Janet Shay has always been drawn to storytelling. In fact, she believes that had she been born in a different time, she would have been the “aunty everyone gathered around at night to hear stories; tales of our ancestors, the lessons they left behind and the people in our village who helped shape who we are.”
Filmmaking is her modern-day version of this. And recently, it was Eddy Boas’s incredible story of family survival during the Holocaust that called to her.
“It was clear to me that his family’s journey wasn’t just a story of surviving the Holocaust; it was a story of strength, dignity and legacy,” she told The AJN. Telling Eddy’s story became not just a film, but “a mission”.
Shay didn’t always appreciate what Jews had been through during the Holocaust. Born in Iran, the filmmaker was taught to be wary of, even hate, people who were different, namely those from the West, Christians and Jews.
“There’s something deeply meaningful in the fact that I, someone who was once taught to oppose Jewish stories, to deny the Holocaust and to see Jewish lives through a lens of hostility, am now using everything I have to help bring this story to light” Janet Shay
“I was born in Iran, where the environment I grew up in was shaped by a very narrow and often hostile worldview,” she said. “These messages were deeply ingrained and often went unquestioned.”
It wasn’t until she moved to Australia that she began to see the light.
“When I moved to Australia, my world opened up in the most unexpected and beautiful ways. I found myself surrounded by people from all walks of life; people who were kind, open-hearted and generous with their perspectives,” she recalled. “Instead of mistrusting Jewish people, I felt called to listen, learn, and amplify their voices. For years, I hoped and prayed for an opportunity to do that meaningfully. That opportunity came when I heard Eddy Boas speak and I knew his story was the one I was meant to help share.”
Eddy Boas’s survival story represents one of the most remarkable tales of family resilience during the Holocaust. Born in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1940, Eddy was just three months old when Nazi forces invaded Holland, setting the stage for years of unimaginable hardship that would test his family’s will to survive.
Eddy and his family, his mother Sara, father Philip, and older brother Samuel were first sent to Westerbork concentration camp in Holland, before being transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.
Survival required both resourcefulness and extraordinary courage. Eddy’s father, who had served in the Dutch cavalry, was assigned the grim task of driving a horse and cart to collect dead bodies around the camp. Despite horrific conditions, the Boas family maintained their unity and determination to survive together. Against all statistical odds, the entire Boas family did just that — a rarity among Holocaust survivors.
After the war, they returned to Holland before eventually immigrating to Australia in 1954, where they rebuilt their lives.
Decades later, Eddy Boas would document his family’s extraordinary survival story in his memoir I Am Not A Victim — I Am A Survivor, inspired by his mother’s testimony to the USC Shoah Foundation.
Now, the story of the Boas family will also be immortalised in film.
Shay said she feels privileged to be sharing the story, and Eddy has been involved every step of the way.
“It’s been a profound honour to be entrusted with telling the Boas family story through Eddy’s voice. Eddy is not only incredibly resilient, he’s also warm, humorous, and full of life. Throughout the process, we made it a priority to involve him at every stage; from our early conversations before filming, to keeping him informed and engaged during editing,” she explained. While Eddy acknowledged his role, he referred to himself as a “novice, but Janet is a hard-working genius”.
Shay also said that it is an honour to be turning her education around and sharing stories that she was taught to deny.
“Eddy is not only incredibly resilient, he’s also warm, humorous, and full of life” Janet Shay
“There’s something deeply meaningful in the fact that I, someone who was once taught to oppose Jewish stories, to deny the Holocaust and to see Jewish lives through a lens of hostility, am now using everything I have to help bring this story to light,” she said. “Reflections of Courage is not just a film; it’s a personal act of restoration. It’s a chance to challenge the hatred I was raised in, and to stand for truth, dignity and remembrance.”
For Shay, she was surprised by how much new information she learned throughout the filming process. While she had already studied the Holocaust in depth, she was shaken by what happened to many survivors afterwards.
“For many survivors, returning home after the war was met not with welcome but rejection. They were treated as inconvenient reminders of a past people wanted to forget. That added a whole new layer of heartbreak to the story,” she explained, before directly addressing the Jewish community. “To my Jewish cousins: your pain is not just a part of Jewish history, it’s a part of our shared human story. Your experiences matter deeply to me, not only as someone who believes in peace but as someone who sees your resilience and contributions with great respect.”
For Eddy, he hopes Reflections of Courage will be used to educate others, particularly the next generation, about what can happen when hate goes unchecked. “I hope they will think, ‘this must never happen again’.”
The team behind Reflections of Courage are seeking support to bring the documentary to completion. More information about the film and how you can help.
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