The Unburdened is a short film exploring the lasting impact of generational trauma on Jews, shaped by two millennia of relentless antisemitism. The film recently held its world premiere during the 2025 Soho International Film Festival.

While preparing yellow stars for a Holocaust memorial program at school—and facing opposition from an anonymous parent—Shayna (Elana Safar) gets a call from her childhood friend Marissa (Elisabeth Ness), who urges her to help dig up their long-buried time capsule before a landscaper tears up the yard ahead of the home going on the market. When an argument drives them apart, Shayna goes ahead on her own, uncovering truths about their friendship and family histories that speak to the lingering impact of generational trauma.

My understanding is that The Unburdened was developed well before October 7 happened. But to give you an idea of just how much Jew-hatred has had an impact, in the days and weeks after October 7—as antisemitism surged in the worst way possible across the globe—my friends and I were having conversations about who would hide us. These are not normal conversations. And yet, they show just how deeply generational trauma has affected us over the past 2,000 years. My second great-grandmother was killed during the Holocaust. Both great-grandfathers on my father’s side had siblings who were murdered. My family was mostly lucky, with most having escaped Europe before the war.

The Unburdened is right in showing how important it is to remember the tragedy of the Holocaust. Some might not like it, but the fact of the matter is that Holocaust education in America is not great. Don’t get me started on those who deny it even happened. What happens when the survivors are gone and no one is left alive to tell their stories? That’s where books, documentaries, and museums must carry on the mission. Years from now, we’ll likely be having the same discussion when it comes to the October 7 hostages and survivors.

“I was traumatized by other people’s generational trauma,” Marissa tells Shayna while digging for the time capsule.

It’s only during the back half of The Unburdened that the audience learns the film’s central secret. Because it runs just 13 minutes, I’m not sure I should reveal what that secret is. Aside from its exploration of generational trauma, I think it works best to discover it as the film unfolds. Beyond that, Aaron Symonds’ score fits perfectly with what the film is trying to convey.

The Unburdened isn’t just a short film about generational trauma; it also offers a Torah lesson. After Shayna gets back, Ellie (Reese Bogin) wakes up—probably from overhearing the discussion between her grandmother Nancy (Eve Austin) and Shayna. Ellie immediately responds, “It’s just like Amalek.” She further specifies, “The Torah says that we’re supposed to remember what Amalek did to us.” This is true. In fact, Chabad siddurim list it as part of the Six Remembrances at the end of Shabbos davening.

As The Unburdened reminds us, we’re commanded to remember what Amalek did to us on our journey out of Egypt. It’s not just that we should remember what Amalek did, but we’re also commanded to blot out his memory from beneath the heavens. It can be rather confusing in that regard.

“You can’t forget and remember at the same time,” Shayna says. I’m sure there have been countless discussions about this over the years in yeshivas, Sunday schools, and Hebrew schools alike. As Nancy says, “Debate and differences of opinion—that’s part of who we are.” You know what they say—two Jews, three opinions!

On the Jewish calendar, we just finished the last cycle of Torah readings before starting anew on Simchas Torah. It doesn’t matter how often we read the Torah; there’s always something new to take in during every parshah. And to think—you probably weren’t expecting a Torah lesson while reading a review of The Unburdened, were you?

Because The Unburdened discusses the mitzvot relating to Amalek, I found myself diving deep into both Sefaria and Chabad. In his teachings, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, z”l, argued that the mitzvah of erasing Amalek’s memory can only be fulfilled when all Jews are living in Israel. This is easier said than done, but it’s right there in the text:

“This mitzvah is only incumbent when all the Jewish people are living in the Land of Israel, in a state of peace. As the verse states explicitly: ‘When G-d, your G-d, gives you relief from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which G-d, your G-d, is giving to you… you must erase any reminder of Amalek’ (v. 19).”

Indeed, the land that G-d gave us is Israel. As long as we are in galus, we cannot perform the mitzvah of forgetting Amalek. And even if all of us were gathered in Israel right now, we would still need relief from our surrounding enemies. This definitely won’t happen until after Moshiach arrives. My understanding is that we won’t have any sort of peace until after the war of Gog and Magog, but one thing at a time.

In the end, The Unburdened isn’t just about what we uncover from the past—it’s about how we carry it forward. Some histories are known, others forgotten, but all shape who we are. The film is a reminder that remembrance is not optional: Jew-hatred is still very real, and memory—both personal and collective—is a form of resistance. To confront the past is to confront the present, and The Unburdened does both with quiet power.

DIRECTOR: Arnon Z. Shorr
SCREENWRITERS: Elana Safar and Arnon Z. Shorr
CAST: Elana Safar, Elisabeth Ness, Eve Austin, Reese Bogin

The Unburdened holds its Southwest premiere during the 2025 Austin Jewish Film Festival. It will screen with The Floaters and in Shorts Program 2. Grade: 4/5

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