Documentary, 4K, stereo, color, 39 min.

The Presidents' Tailor (2024)

Martin Greenfield learned to sew while mending shirts for the Gestapo in Auschwitz when he was fifteen, and went on to make suits for US presidents and stars. This is the story of America’s greatest tailor, and the bespoke menswear empire he left behind.

"To have the bond of the Eisenhower and Greenfield families preserved forever, and to have Martin's story available for all future generations... I cannot begin to tell you how significant it all is.”

- Camila Mendoza, great-great granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Mr. Greenfield’s message of tolerance and forgiveness is more vital than ever.

- Uwe Westphal, Fashion Historian, Florida Jewish Journal

The Presidents' Tailor is an intimate portrait of an uncommon man.

- Jon Bokenkamp - Creator “The Blacklist”

Screenings

27 September – Gig Harbor Film Festival

8:30 p.m. IMAX Theater 6
4649 Point Fosdick Dr NW, Gig Harbor
Q & A with director Rick Minnich
28 September 5 p.m.

21 September – Hampton Synagogue, Shabsels Hall @Jack’s House

8:00 p.m.
142 Mill Road, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978
Complimentary admission. RSVP: rsvp@thehamptonsynagogue.org
Special screening with director Rick Minnich and Martin Greenfield’s family

18 September – IFC Center

6:30 p.m.
323 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10014
Purchase Tickets
Special screening with director Rick Minnich and Martin Greenfield’s family
19-24 September: screening daily. See IFC Center website for showtimes.

17 September – Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

7 + 8:30 p.m.
334 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY, 10023
Purchase Tickets
North American premiere with director Rick Minnich and Martin Greenfield’s family

June/July – Doc Edge Film Festival

Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington, New Zealand
International premiere

19 June – Jewish Film Festival Berlin

8:30 p.m – 10:30 p.m.
Bundesplatz Kino, Bundesplatz 14, 10715 Berlin, Germany
World premiere with director Rick Minnich and team
23 June 5:00-7:00 p.m

Press

Martin Greenfield’s New York Times obituary

Jewish Journal interview with director Rick Minnich

New York Jewish Week article about NYC premiere

Sounds of Film podcast with Tom Needham. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Salom (in Turkish)

QNS.com – review of Hampton Synagogue event

The Story

Maxmilian Grünfeld learned to sew while mending shirts for SS soldiers in Auschwitz when he was fifteen. Four years later, he re-invented himself as the American Martin Greenfield, and was making suits for the former general and future US president Dwight D. Eisenhower, who liberated him from Buchenwald in 1945. The Presidents’ Tailor is a short documentary about how one man transformed into the other against all odds.

With his infectious smile, resourcefulness, and insistence on “quality with intrinsic value”, Martin Greenfield quickly rose from his humble beginnings as a floor boy at the GGG menswear factory in Brooklyn to become the highbrow tailor of choice for US presidents and celebrities alike. Together with his sons Jay and Tod, Martin built a bespoke menswear empire which now stands alone as a beacon in the once thriving men’s tailoring industry in New York City.

The Presidents’ Tailor interweaves scenes of daily life at Greenfield Clothiers with a journey into Martin’s past, when his son Jay and his children David and Amy retrace Martin’s footsteps across Europe, from his hometown Pavlovo in western Ukraine, to Auschwitz and Buchenwald, where the young Martin lost his entire family. We also travel to the White House with Martin and his wife Arlene, celebrate a Seder with family and friends, and witness moving tributes by longtime customers and dear friends Michael Bloomberg and Colin Powell at Martin’s 90th birthday spectacle.

The Presidents’ Tailor is a poignant tale of resilience, forgiveness and the fine art of bespoke menswear. It is also a reminder of the distinguished craftsmanship which once gave birth to the golden age of American manufacturing.

Director’s statement

When I first met Martin Greenfield and his family on a trip to Brooklyn in 2017, I was immediately drawn to the qualities of resilience and compassion which imbue Martin’s story. As an American filmmaker living in Berlin since 1990, I live in the constant shadow of the Holocaust, among the lingering guilt of the Germans, which permeates daily life in Germany. A Holocaust topic was bound to eventually come my way, and when it did, I seized it.

My passion is for making films firmly set in the present about how people’s lives continue to be affected by past trauma. My own experiences as a father of five and the process of making my personal documentary Forgetting Dad (Special Jury Award IDFA 2008, short-listed for German Oscar ‘Lola’) have given me unique insight into family dynamics and trauma, sensitizing me to the many challenging situations Jay and Tod Greenfield face in following in the footsteps of their legendary father.

We are living in trying times where hate and negativity are omnipresent, and anti-semitism is once again on the rise. In such moments, life-affirming films like The Presidents’ Tailor are needed more than ever. Martin Greenfield dedicated his life to creating quality with intrinsic value. My aim is to do the same in bringing his uplifting story and this heart-warming and entertaining film to as broad an audience as possible.

Rick Minnich, writer/director
Berlin, April 2024

Support our distribution

From September 18-24, 2024, “The Presidents’ Tailor” will do a one-week awards-qualifying theatrical run at the IFC Center in New York City. We look forward to meeting you there.

Please consider making a contribution to our awards campaign and help us bring Martin’s story to audiences around the world.

You can make a tax-deductible donation through our 501(c)(3) non-profit fiscal sponsor, From the Heart Productions.

And spread the word. Follow us and write a review on IMDB.

Team

Writer & Director Rick Minnich
Co-Writer / Researcher Peter-Hugo Scholz (1954-2019)
Cinematographers Tom Bergmann (USA), Anne Misselwitz (Europe)
Additional Cinematography Ian Moubayed, Rick Minnich
Drone Operators Tom Bergmann, Rick Minnich
Sound Recordists Nikola Chapelle, Sebastian Löffler
Additional Sound Rick Minnich, Mustafa Mirza
Sound Design/Mix André Klar, Frieder Wohlfarth
Assistant Sound Design Manuel Schmieder
Foley/sound mix Soundscape Studios, Leipzig + D-Facto Motion, Leipzig
Original Score Michael Mühlhaus
Music Mastering Stefan Flad/Red Kitchen
Editors Mike Brandin, David Schöley
Color Grading David Schöley, Martin Schröder
Interpreter Steve Naumann
Producers Mike Brandin, Rick Minnich
Associate Producer David Sterling
Production Manager Carolin Redenz
Commissioning Editor (MDR) Matthias Morgenthaler
Production InOneMedia, Our Man in Berlin
Funders Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk (MDR), Kulturstiftung des Freistaates SachsenSächsische LandesmedienanstaltStaatskanzlei Thüringen
Fiscal Sponsor From the Heart Productions
Crowdfunding Seed & Spark
World Sales New Docs

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