How Adam R. Wood reimagined hold on to your music into a powerful cinematic experience
How Adam R. Wood Reimagined Hold On To Your Music Into a Powerful Cinematic Experience
Documentary filmmaker Adam R. Wood believes great documentaries don't simply tell stories — they allow audiences to experience them.
That philosophy became the foundation for Hold On To Your Music, a moving new documentary chronicling the life of Holocaust survivor Lisa Jura and the enduring impact of her story through her daughter, celebrated pianist Mona Golabek.
Finding the film’s emotional spine
When Wood joined the project in 2023, he recognized that the film needed to become more than a filmed version of Golabek's acclaimed stage work.
"I felt the film needed an emotional spine," Wood explains. "It needed to move beyond documenting a performance and become something more intimate about memory, trauma, family, and survival."
The result is a documentary that blends archival footage, personal interviews, historical context, and previously unheard recordings to create an immersive portrait of one family's journey through one of history's darkest chapters.
Lost recordings revive a hidden voice
Among the film's most significant discoveries were long-forgotten audio interviews Golabek recorded with her mother in the late 1990s.
"Finding Lisa's voice changed everything," Wood says. "It transformed her from a historical figure being discussed into someone present within the film itself."
The documentary arrives during a period when conversations surrounding antisemitism, displacement, and intolerance have become increasingly urgent.
Music warns against rising division
"We're seeing a rise in antisemitism and broader forms of division around the world," Wood says. "This film reminds audiences how hatred becomes normalized and what happens when societies fail to challenge it."
Yet Wood is careful not to define the project solely as a Holocaust documentary.
"At its core, it's a refugee story and a mother-daughter story," he says. "It's about resilience and what we choose to carry forward."
Kindertransport’s hidden emotional costs
The Kindertransport program—which rescued thousands of Jewish children from Nazi-controlled territories—serves as a central element of the narrative. However, Wood emphasizes the emotional complexity often overlooked in historical discussions.
"It saved lives, but it also required parents to make unimaginable decisions," he says. "That emotional reality remains incredibly relevant today."
Beyond the film itself, Wood continues to develop projects that explore identity, morality, and transformation. His upcoming documentary The Internationalists examines foreign volunteers who traveled to Ukraine following Russia's invasion, while McDojoLife investigates fraud and accountability within the martial arts industry.
Pressure shapes identity and resilience
"What connects my work is an interest in people trying to define who they are under pressure," Wood says.
With Hold On To Your Music, that exploration becomes deeply personal, creating a documentary that resonates far beyond historical remembrance.
By allowing Lisa Jura's voice to emerge alongside her daughter's dedication to preserving her legacy, Wood has crafted a film that feels both timeless and urgently relevant —a cinematic testament to the enduring power of memory, music, and survival.
