Commissioned by the USC Shoah Foundation, which director Steven Spielberg founded to record and preserve the stories of those who survived the Holocaust and other genocides, One Day in Auschwitz is a story about a brave woman who takes a trip back into her past, back to the Auschwitz concentration camp, a place where she -- and countless others -- suffered and died.
Prior to his involvement with One Day in Auschwitz, Steve Purcell was perhaps most famous for directing The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson and various music videos and concert films from artists like Alanis Morisette. Purcell called the film "the most meaningful" film he has ever worked on in his career -- and the most important film too.
One day, Purcell received a call from producer Leslie Wilson asking him to work on the project. He quickly assembled a crew and went to the Auschwitz museum/historical site. He expressed that he wanted to "stay as true to her story as possible." Although he had no direct connection to the story, Purcell loved the story and wanted it to be told -- and to be told well -- so that people could know what happened to Kitty and countless others in a dark time of humanity.
