Director Adam R. Wood Brings a Family’s Extraordinary Story of Survival to Life in Hold On To Your Music

For filmmaker Adam R. Wood, Hold On To Your Music was never meant to be just another historical documentary.

The film tells the remarkable story of Lisa Jura, a young Jewish pianist who escaped Nazi-occupied Austria through the Kindertransport program, and her daughter, acclaimed concert pianist and author Mona Golabek, who has dedicated her life to preserving her mother’s legacy through music, literature, and performance.

When Wood joined the project in 2023, he saw an opportunity to reshape the narrative into something deeply personal.

“The key for me was that this could not only be a film about Mona telling her mother’s story,” Wood explains. “It had to become a film in which Lisa felt present.”

That vision led Wood and his team deep into family archives, uncovering photographs, letters, and eventually a remarkable discovery: audio interviews Golabek had recorded with her mother decades ago.

“Suddenly, Lisa wasn’t just being remembered by others. Her actual voice was in the film,” says Wood. “For a story so much about memory, absence, and inheritance, it felt like an enormous breakthrough.”

The emotional weight of the project resonated personally with Wood, whose own family history is intertwined with World War II. Raised in Britain by relatives who served during the war, he grew up surrounded by its legacy.

One particularly moving moment came while handling letters written by Lisa’s father before he was sent to a concentration camp.

“They were written on incredibly fragile pieces of paper, yet somehow survived Nazi Europe, crossed continents, and eventually ended up in my hands,” Wood recalls. “I remember being struck by the responsibility of preserving those words for future generations.”

While Hold On To Your Music explores one family’s experience during the Holocaust, Wood believes its message extends far beyond history.

“At its heart, this is a mother-daughter story,” he says. “It’s about family, sacrifice, survival, and the choices people make for the people they love.”

The timing of the film feels especially relevant amid rising antisemitism and growing social divisions around the world.

“Hatred doesn’t arrive fully formed,” Wood says. “It builds gradually. Stories like this remind us of the consequences when people look away.”

For Wood, music serves as one of the film’s most powerful themes.

“In Lisa and Mona’s story, music isn’t decorative. It’s a lifeline. It’s a connection between generations.”

Ultimately, Wood hopes audiences leave the film understanding that memory itself requires action.

“Lisa held on to her music. Mona held on to Lisa’s story,” he says. “Now the hope is that audiences will carry it forward too.”

Hold On To Your Music serves as a poignant reminder that even amid history’s darkest moments, art, love, and remembrance can endure.