Choosing Exile
Filmmaker Marc Radomsky is third generation South African. His grandfather
emigrated from Lithuania to escape pogroms. The family established their
roots in Johannesburg and prospered. However Marc and his wife see that
growing lawlessness and crime in post-Apartheid South Africa has driven
the white community into gated communities where armed guards, attack
dogs and barbed wire are the brutal signs of the need for increased
security. (more)
The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein
This dazzling Academy Award nominee tells the story of a Lithuanian
immigrant, who left the shtetl to escape the virulent anti-Semitism
there and became a recognized painter in the New World. The film captures
his artwork by using innovative animation techniques. (more)
The Conscience of A
Warrior Nation
A small core of reservists in the Israeli army have refused to serve
in Gaza and the West Bank, on moral grounds.
(more)
The Danish Solution
Sixty years ago the Final Solution was attempted in Denmark. The plan
was averted over 95 percent of the country's Jewish population survived
the war. How and why Jews escaped the Nazis' blueprint for their extermination
is the subject of this compelling new documentary film. (more)
A Day in the Warsaw Ghetto: A Birthday Trip in Hell
In 1941 a German soldier illegally photographed the doomed inhabitants
of the Warsaw Ghetto These images form the core of this film, an extraordinary
portrayal of humanity in a nightmare situation. (more)
Days of Awe
A sympathetic and lyrical portrait of the Orthodox Jews of New York
City, filmed as they observe the most important holidays of the year
with prayer, song, ecstatic dancing and celebration, which speak to
the history and meaning of their customs. (more)
Delta Jews: Jews in the Land of the Blues
An illuminating portrayal of a vanishing world -- the largely rural
region of the Mississippi delta which has been home to a thriving Jewish
community for over a century. Jews became an integral part of delta
life, forging a hybrid identity that was deeply Jewish and distinctively
Southern.(more)
Drancy: A Concentration Camp in Paris, 1941-1944
A startling film which examines the structure of the Holocaust in France:
how the Nazis brought the French police under its control and how the
French authorities arrested and interned more than 74,000 Jews before
sending them to Auschwitz.(more)
D'vekut: Hasidism &
Jewish Mysticism
This colorful, lively documentary depicts the various sects of Hasidism
which embody "D'vekut" in Israel. "D'vekut", the Hebrew term for the
mystical union between man and God, is the essential element of Hasidism.
This Jewish movement began in eighteenth century Eastern Europe and
lives on in Israel, the only country where all fifty of the Hasidic
groups are represented. (more)
Encounter in Ramallah
Two young soldiers, an Israeli and an Arab, encounter each other, fire
their weapons; both are wounded. Using this as a starting point, the
film explores the contrasting lives of the young men, giving a close-up,
human view of the gulf separating them.
(more)
Fading Traces: Postscripts from a Landscape of Memory
This film seeks out traces of the once thriving world of the Jewish
community in western Ukraine. Before WW II a rich culture with Jewish
music abounding and a thriving Yiddish threater existed there. The film
weaves the words of writers such as Isaak Babel, Martin Buber and others,
with the experiences of those still living. (more)
Fragments of Isabella
This riveting film recounts the true story of a young Hungarian Jew
and her sisters interned in Auschwitz, their struggle to survive and
their daring escape from a death march. Based on a Pulitzer Prize-nominated
book by Isabella Leitner.(more)
Freedom to Hate: Anti-Semitism in Russia
In Russia, the freedom unleashed by Glasnost, Gorbachev and Yeltsin
has included the freedom to hate. This film looks at this new form of
anti-Semitism and includes secretly shot footage of the nationalist
movement "Pamyat" and other hate groups against their traditional Jewish
scapegoats. (more)
Full Circle
One of the first films to have been made on one of the most revolutionary
social experiements of the century -- the attempt to create sexual equality
between women and men on the Israeli kibbutz. Includes archival footage
and interviews with several generations of kibbutz members. (more)
Hatred
This wide ranging documentary travels from Berlin to Harlem to the Middle
East and Australia to investigate the connection beween the hatred that
leads to mass violence and the hatred we all feel from time to time.(more)
It's a Boy!
