TODAY, EUROPE’S FASTEST GROWING JEWISH POPULATION IS IN BERLIN.
Germany is considered one of the most democratic societies in the world, assuming the position of moral leader in Europe as it embraces hundreds of thousands of refugees. None of these developments could have been imagined in 1945. Through personal stories Germans & Jews explores the country’s transformation from silence about the Holocaust to facing it head on. Unexpectedly, a nuanced story of reconciliation emerges. What began as a private conversation between the two filmmakers and friends, Tal Recanati (Jewish) and Janina Quint (non-Jewish German), grew into a cultural exchange among many. We realize that the two people are inextricably linked through the memory of the Holocaust. Germans and Jews is provocative, unexpected and enlightening.
In North America, the film is available to stream and buy from Amazon, iTunes and First Run Features.
Trailer
Past Screenings
Greenwich International Film Festival World Premiere June 2016
New York City Cinema Village June 10th – July 14th
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival July 23rd, Jul 28, Aug 2
Columbus, Ohio Gateway Film Center September 2 – 8, 2016
Toronto, ON Bloor Hot Docs Cinema August 5, 2016
Los Angeles, CA Laemmle Theaters Opens September 9, 2016
Toronto, ON Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema September 20 & 22, 2016
Washington DC Washington Hebrew Congregation September 22, 2016
Copenhagen, De DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia October 29th
New Brunswick, NJ Rutgers Jewish Film Festival October 30 & November 3
New York, NY Baruch College November 9, 2106
Manchester UK International Jewish Film Festival November 9th, 2016
Heidelberg International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg November 10, 11
Mannheim International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg November 11, 12
London UK International Jewish Film Festival November 13, 2016
Boston Boston Jewish Film Festival November 13, 2016
St. Louis, MO St. Louis International Film Festival November 13, 2016
Philadelphia Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival November 15th, 2016
Warsaw, Poland Warsaw Jewish Film Festival November 27, 2017
Calgary, Ontario Beth Tzedec Calgary Jewish Film Fest Nov 27, 2017
Washington DC German Embassy November 28, 2016
Blackwood, NJ Camden County College November 29, 2016
Washington DC Washington DC Jewish Film Festival December 6, 2016
New York, NY Park Avenue Synagogue December 13, 2016
Reading, NJ Reading Jewish Film Series December 7, 2016
Jerusalem, Israel Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival December 28th, 29th
Palm Beach Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival Jan 26, Feb 2nd, Feb 7th
Aspen Aspen Film Festival Benefit February 4, 2017
Atlanta Atlanta Jewish Film Festival February 5, 2017
San Diego San Diego Jewish Film Festival February 9 – 19, 2017
Copenhagen Copenhagen Jewish Film Fest February 13th 2017
San Rafael Best of San Francisco Jewish Film Fest February 22, 2017
Berlin Wizo Benefit Screening February 23, 2017
Newton, Mass Temple Emanuel March 2, 2017
Munich Juedische Filmtage March 15, 2017
New York, NY Symphony Space March 19, 2017
Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival March 24, 2017
Pleasantville, NY Westchester Jewish Film Festival March 24 & 26
Fairfax, VA Northern Virginia Jewish Film Festival March 26, 2017
Seattle, WA Seattle Jewish Film Festival March 27, 2017
New York, NY Symphony Space April 8 & 15, 2017
New York, NY Temple Shaaray Tefila April 23, 2017
Detroit, MI Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival May 9, 2017
Ann Arbor, MI Ann Arbor Jewish Film Festival May 11, 2017
St. Louis St. Louis Jewish Film Festival June 4- June 8
Rochester, NY ROCHESTER JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL July 9- July 17
Southampton, NY SOUTHAMPTON CULTURAL CENTER August 1
Boston Boston College November 12, 2017
Austin, Texas UT College of Liberal Arts November 16, 2017
Capetown Cape Town Holocaust Centre November 27, 2017
Team
JANINA QUINT (DIRECTOR/PRODUCER)
Janina Quint grew up in Germany. Her early video essays addressed the tension between technology and authenticity. She is the co-director of the film festival Senza Frontiere/without borders and serves on the board of Film Ohne Grenzen. She lives with her husband and three children and dog in New York City.
TAL RECANATI (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
Tal Recanati was born in the US and raised in both the US and Israel. She is an entrepreneur and the former chair of the Advisory Board of the Arnhold Institute For Global Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She is a member of the board of Seeds of Peace. Tal lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.
Maria Giacchino (Producer)
Maria works as a producer, publicist, and event manager for the Academy Award winning composer, Michael Giacchino. Maria oversees concert performances and appearances. Their first live to picture projects, Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness are touring internationally. Independently, Maria’s work is in production and photography. Maria lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.
Adolfo Doring (Director of Cinematography)
Adolfo’s work includes shooting the Academy Award nominated documentary Capturing the Friedmans as well as shooting in a number of independent films including Steve Clark’s ‘SPAZ’. He has collaborated with music video’s most acclaimed directors such as Mark Pellington, Hype Williams, Wayne Isham and Brett Ratner. His work can be seen on projects for Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Nine Inch Nails, Bon Jovi, LL Cool J, Lauryn Hill, Sting, and Sheryl Crowe.
