
| Starring | Lukas Haas Vanessa Zaoui |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Leucadia Film Corporation (original release)[1] PorchLight Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | under US$3 million[1] |
Alan & Naomi is a 1992 film about the friendship between two children in 1944 Brooklyn.[2] Lukas Haas and Vanessa Zaoui star as the title characters, and the screenplay is based on a 1977 novel of the same name by Myron Levoy.
Premise
[edit]After initial urging from his parents, 14-year-old Alan Silverman (Haas) develops an emotional friendship with Naomi Kirshenbaum (Zaoui), who has been deeply troubled since seeing her father killed by the Nazis in Europe.
Background
[edit]Myron Levoy's original 1977 novel was an American Book Award Finalist for Children's Literature and an honor book for the Jane Addams Children's Book Award,[3] the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and The Horn Book. Alan & Naomi received the National Book Awards For Children's Literature in Germany and Austria,[4][5][6] and the Dutch Silver Pencil Prize.[7] In 1986 Alan & Naomi was adapted for a theatrical play, Geheime Freunde, by Rudolf Herfurtner.[8] The novel has been translated into eleven languages.[3]
Production
[edit]Alan & Naomi was the first project from Leucadia Film Corporation,[1] a Salt Lake City, Utah company founded in 1989[9] "by producers Sterling Van Wagenen and David Anderson and entrepreneur Ian Cumming".[1] It was also Van Wagenen's theatrical directorial debut; in the mid-1980s, he had also helmed a Holocaust television documentary called Inside the Vicious Heart.[1]
Release
[edit]During its original 1992 run, Alan & Naomi was released in 100 theatres in 19 U.S. cities.[1] On February 8, 1999, Canadian family-entertainment company CINAR acquired the film as part of its purchase of the twelve-title Leucadia library.[9]
Reception
[edit]The film won the Crystal Heart Award at the 1992 Heartland Film Festival. Vanessa Zaoui was also nominated for the 1993 Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Motion Picture.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Orme, Terry (1992-01-31). "Home-Grown Premiere: Utah-Based Producers Release First Film". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. C1. Retrieved 2023-01-26 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Kempley, Rita (1992-01-31). "Alan & Naomi". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b Maughan, Shannon (February 27, 2020). "Obituary: Myron Levoy". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ^ "Der gelbe Vogel". Der Buxtehuder Bulle (in German). Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ "Buch: Der gelbe Vogel". Arbeitskreis Jugendliteratur (in German). Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ Bundesministerium Kunst, Kultur, öffentlicher Dienst und Sport. "Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis" (in Austrian German). Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- ^ "Griffels, Penselen en Paletten – Bekroonde boeken sinds 1954". Stichting Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlands Boek (in Dutch). Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- ^ "Young Theatre bonn: "Secret Friends" based on the novel by Myron Levoy". Theaterkompass. Theater Compass. 15 May 2010. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Cinar Acquires Leucadia Film Corporation Family-Film Library". Business Wire (Press release). 1999-02-08. Retrieved 2023-01-26 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Be Moved by the Power of Film - See "Tomorrow" Today" (Press release). Heartland Film Festival. 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
External links
[edit]- Alan & Naomi at IMDb
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