Lon

In the 1930s, Lon Landau made his dreams come true in the vibrant, cosmopolitan city of Antwerp. He became the first well-known stage designer for the city’s most prestigious theater company, the Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg. When the Nazis invaded, Landau was arrested and imprisoned in a transit camp in Mechelen, where the fear of being transported eastward was sometimes worse than the hunger.

Lon spent much of his time in the painting workshop, where prisoners painted transport numbers onto cardboard panels. It was in these bleak surroundings that he had a burst of inspiration. He started to make marionettes with whatever he could find within the confines of the barracks. Physically he was a prisoner, but in his mind he was free. This stunningly beautiful animated short by family member Nina Landau is a poignant portrait of a colorful man and a gentle tribute to the power of imagination.