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New mini-series 'A Small Light' has connection to Boise through Miep Gies

'A Small Light' is currently streaming on Disney+, Hulu and Nat Geo.
Disney+
'A Small Light' is currently streaming on Disney+, Hulu and Nat Geo.

In June 1996, Miep Gies came to Boise to plant a tree in memory of her friend Anne Frank. She was 80-years-old at the time.

People around the world are familiar with the Anne Frank story, sustained through the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise, the only Anne Frank Memorial in the United States. But much of the rest of the world is now learning about the heroism of a young Miep Gies and how she and Jan, her newlywed husband, hid Anne Frank and her family as the Nazis took control of Amsterdam.

“We premiered in Amsterdam, in a theater that Miep and Jan used to attend. And it felt surreal. It felt like an important and wonderful place to premiere it. We were nervous,” said Joan Rater, co-writer and producer of the new miniseries, "A Small Light". “We wanted the people who share this history at the Anne Frank Museum … we wanted their stamp of approval.”

As "A Small Light" rolls out on Disney+, Nat Geo and Hulu, Rater visits with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about the project’s origin, its breakout star Bel Powley and the multi-layered themes of the series.

Read the full transcript

GEORGE PRENTICE: It's Morning Edition. Good morning. I'm George Prentice. One of the most anticipated projects in recent memory, comes to the home screen this month on no less than three platforms Disney +, Nat Geo and Hulu. A small light indeed. It is a story that chronicles Anne Frank and her family, but it is so much more because it includes, in the eye of that storm, Miep Gies. And folks here in Idaho may remember Miep Gies coming here in the 1990s when, in her 80s. she planted a tree at what would become the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise. So, we are doubly excited about this. Joan Rater is here, co-executive producer and co-writer. And of course, we know her and her husband, Tony Phelan, for the phenomenal successes that are Grey's Anatomy and Fire Country and Madam Secretary, and so much more. But for now, let's talk about A Small Light, Joan Rater. Good morning.

JOAN RATER: Good morning.

PRENTICE: Miep Gies; my goodness. What an amazing lens to look through for this story. Talk to me about the spark… the idea of doing this.

RATER: My husband, Tony and I, who are the co-creators of this show, we weree in Amsterdam with our family, our children about seven years ago. And we were going through the Anne Frank Museum and this jumped out at us: this very young woman when she started working for Otto Frank. And we were with our son, who was about the same age. And I started to imagine what would happen if his boss asked him to help hide him from the Nazis, you know? She said yes right away to Otto Frank. What she ended up doing was heroic. I think that she didn't start off having any idea what she was saying yes to. I think she just said yes. But then, she had to keep saying yes. And I wanted to tell the very human story of what meant. There were probably days where she felt frightened and scared and wondering what she had gotten herself into. That was the sort of aha moment of looking at my son. I know my son and I know he would do the right thing. But I also know the myriad of emotions he would feel about it. And sometimes I think historical characters are painted with this very sort of heroic brush. And I feel like for a modern audience to relate and to be able to put themselves in somebody's shoes, you know, it's nice to show the humanity, to show all the colors. So we wanted to kind of tell me story, but without the cobwebs and the historical import just to show the person.

PRENTICE: The first couple of episodes, the first episode in particular, put me back on my heels because it was funny and romantic. Knowing what the backdrop was…but indeed, here's Miep Gies, this young 20-something firecracker..

(L-R) Joan Rater and Tony Phelan
Sun Valley Film Festival
(L-R) Joan Rater and Tony Phelan

