“Gerda’s Silence / Gerda’s Schweigen” Jewishfilm.2009 March 29, 2009

“Gerda’s Silence / Gerda’s Schweigen”
Germany | 2008 | 95 min | German with English subtitles
Director: Britta Wauer
North American Premiere
Special Guest: Author Knut Elstermann
It took Gerda 60 years to share her most intimate, guarded secret. Her confidant is not her American-born son, however, but Knut Elstermann, the grandson of her childhood friend in Berlin. Wrapped inside this thoughtful portrait of a tenacious woman who survived the most brutal horrors in Auschwitz, lies the story of her son, who like many children of survivors, suffers from the deafening silence. This is the narrative, too, of the children of post-war Germany—and more recently East Germany—and the role they play in telling the story of the Holocaust. Based on the book Gerda Schweigen by Elstermann.
Jewishfilm.2009
The National Center for Jewish Film and Brandeis University in cooperation with The Consulate General of Israel to New England will present, Jewishfilm.2009. The festival will present twelve films—from six countries—along with eight visiting filmmakers and more than a dozen special guests. Two films are North American premieres, eight are New England premieres, and three are Boston premieres. Jewishfilm.2009 will present eight visiting filmmakers and more than a dozen special guests. Highlights include Jewishfilm.2009’s opening night film, “Waiting for Armageddon,” a controversial new documentary about the impact of Evangelical Christians on American foreign policy in the Middle East and the role Israel plays in their theology and public policy. Director Franco Sacchi and two of the film’s producers are from the Boston area; all three will join with Brandeis University professor Jonathan Sarna for a discussion following the film. Jewishfilm.2009 The National Center for Jewish Film’s 12th Annual Film Festival will be held from March 25 through April 5. Screenings will take place at the Wasserman Cinematheque at Brandeis University, 415 South St., Waltham, Mass. with two screenings at The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Tickets are $10 or $8 for students and seniors. For a more complete schedule of screenings, or for ticket information, visit www.jewishfilm.org or call, (781) 736-8600.

Official Website: http://www.jewishfilm.org