In a distribution deal that underscores the growing appetite for documentaries bridging historical trauma and contemporary crisis, AB2 Media Group’s theatrical arm Abramorama has snapped up North American rights to The Choice, a film weaving together the legacy of a Holocaust survivor with the stories of two women forever changed by the October 7 attacks. The documentary, directed by John David Coles, is set to open at New York’s Quad Cinema on January 15, with a wider North American rollout to follow.
Based on Dr. Edith Eger’s New York Times bestselling memoir The Choice: Embrace the Possible, the film arrives with significant awards-season momentum. It won the Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for Films of Conflict & Resolution at the 2026 Hamptons International Film Festival and is currently in contention for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary.
The project was produced by Coles alongside Jason Orans, Pamela Ryan and Tamar Yoffe. In addition to the theatrical release, Abramorama is partnering with Theorem Media, Talking Wall Pictures, and Gigantic Pictures for a non-theatrical rollout. Theorem will host a one-night-only Global Virtual Watch Event on Kinema on November 19 at 7pm ET, followed by a live conversation with Coles, Dr. Eger’s daughter—clinical psychologist Dr. Marianne Engle—and a yet-to-be-announced special guest. Theorem is also managing the film’s organic social media presence and working with the Edith Eger Foundation to connect with Eger’s global fanbase. Organizations can pre-book screenings now, and the film’s journey can be followed on Instagram at @thechoicedocumentary.
“Dr. Edith Eger taught millions of readers through her book that even in the face of unthinkable suffering, we keep the freedom to decide who we become,” said AB2 Media Group & Abramorama CEO Karol Martesko-Fenster. “John David Coles has carried that message into the present with extraordinary grace and urgency. At a time when so many people are carrying grief, this film offers a way forward.”
The Choice interweaves the stories of three women across generations, each marked by war, captivity, and loss: the late Dr. Edith “Edie” Eger, the renowned psychologist, Holocaust survivor and author; Iris Haim, an Israeli mother whose son Yotam was taken hostage during the October 7 attacks; and Sapir Cohen, who survived 55 days as a hostage in Gaza.
“I set out to make a film about Edie Eger’s legacy and discovered that her legacy was still being written,” said Coles. “Trauma can echo across generations, but so can resilience, and so can hope. My wish is that audiences leave the theater knowing that even when the worst has already happened, we still have a say in how we carry it.”
The central pillar of Eger’s life and work is that while we cannot change what has happened to us, we can choose how we live now. Having survived Auschwitz, Eger devoted her life to helping Vietnam veterans and others confront trauma, guilt and grief without allowing the past to imprison them.
Watch and share the official theatrical trailer for THE CHOICE HERE.
In the film, Eger’s teachings become a lifeline for Haim as she waits for news of her son, Yotam, who was taken hostage by Hamas. Yotam later escaped captivity but was killed, along with two other hostages, by Israeli soldiers who mistook them for terrorists. Faced with an unimaginable loss, Iris draws strength from Eger’s words as she chooses not to let anger or despair define the rest of her life.
Cohen discovers the same lesson through her own experience in captivity. Although she had not read Eger’s work, she finds meaning in small acts of humanity. By choosing to help others, she realizes that even when physical freedom has been taken away, the power to choose who she will be remains her own.
Moving between past and present through archival footage, intimate interviews, public appearances, audio recordings and personal writings, The Choice explores how trauma can reverberate across generations, but also how healing can travel the same distance. Poignant, devastating and deeply human, the film asks a deceptively simple question: What remains within our control when everything else has been taken from us? The answer, in Eger’s life and in the lives of the women whose journeys intersect with her wisdom, is the courageous decision to face unimaginable pain without allowing it to define us and to choose how we live now.
The Choice (United States, 84 minutes – English 4K DCP with 5.1 Stereo Audio). Abramorama presents a Talking Wall/Gigantic Pictures Production. Executive Producers Veronica Leff, Miguel Leff, Rick Itzkowich, Marianne Engle, Rob Engle, Laurie M. Tisch, Cliff Chenfeld, Eduardo and Lily Margolis. Special Narration by Tovah Feldshuh. Director of Photography Petr Cikhart. Original Music by Ofer Shabi and Yaniv Fridel. Edited by Ayelet Gil Efrat. Produced by John David Coles, Jason Orans, Pamela Ryan and Tamar Yoffe. Directed by John David Coles. An Abramorama North American Theatrical Release. For more information, please visit thechoicedocumentary.com.
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Why it matters: In an era of rising antisemitism and ongoing global conflict, The Choice offers a rare cinematic bridge between the Holocaust and the trauma of October 7, demonstrating how resilience can be passed down across generations. The film’s Oscar contention and its unique distribution model—combining theatrical release with virtual watch events—could set a template for how socially urgent documentaries reach audiences beyond traditional theaters.
