Big Sonia

2016
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

459

YOUR RATING

National treasure, local celebrity, Holocaust Survivor: Sonia (89) has just been served an eviction notice for the last (and most popular) shop left in a dying suburban mall. Following Sonia on the motivational speaker circuit to schools and prisons, even as she navigates her own struggles. BIG SONIA explores what it means to be a survivor and how trauma is passed down through generations. Will you let your trauma define you? Or will your past make you stronger? Following Sonia on the motivational speaker circuit to schools and prisons even as she navigates her own struggles BIG SONIA explores what it means to be a survivor and how trauma is passed down through generations. Will you let your trauma define you? Or will your past make you stronger?

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Documentary Family History

In the last store in a defunct shopping mall, 91-year-old Sonia Warshawski - great-grandmother, businesswoman, and Holocaust survivor - runs the tailor shop she's owned for more than thirty ... Read allIn the last store in a defunct shopping mall, 91-year-old Sonia Warshawski - great-grandmother, businesswoman, and Holocaust survivor - runs the tailor shop she's owned for more than thirty years. But when she's served an eviction notice, the specter of retirement prompts Sonia t... Read allIn the last store in a defunct shopping mall, 91-year-old Sonia Warshawski - great-grandmother, businesswoman, and Holocaust survivor - runs the tailor shop she's owned for more than thirty years. But when she's served an eviction notice, the specter of retirement prompts Sonia to revisit her harrowing past as a refugee and witness to genocide. A poignant story of gen... Read all

Directors
- Todd Soliday
- Leah Warshawski
Writer
- Eric Frith
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

459

YOUR RATING

Directors
- Todd Soliday
- Leah Warshawski
Writer
- Eric Frith
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 wins & 3 nominations total

Self
(as Caroline Kennedy)

Regina Kort

Self

Debbie Warshawski

Self

Morrie Warshawski

Self

Directors
- Todd Soliday
- Leah Warshawski
Writer
- Eric Frith
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Quotes
Sonia Warshawski: Remember: Whenever you are down, look more down, and you'll be on top. - Sonia Warshawski, citing her mother.

User reviews20

Review

Featured review

10/10

Poignant, inspiring, and truly relevant, Big Sonia is a must see.

This film is an exceptional educational tool, and is also entertaining, insightful, and heart-warming despite, or because of, the subject matter. The Holocaust, Jewish history, and Sonia's story, are all-too-relevant for world events today. Sonia and her family remind us that we must never forget. A true family affair and labor of love, Big Sonia blends the past with the present, and also gives hope for the future.

I saw Big Sonia at The Quad Cinema in New York, followed by a Q&A with directors Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday, and with Evi Blaikie, board member of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. It was an honor to meet Sonia herself in person, and she said: "tell your friends to see the movie".