We Dared to Write:
animating a diary that outlived its writer
The film
We Dared to Write is a sixty-minute documentary produced by Project Witness, drawing on diaries kept by teenagers during the Holocaust. Animation appears alongside survivor testimony and commentary from historians.
Jeff Choi served as animation director for the full film. Elaion Studio produced the segment on Yitskhok Rudashevski, released separately as The Little Giant of Vilna.
The film premiered at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan in July 2025.
The story
Yitskhok Rudashevski was thirteen when he was forced into the Vilna Ghetto in September 1941. In his diary, he recorded the daily life around him: reading, friendships and cultural activity alongside fear and persecution.
He was murdered at Ponar in 1943, aged fifteen. His cousin, Sore Voloshin, later recovered the diary, which survives as a record of Jewish life in the Vilna Ghetto.
Why animation
The diary gives an account of experiences that cannot simply be filmed today. Animation lets us build scenes around Yitskhok's words, using historical references to guide the visual interpretation.
The approach also gives us choices about how to represent violence. In the segment's treatment of Ponar, suggestion and sound help carry the moment without relying on graphic depiction.
Our approach
Yitskhok's diary entries form the basis of the narration. We developed the scenes around those words, researching period detail and discussing the depiction choices with Project Witness.
Elaion Studio also handled voice casting and direction for the segment, looking for a performance that could carry a teenager's words with clarity and restraint.
Storyboards, visual design, animation and sound were developed through review with Project Witness. The work called for attention to both the historical setting and the everyday experiences the diary preserves.
Watch the work
The full documentary and The Little Giant of Vilna are available through Project Witness. Rental is offered on their website.
Developing a documentary?
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