Caption: The Frank, van Pels and Gies families celebrate Hanukkah in the upcoming limited series A SMALL LIGHT
National Geographic is getting in on the whole Hanukah holiday spirit thing, but not until the spring. That is when its new series, produced by Israel’s Keshet studios, about Anne Frank’s family “A Small Light” will premiere. For now, people will have to settle with just a picture from the show that was released.
National Geographic and Disney+. Will air “Small Light” which stars Liev Schreiber, as a Jewish businessman in Germany during the Holocaust who asked an employee to help save him and his family. 20-something secretary Miep Gies (Bel Powley), did not hesitate when her boss Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber) asked for help.
So, what does a Holocaust story have to do with Hanukah? Well, a segment in the show portrays the family in hiding lighting the Hanukah candles.
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National Geographic says A Small Light reflects on the holiday’s themes of resistance, resilience and courage. The released image shows Miep and Jan Gies, the Frank family, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer in a scene from the show in which they gather to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights while hidden in the secret annex.
The eight-episode limited series tells the remarkable story asked her to hide him and his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan (Joe Cole) and several other everyday heroes watched over the eight souls hiding in the secret annex. It was Miep who found Anne’s diary and preserved it so that she and Otto could later share it with the world. The series title comes from something Gies said late in her life: “I don’t like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be special to help others. Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room.”
Also in the photo is Amira Casar, who plays Edith Frank, mother to Margot and Anne; Billie Boullet, who portrays Anne Frank; and Ashley Brooke, who plays Anne’s older sister Margot Frank. The remaining cast includes Eleanor Tomlinson as Tess (Miep’s best friend), Andy Nyman as Hermann van Pels, Caroline Catz as Auguste van Pels, and Noah Taylor as Dr. Fritz Pfeffer, who all hid in the annex with the Frank family; Sally Messham as Bep Voskuijl, Ian McElhinney as Johannes Kleiman, and Nicholas Burns as Victor Kugler, Miep’s coworkers; and Liza Sadovy as Mrs. Stoppelman, Laurie Kynaston as Casmir, and Sebastian Armesto as Max Stoppelman.
A Small Light is produced by ABC Signature in partnership with Keshet Studios for National Geographic. Executive producers and writers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan (ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Council of Dads”) serve as showrunners, and DGA award-winner and Emmy®-nominated executive producer Susanna Fogel (“The Flight Attendant,” “Cat Person”) directs multiple episodes, including the pilot. Executive producers are Peter Traugott and Lisa Roos for Keshet Studios, Alon Shtruzman for Keshet International, and Avi Nir for Keshet Media Group.
