The Venice Ghetto, 500 Years of Life by Emanuela Giordano (Italy/France, 2015, 54 min.). Italian & French with English subtitles.
The rich story of the Jews of Venice is celebrated in this charming film, which uses an inventive mix of documentary and drama, animation, location photography, and interviews. Conjuring up 500 years of history, language, architecture, food, art, and politics—even the smells of market day—the film introduces us to Lorenzo (Laurence Olivieri), a Jewish teenager from New York, who is guided through Jewish Venice by his artist aunt (Sandra Toffolatti). Together they explore the unique character of Venetian Jewish life, which began in the 14th century when Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Levantine Jews arrived in Venice, then the center of trade between the East and West.
This special screening commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Venice Ghetto. The film will be followed by a Q&A with Benjamin Ravid, Professor Emeritus at Brandeis University and author of The Jews of Modern Venice.