RATER: First of all, Miep is the person who, after the Franks were arrested, she found the diary. And up in the annex, she was told not to go back up there by the Nazis. She went up anyway. She saw Anne's diary laying on the floor. She knew how important it was to Anne. She collected it and put it in a file cabinet for when Anne returned. Now we know Anne didn't return. And on the day Otto Frank found out definitively that his girls had died in Bergen-Belsen, she got that diary out of her file cabinet, and she brought it to Otto Frank. And she said, :This is the legacy of your daughter, Anne.” So Miep became the sort of steward and the ambassador for Anne Frank after Otto died. So, there's many interviews of her when she's older. But at one point, she was a young woman. When she was hiding the Franks it was the first year of her marriage. She was… she liked to party. She liked to dance. She had a sense of humor. She had a real passion, a vivacity. And s,o we thought it was important to show that also the people in the annex and the people who are hiding them didn't know the ending. We have to remember they were hiding for two years and then liberation happened. I think they had every reason to believe they would survive this thing. We said to the actors, Don't play the end. Play the hope. Play the moments of joy. Because I'm certain they existed. We wrote this during pandemic, and humor was a way we got through that very scary time. So I have to imagine that these lively, vivacious people didn't suddenly become serious and dark. They continued with hope and with life and with love, believing that an end to this terrible time would come.

PRENTICE: A year ago in Sun Valley, I was fortunate to host a 90 minute event with Liev Schreiber, and he is cast as Otto Frank here. His casting….it is, for lack of a better phrase, a supporting role. If possible, it elevates A Small Light even more.

RATER: Everything we tell in this story is through Miep’s perspective, right? We don't go up into the annex unless Miep goes up into the annex. But what we learned that first time we went to the museum is that while Miep started as Otto Frank's employee, they were different ages, different classes. They ended up after the war… Otto ended up living with Miep and her husband, Jan, for seven years. So that tells you a lot. Right? That tells you that they became family. And so that was also the arc of the show. The scenes between Miep and Otto and how these two very different people found connection.

PRENTICE: I'm curious how the rest of the world will be seeing A Small Light. We know how we're going to be accessing it… at Disney+ and Hulu and Nat Geo. How will the rest of the world see A Small Light.

RATER: On the home screen. Disney +… they have such a wide audience and such reach that I think A Small Light is being translated into 39 languages. It will be shown in 155 countries on their on their Disney+. affiliate or,their version of Disney+.

PRENTICE: So, you have been traveling a bit in preparation of the launch. Talk to me about some of the conversations you've had and all the different places you've been.

RATER: We premiered fittingly in Amsterdam, which is where this took place in a theater that Miep and Jan used to attend. And it felt surreal. A lot of people from the Anne Frank House… some members of my family were there. It felt like an important and wonderful place to premiere it. We were nervous, you know, we wanted the people who share this history at the Anne Frank Museum every day. We wanted, I suppose, their stamp of approval.We wanted them to like it, and they did. Their feeling is that Anne story and the people who hid Anne and the people who hid with Anne, that that really happened. They were real people. And their mission is to remember them well and to keep their story alive. I think that A Small Light will be a piece of doing that.

PRENTICE: I have to give you the opportunity to gush a little bit about Bel Powley.[who portrays Miep Gies]. Indeed, she's one of the best actors of her generation, but this is a career-changer.

RATER: It really is. Bel Powley is phenomenal as Miep. We wanted to cast somebody who instantly felt relatable. And Bel just has this relatability. I don't know any other way to say it. She's just like… real people, right? And Miep…an important part of the story is that Miep was an ordinary person. You're an ordinary person. I'm an ordinary person. An ordinary person could do this. And Bee really got that. She's just luminous, you know? She's got these big eyes. Miep was 4’ 11:, sort of a tiny little firecracker. And Bel is also little, so she just fit the brief perfectly. And she's wonderful.

PRENTICE: How exciting for you this month. Your inbox must be blowing up.

RATER: Yes, I'm getting a lot of love.

PRENTICE: For all the right reasons, and it's A Small Light on Disney+, Nat Geo and Hulu. And for goodness sakes, have as much family around you as possible when you do see it.

RATER: We really think it's a great show to watch with your family, to spark conversations. I watched it with my daughter who kept turning to me saying, “Did this really happen?” And I kept saying, “Yes, it really happened.” Tell all your friends. People need to know this story.

PRENTICE: Joan Rater, congratulations. Great good luck and thanks so much for giving us some time this morning.

RATER: Thanks, George.

Copyright 2023 Boise State Public Radio

Find reporter George Prentice on Twitter @georgepren

When people ask me, “What time do you start Morning Edition?” my go-to answer is, “Don’t worry. No matter what time you get up, we’re on the job.”

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