Brides in Madagascar with gifts of challah covers made in Ghana.   Photo credit: Barbara Vinick

First-Ever Kulanu African Jewish Film Festival 

to be Held in New York City

Jews in Africa long to belong to the worldwide Jewish community and have overcome many challenges to practicing Judaism and living Jewish lives.

Kulanu , a grassroots organization that supports returning, emerging, and isolated communities around the globe is hosting the first-ever film festival of African Jewish documentaries focused solely on the experience of Jewish Africans, their challenges and successes, past and present.

 

The two evening event will feature four films from the Jewish communities in Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, and Madagascar.  After the viewing, there will be an opportunity to meet the directors, producers, and participants of the films in a moderated discussion.

 

The Jewish Africa Film Festival is part of Kulanu's 25th Anniversary-Year Celebration. It will be on J anuary 28 and 29, 2019 at 6:30 PM , and is in cooperation with American Sephardi Federation and Association Maimouna's Jewish Africa Conference at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16 Street, NYC. The conference includes world-renowned scholars and leaders of African Jewish communities including Professors Tudor Parfitt, Shalva Weil, Marla Brettschneider, Rabbi Capers Funnye and Remy Ilona and many dignitaries and others from around the world that present the wider picture of Jewish life on the continent. Join us for a wine and cheese reception at 6:30 PM. Tickets are $20 per evening or $35 for both. Sponsorships are welcome.

 

	Children eating matzah in Uganda. Photo credit: Chaya Weinstein

"We are excited to bring a treasure trove of African Jewish experiences to a wider audience," says Bonita Nathan Sussman, Vice President of Kulanu, "I am sure viewing these films about their journeys to Judaism, that depict their prayer services, weddings, and conversions will be an eye-opening experience and great introduction to the trials and tribulations of the Jewish communities in Sub-Saharan Africa."

 

Featured Films:

 

Monday, 28 January

Gabrielle Zilkha's "Doing Jewish: A Story from Ghana" (2016)

David Vinik and Debra Gonsher Vinik's "Yearning to Belong" (2007)

 

Tuesday, 29 January

Joshua Kristal's "Journey to Judaism: The Jews of Madagascar" (2016)

Jeff Lieberman's "Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria" (20 12)

 

For Tickets

 

For More Information

 

Kulanu Website

 

Please call Molly Levine , Communications Director, at 646-285-8815 with any questions.

 

About Kulanu

Founded in 1994, Kulanu, Hebrew for all of us, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting isolated, emerging, and returning Jewish communities around the globe.

 

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