Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire

Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire, an intimate portrait narrated in his own voice, explores how the author’s life as a Holocaust survivor inspired his work, including the bestselling memoir “Night.”

For decades, author, educator and humanitarian Elie Wiesel spoke against global injustice with his writing and activism during his venerable career. Known for his groundbreaking memoir “Night,” which was based on his personal experiences as a Holocaust prisoner in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, Wiesel would go on to pen 57 books and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. As a professor at Boston University over thirty years, he influenced thousands of students, and his memoir “Night” is still read in schools around the world. The NEH-funded documentary Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire examines how, over the course of his life, Wiesel fought the “sin of indifference” by writing, teaching, speaking truth to power, and championing human rights. 

The documentary begins with his early life in Romania and his family members’ tragic murders in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz, followed by Wiesel’s liberation from Buchenwald by American soldiers and his migration to France. From there, he moved to New York, where he became a writer, teacher and lecturer. The documentary features his first-person narration, along with interviews, personal family footage, archival footage and hand-painted animations. 

This documentary includes interviews with Wiesel and his family members. He married Marian Rose in 1970, who gave birth to their son Elisha, now the father of Elijah and Nova. In addition to the family, the film includes Lawrence Langer, Ted Comet, Mark Podwal, Ariel Burger, Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Ted Koppel and Annette Insdorf.

Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire premiered on PBS American Masters in January 2026, and is available to stream online.