The Ciesla Foundation

The Ciesla Foundation is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit documentary film organization founded by filmmaker Aviva Kempner. For over 45 years, Ciesla has produced award-winning documentaries that recover untold stories of Jewish heroes who challenged fascism, antisemitism, racism, and injustice.Our films include the Peabody Award-winning The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, Partisans of Vilna, Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg, Rosenwald, The Spy Behind Home Plate, Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting, and A Pocketful of Miracles: A Tale of Two Siblings.Our current production is Ben Hecht: A Child of the Century, a documentary about the celebrated Hollywood screenwriter who used his platform to expose the Holocaust to the American public and fight for the rescue of Jewish victims during World War II.The Ciesla Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt educational organization. Support our work at cieslafoundation.org/donate.