By Katrina Medoff
In the 2017 Academy Award-nominated short documentary Joe’s Violin, 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Joseph Feingold donates the violin that he bought after World War II before immigrating to the United States. The instrument ends up in the hands of Bronx student Brianna Perez, who’s passionate about music and has dreams of attending a performing arts high school.
NYWIFT member Katrina Medoff spoke with director and producer Kahane Cooperman about her inspiration for the documentary, her Oscar nomination and her experience with having New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) fiscally sponsor the film.
Director/Producer Kahane Cooperman
How did you first hear about Joe’s story, and when did you know you had to make a documentary out of it?
Kahane Cooperman: I was driving to work, listening to the car radio and heard a promo for the station’s instrument drive that mentioned a few of the donations that had already come in, including a violin from a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor. I wondered if the violin had a story. When I met with the donor, Joseph Feingold, I knew it was worth pursuing as a film and decided to follow the violin to see where it would land.
What was your experience with having NYWIFT fiscally sponsor Joe’s Violin, and what was your fundraising process like?
This film was a labor of love, primarily financed through a Kickstarter fundraising campaign. However, those donations that we received outside of Kickstarter came to us via our NYWIFT fiscal sponsorship. It was wonderful to offer backers a tax-deductible option for their donation. Also, I was proud to be affiliated with an organization that supports women.
There’s a lovely image toward the end of your film in which Joe shakes the hand of a young girl at the school, and we learn that after Brianna graduates, another student will receive the violin, then another, and so on. Can you talk about what happens after the documentary ends?
Brianna did indeed audition for performing arts high schools in NYC playing on Joe’s violin. She was one of 10 kids accepted to Talent Unlimited, which was her first choice!
What is the legacy of the violin, and have Brianna and Joe kept in contact?
At Brianna’s eighth-grade graduation ceremony from the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls, Brianna passed the violin down to the next recipient, a talented young student musician named Nya. The violin will continue to passed down forever through the school. Brianna and Joe are now connected for life —you see the moment they first meet in the film, but their bond continues today. They write letters to each other and see each other at screenings and events. Whenever they are together, they are smiling with arms around each other. There is a real love there.
Brianna and Joe (via ff2media.com)
The theme of immigration struck me as especially relevant today. Do you view your film differently under the current political climate?
The film has many themes but yes, since the election, the idea that this is an immigrant story has special resonance. Joe came here as refugee after WWII and Brianna is the daughter of parents who emigrated from the Dominican Republic.
The most touching moment of the film for me was when Joe asked, “Sometimes I wonder: do I really deserve it? What did I do?” and Brianna answered, “You never gave up. That’s what you did. You had hope.” Her wisdom seems far beyond her years. What was the most touching moment for you?
I agree that was an astounding moment—to hear those words and that wisdom come from a 12-year-old girl. I love that the surprise of that moment is even reflected in our cinematographer Bob Richman’s quick move off of Joe and onto Brianna. Honestly, watching this whole story unfold was so full of touching moments—I was pretty much weepy the entire time.
Joe’s Violin was included in NYWIFT’s Women Calling the Shots shorts screening at the Hamptons Film Festival. Can you tell us about your experience at this fest?
Being included in the Women Calling the Shots screening at HFF was such an honor. I was thrilled to be on the panel with the other filmmakers and impressive women leaders. There’s so much great work being done by women—we need more of it!
Finally, congratulations on the Oscar nomination for this film! How did you find out that your film was nominated, and what has changed for the film (in terms of distribution and press) since the nomination?
My producer Raphaela Neihausen and I watched the Oscar nominations from the couch in my living room as they were announced on Good Morning America. We found out at the same time as everyone else in the world. Since the nomination and leading up to the Oscars, there has definitely been an uptick in press interest. We already had digital distribution on NewYorker.com and a POV/PBS Broadcast in the works. POV was just announced about two weeks ago—we are thrilled!
Watch the film via The New Yorker:
NYWIFT provides fiscal sponsorship to members with projects, like Joe’s Violin, with a creative, educational or charitable purpose. Learn more.
katrinamedoff
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Louisa Brown
Welcome to NYWIFT, Louisa Brown! Blogger Marchelle Thurman had the pleasure of interviewing Louisa Brown. She is a storyteller, connector, and unapologetic champion of underrepresented voices in film and media. At Urbanworld Film Festival, she builds bridges between artists, audiences, and cultural institutions, creating moments that matter. She’s a founding member of M.A.D.E., where she produces the award-winning MADE Talks series, celebrating Black creativity and bold ideas. Her own films, including Family Time and Mila and Mimi Too, have won Lionsgate recognition and festival accolades. In addition, she has collaborated on various projects, headed initiatives for commercial brands, and serves on the management team for musical artist Laila! Louisa brings heart, humor, and a global perspective to everything she does.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Madeleine Rotzler
Welcome to NYWIFT, Madeleine Rotzler! Madeleine Rotzler is an Emmy® Award-winning director and producer of documentaries and narrative feature films. Fiction films include the upcoming O Horizon and O.G., currently on HBO. Non-fiction films include HBO’s Emmy-nominated It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It, Emmy-winning Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus, and Oscar-shortlisted The Lottery. Her most recent film, O Horizon, was described as “bound to be one of the season's sweetest charmers.” The film premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2025 where it won the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema. O.G., Madeleine’s narrative feature debut, and It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It were both filmed inside a maximum-security prison in Indiana in collaboration with men incarcerated there. Most of the cast of O.G. were incarcerated. It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It marked the first time incarcerated directors were nominated for an Emmy. In our interview, Madeleine discussed her award-winning films and her perspective on the impact of filmmaking.
READ MORENYWIFT Member Spotlight: Kelcey Edwards
NYWIFT Member Kelcey Edwards found her way into documentary filmmaking through Iron Gate Studios, a nonprofit gallery and artist workspace she cofounded in her early twenties in Austin, Texas. At the time, she was making small narrative films alongside many other Austin-based filmmakers involved in the “mumblecore” scene; her first film, Letter, screened at SXSW in 2006. Since cameras and equipment were always present in the gallery, she began interviewing many of the artists who visited the space. Over time, the habit of recording conversations and documenting artists’ lives became a steady part of her practice. That interest eventually led her to pursue an MFA in Documentary Film at Stanford and later to move to New York, where she continued developing their work. About a decade later, she directed The Art of Making It, a feature documentary about the art world, which won the Audience Award at SXSW in 2022. It’s currently available on most streaming platforms. Kelcey’s films have received support from the MacArthur Foundation, Sundance, and Tribeca Film Institute, among others, have been broadcast internationally, and have screened at top-tier festivals including SXSW, Berlinale, and Hamptons International. In our interview, Kelcey discussed her teaching philosophy, approach to filmmaking, and upcoming projects.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Tenzin Sedon
Welcome to NYWIFT, Tenzin Sedon! Tenzin Sedon is a Tibetan filmmaker from Tibet, and an MFA candidate in the Graduate Film Program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her work spans narrative, documentary, and experimental forms. She has received numerous awards, including the Hot Docs Best Canadian Short Documentary and the Golden Mountain Award, and has been nominated for the Hot Docs CrossCurrents Doc Fund (CCDF) and Docs Port Incheon. She is a recipient of the 2025 Ang Lee Scholarship. Her films have screened internationally and been exhibited at major institutions.
READ MORE