AMANDA ZACKEM (DIRECTOR OF CINEMATOGRAPHY)
Amanda Zackem is a Director, Photographer, Cinematographer. Producing credits include the documentary The Trial of the St. Patrick’s Four (’06) and Blind Spot (’08), as well as of the dramatic feature length narrative, Thinly Veiled (‘09). Her short documentary on women’s cycling pioneer Georgena Terry won Best Female Directed Short at the Cornwall Film Festival. Zackem also won Best Cinematography for her short film, The Black Series, at the Women’s Independent Film Festival in West Hollywood.
MICHAEL CULYBA (EDITOR)
Michael has worked in documentary film for over thirteen years. In 2006, Michael was co-editor on two-time Oscar Award winning director Barbara Kopple’s documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing. Additional editing credits include Doubletime (SXSW & Tribeca Film Festival), Sync or Swim(Silverdocs), Woodstock: Now & Then (Woodstock Film Festival), Gary Hustwit’s Urbanized(Toronto International Film Festival) and Barbara Kopple’s Running from Crazy (Sundance Film Festival). Most recently, Michael edited David Sampliner’s My Own Man (TriBeCa Film Festival 2014), a Netflix Original Documentary. Michael lives in Brooklyn, NY.
JONATHAN ZALBEN (COMPOSER)
Jonathan’s music for film and television has been shown at Sundance, Slamdance, SXSW, Tribeca, Berlin, LA Film Festival, and AFI Docs. His work in documentaries include: There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane (HBO) directed by Liz Garbus, Oscar-nominated Redemption (HBO) directed by Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill, Hotel 22 (New York Times Op-Docs) directed by Liz Lo, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (Sony Pictures Classics) directed by Morgan Spurlock, and The Perfect Life directed by Sam Lee, which is part of the New York Public Library’s Yip Harburg Collection.
THORSTEN WAGNER (HISTORICAL CONSULTANT)
Thorsten lives in Copenhagen and Berlin. He is Associate Professor of Modern European History at DIS/University of Copenhagen, and the Academic Director of the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE), NYC. Born in Denmark, he has authored numerous publications in the fields of Modern German and European Jewish History, antisemitism, Holocaust Studies, cultures of memory and Israeli history and society.
Press
The LA TIMES’ Kenneth Turan gives Germans & Jews an honorable mention for his Top Films of 2016.
“Germans and Jews dives headlong into the most sensitive of subjects: seventy years after the Holocaust, how do we think about and talk to each other? With no agenda other than honest exploration, it beautifully captures — and advances — the state of dialogue. Whether you are German, Jewish, both, or neither, this is a film that will leave you moved and hopeful.” Jacob Weisberg, Editor-in-Chief, Slate Group
“Germans and Jews is not judgmental, finely nuanced, and shows a spectrum of perspectives that covers all bases.” Carol Strauss, former International Director of The Leo Baeck Institute
“..a superb documentary on a fascinating and difficult subject, with an impeccable selection of speakers, great editing and lovely cinematography.“ Shelby Coffey III, Vice Chairman of the Newseum
“An amazing, intelligent and important movie about a topic still more complicated, for obvious reasons, than many Germans want to acknowledge. Every student of German, and every German student should watch this film. And everyone else should too.” Daniel Kehlmann, author of “Measuring the World”.
New York Times: “Incisive …. Part psychology seminar and sociology course, Germans & Jews finds its sharpest insights as it examines the stress of communication, when both sides are so hyper-aware of the past that it hinders what’s said in the present. Yet just the fact that Germans — Jewish and non-Jewish — are talking about the issues, Ms. Quint suggests, is a real cause for hope, despite history.” – Ken Jaworowski
LA Times “‘Germans and Jews’ is a nuanced look at a complicated situation that offers insights into the intricacies of the human condition.” – Kenneth Turan
Salon: “In Janina Quint’s subtle, compact but deeply resonant documentary Germans & Jews, we can see how far the modern nation of Germany has come in terms of historical reckoning and historical reconciliation, 70 years after the end of World War II.” – Andrew O’Hehir
The Hollywood Reporter: “A thoughtful and illuminating examination of a provocative subject.” – Frank Scheck
Village Voice: “With subtle, skillful editing, director Janina Quint wisely allows such paradoxes to arise on their own while giving the viewer enough historical context to make sense of them.” – Diana Clarke
The Daily Beast The new documentary ‘Germans & Jews’ chronicles how Germany has learned from its history of intolerance. The Donald should give it a gander.
Jewish Standard [The Times of Israel]: “What truly makes the film a must-see are the fine interviews with social psychologists, historians, Jewish educators and museum directors …. an exceptional documentary.” – Eric A. Goldman
TrustMovies: “Surprisingly rigorous and enormously edifying …. thought-provoking, humane, sometimes funny, and always rich in ideas.” – James van Maanen
Forward “An engaging, thoughtful documentary about the current relationship between Germany and its Jewish population.” – Judy Bolton-Fasman
Wolf Entertain Guide’s New York Calling: “Informative and absorbing.” – William Wolf
Criterion Cast: “Intimately crafted, Germans and Jews is a gorgeously made documentary …. a film of profound nuance and emotional depth.” – Joshua Brunsting
NOW Toronto: “The film speaks volumes about the human capacity for understanding, empathy and hope.” – Norman Wilner