Doing Jewish: A Story from Ghana
New York Jewish Film Festival 2017
January 11 - 24, 2017
Encouraged by her mother to celebrate the Jewish High Holidays while volunteering in Ghana, documentary filmmaker Gabrielle Zilkha discovers a little-known Jewish community in rural Sefwi Wiawso where she befriends a man whose family had been practicing Judaism there for centuries. Screening with Kol Nidre #3 (Tatiana McCabe, 4m).
Who would expect to find Jews in Ghana? Certainly not filmmaker Gabrielle Zilkha. But when she volunteered to work in Africa, and found herself alone as the Jewish New Year approached, she made a surprising connection with the Jewish Africans she met there. In remote Sefwi Wiawso, Zilkha encounters a group of practicing Jews, dedicated and devout, who perform rites like circumcision and observe Kosher dietary laws. Only recently did this Ghanaian community discover they were part of a worldwide religion with millions of followers, and were as surprised as the filmmaker who made this inspiring documentary.
Screening with:
Kol Nidre #3
Tatiana McCabe, USA, 2016, 4m
World Premiere
Images from Brooklyn-based artist Archie Rand’s acclaimed book The 613, an illustrated reimagining of the 613 Jewish commandments that earned praise from the likes of Art Spiegelman and Ang Lee, are recreated in this charming animated short.
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