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CineMingle: Three Films by Abraham Ravett

JCC East Bay
Berkeley, CA

Abraham Ravett's films weave together archival World War II footage and his own 16mm recordings of interviews with family members. These experimental shorts investigate the hardships his mother and father endured during the Holocaust and reflect on the filmmaker's evolving relationship with his parents.

Half Sister
United States, 1985, 22 minutes, English
At twenty-six, Abraham Ravett learned that his mother had previously been married and lost her family at Auschwitz, including his half-sister, Toncia, who was killed when she was six years old. Half Sister is a cinematic amalgam of memory and imagination, inspired by Ravett's conception of a life that would have been.

In Memory
United States, 1993, 13 minutes, English
In this non-narrative short, footage of Lodz Ghetto life is juxtaposed against the chanting of "Kel Maleh Rachamim," a plea to God to let the souls of those "slaughtered and burned" find peace. The message of this tribute to members of Ravett's family (and to all those who perished under Nazi occupation) is "may their memory endure."

The March
United States, 1999, 25 minutes, English

Utilizing a series of recorded film interviews he conducted with his mothera survivor of the infamous Auschwitz Death MarchRavett details her recollections of that experience in this short, which meditates on time elapsed and the fragility of personal memory.

Program notes adopted from the National Center for Jewish Film.

Born in Poland in 1947, Abraham Ravett was raised in Israel and emigrated to the USA in 1955. He teaches filmmaking and photography at Hampshire College.

This evening will feature a post-screening discussion on Ravett's work by SF State professor Bill Nichols.

Kid Friendly: No

Dog Friendly: No

Non-Smoking: No

Wheelchair Accessible: No

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