SELECTED SCREENINGS

Block Art Museum, Northwestern University (2010)
Theater Nestroyhof Hamakom, Vienna (2010)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT Sinking Creek Film Festival (1984)

In I Miss the Sun filmmaker Mary Halawani profiles her grandmother Rosette Hakim, who left Egypt for the United States in 1962. The Halawanis, a prominent Egyptian-Jewish family, fled their homeland in 1959 when Egyptian anti-Zionist sentiments increased and when hundreds of Jews, suspected of pro-Communist activities were interned in detention camps.

Rosette, the family matriarch, chose to remain in Egypt until every member of the large family was free to leave. Using the Passover seder as a backdrop, Rosette (who now lives in Brooklyn) discusses life in Egypt and the contrasts between the values and textures of life there and in America.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

“I Miss the Sun is a unique and important contribution to the profile of contemporary Jewish life, exploring an area where there is so little known about the community.”
- Julius Schatz, former President, National Council on Art in Jewish Life

“The Passover Seder is important to the family... the family reenacts the Exodus in a visual way, with ritual movements and demonstrative Arab hand gestures.”
- Hadassah Magazine, 1984

PURCHASE DVD

Home Use DVD: $19.95 Does not include Classroom or Library Use Rights or Public Performance Rights. More Information	Classroom/Library Use DVD: $50 Does not include Public Performance Rights. More Information
Digital Site Licensing (DSL) available - Contact us
Step down pricing for K-12 & public libraries may be available - Contact us
Arrange a screening - Contact us

Back to Top

I Miss the Sun

USA, 1984, 20 minutes, color
Directed by Mary Halawani

Buy Now

Public Exhibition formats: 16mm, Beta, DVD