Filmmaker’s story about her gay uncle serving in WWII is in the Oscar mix

Seventy-six years ago this week, Lieutenant Edward Field had an experience few can imagine, let alone survive.

Field, who was then 21 and is now 96, served in World War II as navigator of a B-17. In 1945, his plane was battered with anti-aircraft flak on a mission over Berlin and crashed into the freezing North Sea. Clinging to a raft in the water, Field made the decision to hang on and live.

Edward’s niece, Miami Beach native Diane Fredel-Weis, said it happened the day the U.S. Air Force conducted its largest raid against Nazi Germany. She has honored his service by directing and producing a film.

The animated short, “Minor Accident of War,” is a labor of love, Fredel-Weis said. It won the 2020 Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Miami Jewish Film Festival and is now in contention for an Oscar.

“I was looking into ideas for my next short film and I remembered a poem my uncle wrote about his survival during World War II, and thought it could be adapted,” she said. “When I approached him with the idea at the end of 2018, he loved it right away.”

What makes the story even more inspiring is that her uncle served in the military at a time when gay men faced extraordinary discrimination.

“I felt it would be a message showing that my uncle, a gay man, served our country heroically flying 27 bombing missions during the war fighting fascism and white supremacy. Putting his life on the line every single time.

“You could say the film is 75 years in the making. Edward lived it, wrote it and narrates it. Quite a trifecta in filmmaking and makes it all the more compelling.”

An award-winning poet and author, Edward lives in the East Village of New York City. His partner of 45 years died in 2018.

“None of his poems had been adapted, until now,” Fredel-Weis said.

“We produced the film in 2019 and it screened in film festivals around the world to overwhelming acclaim. Now, to have it in the mix for an Oscar is such an honor.

“One of the reasons I wanted get Edward’s poem on the screen was because at the time, the Trump administration was discriminating against transgender military personnel from serving. I believe that anyone that wants to serve our country and meets the requirements should be able to do so.”

Fredel-Weis said she envisioned the short film using contemporary, graphic animation. After months of asking film friends and combing the Internet, she finally found Polish animator Piotr Kabat.

“As soon as I saw his style, I was blown away. It was exactly what I was looking for. I wasn’t daunted by the fact he lived in Poland, near Warsaw, as I felt we could work remotely together.”

Kabat was very interested in the project. He approached sound designer Michal Fojcik of “Loving Vincent” who lives in Krakow and he, too, came on board.

“Alex Gimeno, a friend of mine and the creator of ‘Ursula 1000,’ is the composer. Alex Kupershmidt, a Disney animation veteran (‘The Lion King’ and ‘Lilo and Stitch’), joined on as an animation consultant and David Finch, a longtime associate of mine, co-produced,” she said. “My son, Gabriel Weis, and my nephew, Stephen Cyr, also participated in the production.”

Cindy Bryan, an expert in the Eighth Air Force, was the film’s researcher.

Fredel-Weis was born and raised in Miami Beach and went to Miami Beach Senior High. While studying journalism at Florida International University, she worked for Channel 10/WPLG-TV, where she won an Emmy.

After moving to Orlando to work for Walt Disney World, she moved again to Los Angeles to write and produce theatrical trailers at Walt Disney Studios.

“This project has been an incredibly rewarding experience especially collaborating with my uncle,” she said.

“Edward is just as remarkable today as he was fighting in the war, from his creative talents to his acts of bravery to his sense of compassion and sense of humor. He is my inspiration in so many ways.”

The 10-minute film is online at https://vimeo.com/minoraccident

Ransom alumni helping Grove families

Continuing to follow school founder Paul C. Ransom’s mission of giving back, Ransom Everglades School alumni Carlos Dominguez, Ryan Holtzman and Kevin Grossfeld are co-chairing the REACH Too committee to aid Coconut Grove families in need.

They are collaborating with The Barnyard, a neighborhood community center in the heart of Coconut Grove Village West.

Coconut Grove Cares operates The Barnyard, which provides free after-school and summer programs for children ages 5-12 with financial and domestic hardships.

“Working closely with Barnyard Executive Director Sylvia Jordan, and Barnyard Board member Jula Tuellmann, we came up with the idea of having a special holiday family meal that each of the 30 current Barnyard families can enjoy,” said Grossfeld.

“A key component of this initiative was that the meals were prepared by a local catering company called Tipps Good Eats,” he added. “Tipps is run by a mother named Tiffany whose child is in the Barnyard program. By both supporting local families and empowering Tiffany, we believe we had a chance to positively impact the local community beyond the holidays.

“We hope that this initiative continues to bring greater awareness and exposure to Tiffany’s business, and in turn, she can hire and buy supplies from within her community as her business grows.”

The Salty Donut provided desserts, he said.

REACH stands for Ransom Everglades Alumni Can Help and in January the group donated and delivered over 250 reusable masks to students and family members at The Barnyard and St. Albans Child Enrichment Center.

“Our REACH Too committee was very busy to say the least,” said Vicki Carbonell Williamson ‘88, Ransom’s director of alumni relations. “We are so pleased to be building such meaningful relationships with our local community.”

Help out at www.coconutgrovecares.org

Community cats can get free help

The Cat Network will be providing free sterilization and other services for the first 85 Miami-Dade community cats in February thanks to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. For reservations, email meowmobile@thecatnetwork.org.

The program includes spay or neuter, mandatory ear tip, feline virus and rabies vaccinations, and antibiotic and pain management injections. Residents may view additional services at www.thecatnetwork.org

If you have news for this column, please email christinammayo@gmail.com

This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 12:00 AM.