PRINTDuring World War II, Albanian Muslims provided shelter for thousands of Jewish refugees from Germany, Austria, and Bulgaria. Invoking the ancient moral code of besa (a vow to care for anyone facing of danger), many people, including Muslims, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians in Albania sheltered, hid, and protected Jews from the occupying German troops. Besa: The Promise addresses the broad history of the rescues by following two characters affected by the experience: Rexhep Hoxha, a Muslim-Albanian storekeeper, and Norman H. Gershman, a Jewish-American photographer. Toward the end of World War II, Hoxha's family had provided shelter to a Bulgarian Jewish family who left three Hebrew books behind when they fled to Palestine. The film focuses on Hoxha and Gershman's attempt to return these three books to their original Jewish owners, the Aladjem family, now living in Israel. The American, