Jewish Studies

KINDERLAND tells the timely tale of two rival Jewish summer camps in upstate New York that have cultivated social activists for almost a century and are still in existence today. Kinderland was communist; Kinder Ring, socialist. Despite numerous commonalities, they enjoyed a legendary feud from opposite ends of Sylvan Lake. In response to the devastating impact of the Trump era and the accompanying rise in intolerance and inequality, today’s campers, a largely secular multi-ethnic group, prioritize shared values over philosophical differences and attempt to join forces; inspiring unity within our divided world.

Night Will Fall tells the story of the liberation of the German Concentration Camps. Using remarkable archive footage and testimony from both survivors and liberators, it tells of the efforts made to document the almost unbelievable scenes that the Allies encountered on liberation.
The film explores how a team of top filmmakers, including Sidney Bernstein, Richard Crossman and Alfred Hitchcock, came together to make a film to provide undeniable evidence of what the Allies found, but the film was stopped in its tracks by the British Government and only now 70 years on, has it been completed. Each new generation deserves access to this evidence.

Dating and matchmaking in the “Haredi” (ultra-orthodox Jewish) world has always been mysterious and intriguingly different from the secular world. At a time when the institution of marriage in the modern secular world is about to go bankrupt – increasing divorce rates, infidelity, the trend of extended bachelorhood, single parenting, etc. – the question arises: where are we going wrong? And what is it about Haredi relationships that keeps them strong and stable? How does it work?

The stunning social, scientific and artistic accomplishments of the Jews raise an obvious question. How do they do it? From Shimon Peres to Judit Polgar and Dr. Ruth, from Noam Chomsky to Daniel Libeskind and Alan Dershowitz, some of the world’s most accomplished Jews tackle a mystery shrouded in ignorance and prejudice. This film tears back the curtain on a taboo and draws a startling link between Jewish exceptionalism and the Holocaust.

Isaac Bashevis Singer, the famous Yiddish writer and Nobel Prize winner wrote with a ‘harem’ of dozens of translators behind him. Beyond simple translators, these women were a vital source of his creativity. The inspiration he drew from them came in many forms, often mixing romance with professional aspirations. Today nine remain to tell his story. Intimate, poignant interviews and exclusive archival footage combine to form the unknown story of an author who charmed and enchanted his audiences, just as he charmed and enchanted his translators. A film about the art of translation and one of the great figures of twentieth century literature.

At the age of 85, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior’s rise to the nation’s highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans – until now. RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg’s exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen.

During the 1920s, Café Nagler was the hottest place in Berlin. Mor, the film’s director embarks on a journey to find out what’s left of her family’s legendary café. Her grandmother follows the filming with great anticipation. When Mor discovers the true story behind the café, she is unable to break her grandmother’s heart and looks for a creative solution. Café Nagler is a film about memory, about our need for family myths and about our longing for a different past.

A hundred years ago, women pioneers came from Europe to Palestine, to realize the dream of creating a new woman in a new world, a woman who is as independent as men are. The women pioneers have left diaries and texts which tell their stories. Their writings shed new light on the archival footage of the time. The Women/Pioneers uncovers the course of their passionate battles and painful disappointments, until they were defeated, and gave up their own liberation for the national struggle.

As a teenager in Nazi Germany, Jutta is shocked to discover she is Jewish. She joins the German resistance and meets Helmuth, an injured German soldier. The two become sweethearts and ultimately, co-conspirators in the now famous Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler.

A beautiful and deeply moving portrait of seven Palestinian and Israeli children. Emmy award-winning and Academy award-nominated, PROMISES follows the journey of a filmmaker who meets these children in and around Jerusalem, from a Palestinian refugee camp to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Although they live only 20 minutes apart, these children exist in completely separate worlds, divided by physical, historical and emotional boundaries. PROMISES explores the nature of these boundaries and tells the story of a few children who dared to cross the lines to meet their neighbors.

A group of Czech Jewish teenagers sets out on a journey to the North. Without their parents to look after them, they must rely on each other. That’s how their great adventure starts. They spend four years in Denmark, an oasis in the midst of raging WWII. More than seventy years later, they are ready to tell their story, a coming-of-age refugee story with a happy ending, courtesy of thousands of openhearted Danes.