A Holocaust-themed picture with a difference. Astounding though it may seem, we’ve all heard talk of young people unfamiliar with Hitler’s work. Meet Eli (Ryan Ochoa), a high school student — Jewish, no less — who must have been absent the day his history teacher covered the subject. Enter Samuel (Hal Linden), his estranged grandfather, who treats the customers at his Point Loma dry cleaners like family and his family like strangers. It’s only through Eli that this tight-lipped grandfather and camp survivor is willing to open up on his experiences long enough to act as the subject for the boy’s final project, a splendidly mounted multimedia presentation. Linden and Ochoa make a winning pair; the moments of honest realization between grandfather and grandson that dot this low budget, locally produced indie pic far outweigh director Marc Fusco’s occasional bouts of film school staging. For those who know Linden only from his splendid work as a TV cop, here’s a chance to see another side of the versatile actor. (2018) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.