Inna Rogatchi’s Film The Lessons of Survival. Conversations with Simon Wiesenthal has been selected to be shown in Sydney and Melbourne in April 2015 as part of the Holocaust Film Series hosted and presented by the Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF), the largest festival of its kind in Australia and New Zealand.
The Jewish International Film Festival selects the films for its Holocaust Film Series very carefully. The Series represents the whole range of cinema genres: feature films, documentaries, and short films. All of the films in the series are to be shown in Australia and New Zealand for the first time.
Among the films screened during two weeks at the Classic Cinema in Melbourne, at the JIFF main venue, and during one week in Sydney, at the Sydney Jewish Museum, are the best new releases worldwide on the themes related to the Holocaust. The programme of the previous Holocaust Film Series 2014 included two films nominated to the Academy Awards (Oscars) – The Lady in Number 6 for the Best Documentary Short Subject in 2014; and When Day Breakfor the Best Foreign Language Film in 2012; and also the film nominated for the Ophir Award, the prestigious Cinema Award in Israel – Bureau 06.
According to Eddie Tamir, director of the Holocaust Film Series of the Jewish International Film Festival:
“The HOLOCAUST FILM SERIES, presented by JIFF, highlights the resilience and courage of the human spirit through true stories of love, identity, hope and survival against the odds. Presenting premiere feature films, shorts and documentaries from countries diversified all around the globe, the HOLOCAUST FILM SERIES showcases the passion of film makers united by their desire to make sense of an event that encouraged both the finest and most evil aspects of humankind.
Throughout the last seven decades, the Holocaust has been explored – seemingly – from every conceivable angle. But despite the tremendous steps forward in the quest for human rights, irrational ethnically motivated crimes still occur. It is only through engaging in a contemporary dialogue about the Holocaust that we can learn from it and hope to achieve a better future. The diverse slate of films presented in this unique series reveals many amazing and inspirational tales that will fascinate and entertain, while reminding us that humanity’s quest for equality, compassion and understanding is continually evolving.
Films about the Holocaust tell universal stories as well as those that are deeply personal. They tap into the very human themes of courage, tragedy identity and hope, often in an attempt to make sense of the incomprehensible.
By presenting these films, the Holocaust Film Series hopes to be part of a tradition of representation and inquiry that over the past 70 years has helped to teach, heal and memorialise”.
The Rogatchi Foundation will present the films which will be shown in the Holocaust Film Series of the Jewish International Festival 2015 in Sydney and Melbourne, in the near future.