In this powerful film about Jewish ritual circumcision of infant sons,
the possible aftereffects are revealed. It was directed by a concerned
Jewish parent. (more)
A Jewish Journey
This film focuses on a group from a Jewish congregation in New Jersey
who journey to eastern Europe in search of their Jewish past. The impact
is more searing than they anticipated.(more)
Jews & Buddhism: Belief Amended, Faith Revealed
This film examines the dramatic surge of interest among American Jews
in the spiritual teachings of Buddhism. Jews, who make up 2% of the
population, account for some 30% of non-Asian American Buddhists. (more)
Jews of Iran
Largely forgotten by the rest of the world, Iran is home to the largest
Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel. After the revolution
in 1979, a majority of the Jews fled, many to the United States, but
25,000 still remain. This provides insight into what life is like for
them now in Iran. (more)
Journey to Yiddish Land
This lively film incorporates Yiddish theatre, song, dance and the history
of Yiddish, a language that was once spoken by 11 million people. It
demonstrates how language and cultural identity are intertwined. (more)
Keep on Walking -- Joshua
Nelson: The Jewish Gospel Singer
An African American who is Jewish sings gospel and chants Tora bridging
races and traditions.(more)
L.A.Mohel
This upbeat, often humorous film presents three busy mohels -- Jewish
ritual circumcisers -- as they practice their ancient profession in
modern Los Angeles. It also shows how the ritual is an occasion for
celebration and how Jews express their identity, faith and family ties,
in these early moments of life. (more)
Land of Promise
In 1800 South Carolina was home to the largest and wealthiest Jewish
community in North America. This lively documentary traces their history
from colonial days until the present time, showing how they maintained
both their southern and Jewish identities.
(more)
Let's Fall in Love: A Singles' Weekend at
the Concord Hotel
This poignant film captures the ironies of the ritualized mating game
played at the five Singles' Weekends held each year at the Concord Hotel
in the Catskills. (more)
Living for Tomorrow.
First-hand accounts of the pioneering women who settled the Israeli
kibbutz.(more)
Long Shadows
Stories from a Jewish Home. This film examines the implications of caring
for the aging survivors of the Holocaust as they face death and isolation
for the second time. (more)
Looking for Victoria
Victoria, a young Argentine woman, set out to find the truth about her
parents who disappeared in 1978 during the military dictatorship. Painful
questions emerge: were her parents terrorists? Did they suffer more
because they were Jewish? (more)
Makolet: A Middle Eastern Grocery in Brooklyn
This charming documentary depicts the social space of a kosher Middle
Eastern grocery store in the traditionally Sephardic section of Brooklyn,
with customers speaking Hebrew, English, Syrian and Egyptian Arabic
as well as other languages. (more)
Mamadrama
This is a unique exploration of the
maligned mother figure in Jewish twentieth century culture. In movies,
television and books, she has been either revered or caricatured. Often
the butt of humor, Jewish mothers have been identified as emasculating,
overbearing, long-suffering, oversexed, undersexed or materialistic.
(more)
The Mascot
This multi-award-winning film tells the story of a disguised Jewish
orphan who, ironically, became a poster boy for the Nazis (more)
A Matter of Time
This film tells, for the first time, the story of the Jewish communities
of North Africa (delete 4 countries here) during World War II. Extensive
archival footage brings the history of this period to life. Part I:
Libya, Part II: Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. (more)
Messengers Without An Audience
Why did the U.S. and Britain ignore the devastating reports about Nazi
atrocities during World War II? Anti-Semitism was common at that time
both in the U.S. and in Europe and among high officials of the State
Department. (more)
Miriam's Daughters Celebrate
Jewish feminists are creating new rituals to celebrate Jewish holidays
like Passover, demonstrating how traditions can be updated to make women
full participants. (more)
My Grandparents Had a Hotel
This affectionate, nostalgic film recalls the Jewish family resorts
that flourished in the 1930's and '40's. Built in response to restrictive
policies that excluded Jews from established resorts, Monteith Inn enabled
a Jewish clientele to experience the fun of a vacation in the country.
This is the real story behind the Hollywood film "Dirty Dancing". (more)
One of Us
The filmmaker comes from a troubled Viennese Jewish family dislocated
by the Nazis. Memories of her American childhood recur, when her emotionally
ill brother bullied her mercilessly and terrible secrets were kept from
her. An important film about the lasting impact in Holocast studies
as well as women's studies, psychology, mental disabilities and family
dynamics. (more)
The Path to Nuclear
Fission
Meitner was a brilliant Jewish physicist from Vienna who had to flee
Berlin in 1938 after working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. Together
with her close friend and colleague, Otto Hahn, they developed the theory
of nuclear fission. Yet after the war she was overlooked by the Nobel
Prize Committee who awarded the prize to Hahn alone. (more)
Peacemakers
In the midst of the simmering animosity between the Israelis and Arabs,
there are voices for peace rarely heard by the outside world. While
extremists on both sides still prefer the hard line and the spilling
of blood, these voices of peace are having an influence on Israel's
future (more)
A Place to Save Your Life: The Shanghai Jews
During the Nazi years, some 17,000 European Jews fled to Shanghai, where
no visa was required. Juxtaposing interviews with survivors with archival
photographs, this film recounts the days when Jews lived in China under
Japanese rule and Shanghai became a place of refuge. (more)
Ports of Destiny.
