Submitted photo Writer/director Robert Moniot is planning to shoot at Zaharakos next week for his film “The Ice Cream Man.”
City officials will close several areas around Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor next week as filmmakers begin shooting footage for a movie about the Holocaust.
The Columbus Board of Works approved a special use of right of way request for the film, which is titled “The Ice Cream Man.” The request, submitted by Driver Productions, is to begin Sunday and continue through March 17, with the company stating that filming will occur in Columbus on March 12 and March 14-17. Zaharakos has shared on social media that it will be closed during this time.
“They’ve (Driver Productions) asked for assistance in blocking off the sidewalk in front of Zaharakos, the parking,” said city engineering technician Aimee Morris. “We’re going to close the alley to the south. They’re going to do intermittent filming, and so they’ll need Washington closed here and there.”
The production company has requested north and southbound intermittent traffic control (ITC) on Washington Street from Fourth to Third Street for the afternoon of March 12 and/or the afternoon and night of March 15.
“Camera, camera dolly, track and extras in the street,” will be happening on those dates, according to the request. “ITC (traffic control) is needed from approximately 5 to 9 p.m.
Filmmakers also plan to set up a tent-like green screen structure in front of the parlor that is the width of its storefront which will “impede pedestrian traffic.” The structure will be built on Monday and, weather permitting, remain in place until March 16.
Sidewalk closures will occur on the east side of Washington Street, from the midblock alley to Fourth Street. Additionally, parking will be restricted on both sides of Washington Street in this area.
“The Ice Cream Man,” starring Noah Emmerich (“The Americans,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Truman Show”), is based on the true story of Ernst Cahn, a popular Jewish owner of an ice cream parlor in Amsterdam. In 1941, he was targeted by SS Lt. Klaus Barbie, the infamous “Butcher of Lyon.” Cahn’s actions sparked a series of events that led to what became known as The February Strike, the first and largest anti-Nazi protest during World War II.
It unfolded when over 300,000 Dutch workers shut down the city for three days.
According to the film’s website, the project will be shot in both Indiana and the Netherlands.
The late Tony Moravec, a local entrepreneur and Zaharakos owner, contributed use of the parlor, along with a significant portion of the film’s budget, prior to his death in November. He also recruited other donors and behind the scenes volunteers.
“The ice cream parlor is basically a character in the film, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for in the Netherlands,” says writer/director Robert Moniot. “Then I discovered pictures of Zaharakos on the Internet, and immediately picked up the phone and cold-called Tony (Moravec).”
“The Ice Cream Man is a movie about standing up to evil,” Moniot said in a previous interview. “Ernst Cahn paid the ultimate price for fighting back, and I think Tony was very moved by that part of the story.”
“Tony was very passionate about this movie and its message, and it wouldn’t be happening without him,” says Moniot.
The filmmaker sees a lot of similarities between Moravec and Ernst Cahn.
“They both loved people, they both loved ice cream, and they both had a profound effect on the world,” he says. “My job with this film is to honor their legacy.”
