FESTIVAL
SCREENINGS
WORLD
PREMIERE European Independent Film Festival, Paris (2007)
U.S.
PREMIERE Tribeca Film Festival (2007)
Jerusalem Film Festival (2007)
Sao
Paulo International Film Festival (2007)
Sundance
Channel (2007)
Washington
Jewish Film Festival (2007)
Atlanta
Jewish Film Festival (2007)
Virginia
Jewish Film Festival (2007)
Sephardic
Jewish Film Festival, NYC (2008)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TRAILER
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The
Last Jews of Libya documents the final decades of a centuries-old
North African Sephardic Jewish community through the lives of the remarkable
Roumani family, who lived in Benghazi, Libya, for hundreds of years. Thirty-six
thousand Jews lived in Libya at the end of World War II, today none remain.
The film
traces the story of the Roumanis from Turkish Ottoman rule through the
age of Mussolini and Hitler to the final destruction and dispersal of
Libya's Jews in the face of Arab nationalism.
The
Last Jews of Libya is the story of an ancient and unique
Jewish community transformed by modern European culture and by its relations
with Arabs all the while retaining its own religious traditions, and of
a family ultimately saved through the strength of its Jewish tradition
and faith.
Based on
the recently discovered memoirs of the family's matriarch, Elise Roumani,
as well as interviews in English, Hebrew, Italian, and Arabic with several
generations of the Roumani family and a trove of rare archival film and
photographs, it is an unforgettable tale.
CRITICAL
ACCLAIM
"Anyone
who’s ever wondered about their family history especially when that
history involved fleeing from persecution will find The
Last Jews of Libya
fascinating and moving."
-Star Magazine
"Roumani-Denn
tells this story as experienced by her mother (with Isabella Rossellini
giving effective voice to her diaries and letters). Because the focus
of The
Last Jews of Libya is entirely on the Roumanis
and the Tamams (her mother’s family), the film is something more
than another superficial historical documentary. Instead, viewers are
given concrete examples of the workings of history on individuals, and
history has an appealing and entirely human face."
- George Robinson, The Jewish Week
"Libya
was once a nation with a large and thriving Jewish community; today, only
a tiny number of Jews remain there, and this documentary from filmmaker
Vivienne Roumani-Denn (herself a Libyan Jew) explains the tragic legacy
of the nation's Jewish community."
-Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
"Based
on the memoirs of Vivienne's mother, Elise Roumani, that were discovered
after her death and enhanced by archival footage and interviews, we see
20th century history through the prism of a proud Jewish community that
had prospered in a Moslem country for centuries."
-Judy Lash Balint, Blogcritics.org
EXTERNAL
LINKS
Official
Website
Libya,
A Historical Timeline (PDF)
"A Jewish Home Away From Home"
The New York Sun, November
30, 2007
"Family's Tale Recounts Libyan Jewish Dispersion"
Jewish Journal, November
30, 2007
"Jewish Tradition Lost in Libya"
NPR News & Notes, November
27, 2007
PURCHASE
DVD
| HOME
USE ONLY
$36.00
plus shipping
Home Use Only DVD (Not for Classroom/Institutional
Use)
Does
not include Public Performance Rights
Home
Use Policy (pdf)
|
INSTITUTIONAL
USE
$72.00
plus shipping
Classroom/Institutional Use Only
DVD
Does
not include Public Performance Rights
Institutional
Use Policy (pdf)
|
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The
National Center For Jewish Film
Brandeis
University, Lown 102, MS053, Waltham
MA 02454
P: (781) 899 7044, F: (781) 736 2070 |
