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Event
Windown into a Vanished Civilization Michael David Lukas/Film Screening From the Cairo to the Cloud
Lukas has given us an elegiac novel of Cairo with a bit of Berkeley thrown in. His prose is deeply evocativebut his greatest flair is in capturing the essence of that beautiful, haunted, shabby, beleaguered, yet still utterly sublime Middle Eastern city. Lucette Lagnado
Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father. His familys story is entwined with that of the British twin sisters Agnes and Margaret, who in 1897 depart their hallowed Cambridge halls on a mission to rescue sacred texts that have begun to disappear from the synagogue. Inspired by the discovery of the documents of the Cairo Geniza in the late 19th century, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo builds a contemporary tale with flourishes of mystery and current societal concerns.
MICHAEL DAVID LUKASs first novel The Oracle of Stamboul was a bestseller translated into more than a dozen languages. The Last Watchman of Old Cairo won the National Jewish Book Award and the Sami Rohr Prize. Michael lives in Oakland and teaches at San Francisco State University.
8:00pm FILM SCREENING From Cairo to the Cloud
Michelle Paymars brilliantly conceived and executed film will captivate the general public. Mark Cohen
The documentary produced, directed, and filmed by award-winning filmmaker Michelle Paymar tells the remarkable story of the Cairo Geniza, a vast treasure trove of manuscripts hidden for centuries in the sacred storeroom of an ancient synagogue in Cairo.
As a Jew raised in North America wrote Michelle, I was deeply aware of the Eastern European world of my ancestors, but had little knowledge of Jews in Islamic countries. Discovering the richness of Judeo-Arabic culture was truly a revelation.
Michelles independent work has screened at festivals around the world and she has extensive credits as a director and writer of documentary and non-fiction TV programs for major broadcasters.
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LocationJewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (View)
950 West 41st Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Z 2N7
Canada
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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