One Jewish family's dispersal throughout the world to escape the Holocaust
(more)
Poumy
Eloquent and witty, 92-year-old Andree 'Poumy' Moreuil reflects on her
adventures when, as a young Jewish mother, she joined the wartime resistance
in France. Acting against oppression helped her transcend isolation
and fear. (more)
Present Memory
This landmark film of what it is like to be Jewish in America reflects
the viewpoints of a wide variety of people. Immigrants, native born,
young, old, assimilated, religious, ordinary, famous, iconoclasts, all
ponder how their religion defines them. (more)
Salaam Shalom.
Jews have a long history in India. Although only a handful remain, they
maintain their traditions.(more)
Samuel
Bak: Painter of Questions
The film explores the fulfillment of Bak's early promise and the way
his personal Holocaust experience has shaped his prodigious artistic
output.
(more)
Searching for Wallenberg
Searching for Wallenberg tells
the legendary story of Raoul Wallenberg, who as a Swedish diplomat in
Budapest in 1944, saved tens of thousands of Jews from Nazi deportations
and certain death. He accomplished this through intimidation, manipulation
and sheer courage. (more)
Silence
This haunting animation film captures the surreal world of a child survivor
of Teresienstadt concentration camp whose pain had not been recognized
or shared. At twenty, she was given letters written by her mother and
finally had a bridge to the past, but it took many more for her to break
the silence. (more)
Speaking of Peace
Providing rare insight into the obstacles to peace between Israelis
and Palestinians, this film records seven Israeli professionals working
in the field of human rights in the Israeli occupied territories. (more)
Stealing
the Fire
Stealing the Fire follows an unbroken chain of events and personalities
connecting Hitler's atomic bomb program and today's nuclear weapons
black market. It follows the trail of Karl-Heinz Schaab, a German technician,
who sold Saddam Hussein top secret documents stolen from Germany and
traveled to Baghdad numerous times to help Iraq in its nuclear bomb
quest. (more)
Take Omri, For Example
The focus in this film is the social dynamics of a fifth grade class
in Jerusalem. Here we meet Omnri, an unwilling outcast who tries to
fit himself into a puzzle of competition and conformity. (more)
Talking to the Enemy
Amidst the seething conflict between Israel and Palestine, a young Palestinian
journalist and an older Israeli editor try to negotiate their own peace.
Each of them had their own bitter memories. Muna had been expelled from
the land of her birth. Chaim had lost a son in the Six Day War. No reconciliation
results but out of this meeting comes a mutual compassion. (more)
Three Stories
This beautiful film is about the renewal of life and hope. Krakow, Poland
was the birthplace of Henryk Vogler, writer and Holocaust survivor.
His son Pavel returns there to film Henryk's story focusing on the reasons
why he returned after the war when most Jewish survivors left. (more)
"The Truth Shall Make Us Free": Inside the Neo-Nazi Network
For three years journalist Michael Schmidt played a dangerous double
game, insinuating himself into the inner circle of German neo-Nazis.
The result is a disturbing documentary of racial and and religious hatred
being bred into a new generation. (more)
Tibor Jankay - The Art of Survival
This charming film documents the life of a 94-year-old Hungarian born
artist who used his artistic skills to survive the Holocaust. (more)
To Live With Terror
In the early 1990’s there were two catastrophic attacks against Jews
in Buenos Aires. A car bomb blew up the Israeli Embassy, and a powerful
bomb destroyed a Jewish community center. No one has been successfully
prosecuted (more)
Undying Love
One does not usually associate the word 'love' with the Holocaust. Yet
this tender documentary relates how love did surface, against all odds,
in the DP camps after World War II. These tales of love blossoming in
such unlikely circumstances is artfully captured on film by Helene Klodawsky,
the noted documentarian whose own parents are part of the story. (more)
Witnesses
The terrible anti-Semitic massacre that occured on July 4, 1946 in Kielce,
Poland is chillingly retold by the Polish people who were there. Some
express horror but others seem indifferent. A miniature Shoah in its
power to move audiences. (more)
Women in War: Voices from The Front Lines
Focusing on war-torn areas of the world, this inspiring program profiles
women living with the day-to-day tragedy of war. Part I begins in Israel
and moves to Northern Ireland where we meet Nobel Peace Prize winner
Meiread Corrigan who formed Peace People. Part II is dedicated to the
women of Salvador, working for the popular front movements for a more
just society and moves to the U.S. where women are fighting to reclaim
their neighborhoods from crime (more)
Yiddish Soul
This charming film documents the revival and popularity of Yiddish music
in today's Europe. It is now considered "world music" and has become
the passion of a new generation of artists both Jewish and non-Jewish.
(more)
Zygielbojm's Death
The tragic story of the efforts of a Polish Jewish official to warn
the world of the Nazi horrors in Poland. (more)
