At 109, Alice Herz-Sommer is the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor, the world’s oldest pianist and the second-oldest person living in England. She’s also the subject of the short documentary “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life,” which is being considered for an Academy Award nomination.
The film was listed among the eight on the academy’s shortlist from a field of 40. The film by Oscar winner Malcolm Clarke premiered this year as part of the UK Jewish Film Festival.
The Prague-born concert pianist was in the concentration camp Theresienstadt. Number 6 refers to the north London apartment where she lives.
Final Oscar nominations will be announced in January. In the meantime, the filmmaker has launched a campaign on Facebook to garner 110,000 birthday wishes for Herz-Sommer’s 110th birthday on Tuesday, Nov. 26. — jta