Movie producers Nan Klein and Harold Klein chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about their latest endeavors.
Executive producer Nan Klein was one of the first female executives at the International Bank – Manufacturers Hanover. Nan and Harold were dating in Brooklyn College back in the day video were scarce. Together they founded TeleTime Productions prior to Nan achieving a Masters’s and then establishing a unit at the Bank. As TeleTime grew, she joined TeleTime to help guide the ship contributing to the company’s longevity and quality programming.
Producer Harold Klein has been an entrepreneur since the age of 17. Together with Nan, they built a video production company producing over 4500 videos through the years serving some of the best-known companies in the world. After Harold met Bernie Goldhirsh the visionary founder of Inc. Magazine, the world of entrepreneurial communications blossomed for TeleTime. Harold has interviewed hundreds of some of the most exciting founders in the world.
To put together a featured film documentary is no small challenge to take on, talk to us about the origins of how it all began, how it all came together, the team, and the people that helped it all come into existence?
Steve Mariotti approached us in kind of a huddle with very little budget. We had heard of Sam Solasz’s story and offered to capture in part that story featuring Sam at a cost that was embarrassingly low. However, Steve’s ideas and influence has deep value. We sent the raw footage back to Steve and someone he was working with, and we received kudos for the intense interview and what it revealed.
Then for another lower than our cost budget, Nan, myself, and our editor put together a rough of his story. We did that with a couple of other individuals that suffered, survived, and thrived and I guess Steve believed in our ability to do something important and special.
He was able to raise additional funds and Nan then searched for more incredible stories and they came. Search, she did, coming local papers online where she found the likes of Bill Vandegiff the Native American who volunteered for Vietnam in Battle Creek Michigan and in White Plains, NY, Maria Trusa, the Hispanic woman who suffered unimaginable abuse as a child and so many trials when she came here from the Dominican Republic.
What Nan was able to uncover with Maria is a story in itself. Maria’s entire life experience is eye-opening and causes one to be inspired without what Nan was able to have Maria relate. This is something she did not share with anyone except her therapist. We captured that telling for the first time in her interview.
The crew and I gasped when it came out. What was it…. see the film! Our production teams were all very special and totally immersed in the subject matter. They were comprised of people we continually worked with through the years and new talent that we searched thoroughly for and rose to the occasion. The subject and subject matter was a huge enticement. One person, continually contributes, Daniel Saulnier, our incredible creative director/editor.
What is it like to run a video production company that has produced over 4,500 videos?
While it has the ups and downs as all businesses do, we have unique challenges. First, we must express our gratitude for being in a business where you consistently get to express yourself, meet the most incredible people on the planet, travel to destinations and get truly behind the scenes and make a comfortable living. When you create that many videos over 45 years how do you stay creative, motivated, informed, inspired, and inspiring. All that is an article in itself.
Why is Entrepreneurship important to Nan and Harold Klein and also what was one of the key connections that you both made with Steve Mariotti, the founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship?
Part one of your question; As Sam Solasz survivor says in the documentary, “it’s better to make one dollar for yourself than to make five dollars from someone else.” Imagine life if you make the full ride, where all responsibilities fall on your soldiers for so many people, where the buck always stops at your desk.
You struggle, you fall, you get up, you briefly celebrate, you do it again. You get the create the ultimate expression of yourself in all that you do if you are not a complete hand-off, investor owner. How a person answers the phone, the name of your company, the sign on your door, the films you create carry a representation of you in it. A crew member comes late to a shoot, you came late to the shoot.
The connection with Steve represents one of the joys and exhilarations of our entrepreneurial journey. If we were not in this business, doing what we do, connecting with other like-minded people (Bernie Goldhirsh founder of Inc. Magazine) how would we have connected with Steve. An individual that I always say is a gift to America and to the World. It says in our Talmud that if you saved one person you saved the world, well, Steve graduated over 1.2 million at-risk young individuals. And we learned from and get to work with him.
Every story is unique and full of inspiration, one of the stories that is inspirational in particular is that of Sam Solasz, a Polish Holocaust Survivor. How was that connection made and what is one key message that you hope that those who see that part of the documentary take away from the film?
As I introduced earlier, we were working with someone that had a connection with Sam, that person is Judy Katz. Judy is a writer and has a creative agency in NYC. She co-authored with Sam his biography, “The Angel of the Ghetto.” Judy gave me his number. When I called to introduce myself, he asked me questions.
Mind you, he was around 88 at the time still putting in 18 hour days 5-6 days a week, no jest. When I told him about myself and that my Dad was also a Survivor he asked, “Did he own a leather store on Avenue U in Brooklyn?” Oh my, I was driving and had to pull over. We connected deeply and I think it comes out in the emotions portrayed during our interviews on camera. Your second question is too important and potent to share one message.
There are so many invaluable lessons for life, business, mankind. Don’t fall into victimhood. It’s ok to get angry, use it to do good, build something incredible. You are not defined by what happens to you, rather how your response to what happens to you (Viktor Frankl – Author – Man’s Quest for Meaning, Psychiatrist, Holocaust Survivor), it’s not the money, give back, fight back, build a legacy. You want more?
What is next in line for Nan and Harold Klein of TeleTime and more importantly what is the best way for others to see Trauma to Triumph?
We are working on getting the word out to build as much buzz as possible. Next is our continuing to find and tell these stories. We have 5 others partially captured. As mentioned early on, for what was created we worked with extremely moderate budgets. If we can enhance those budgets, whatever drama and impact was conveyed will also be enhanced and we can get deeper as well.
For viewing search The WORLD Channel and PBS with the program titles. It is as of now airing on at least 75 percent of the PBS stations in the country. Anyone can find anyone today. You can Google any of the people and companies represented and find them.
In fact, Bill Vandegiff told us that another Vietnam Vet who he did not know, saw the program in Chicago and found Bill on Facebook and connected to share his appreciation and respect. By the way, hearing something like that, fuels our fire to do more.
For more information on Nan and Harold Klein, check out the Trauma to Triumph website.
