This documentary provides a window into Chile’s Jewish community of some 20,000 by presenting in detail the lives and stories of three of its members. Presented in their everyday routines of work, family, friendship, and worship, the speakers express their attitudes toward religion and work, and reflect on their own stereotypes and the ones they are subjected to. The juxtaposition of the very different experiences of these speakers illustrates the richness of Jewish identity in Latin America. Kohava Ezra, an Israeli woman who came to Chile with her Chilean husband, speaks frankly of her feelings about Chile. Her new home is the place where she was able to become a successful entrepreneur, and where for the first time she could have friendships with people of Arab descent. Nonetheless, she criticizes the Chilean attitudes toward work and gender roles, and emphasizes her commitment to her homeland. Lía Weinberg, however, feels far more comfortable in Chile than when she visited Israel. A young Chilean-born woman, she has actively sought out her Jewish roots. She recounts how this search led her to her grandfather and his experience at the concentration camp at Treblinka. Together, they describe their visit to the camp. Her awareness of her grandfather’s story has made her sensitive to the constant threat of subtle prejudice in her daily life, even as she lives much like any other Chilean. Moishe Guzmán, also Chilean-born, narrates the history of Chile’s traditional Jewish community, into which he was born. His ties to Israel, where he lived for 10 years, are deep. He, his son, and his twin brother, who lost his life in the Yom Kippur war, all served in the Israeli army. Moishe eloquently debunks stereotypes about Jews and explains to the audience the fundamental traditions of Judaism and their meaning to him and his family. “To be a Jew,” Moishe says, “is a way of life: being, living, eating, and thinking as the Torah teaches.” And yet he never stops being a Chilean. In the interlacing of his story and the others, we see how Judaism remains vibrant in the Latin American setting.

Price
Institutional: $200.00
Home: $49.95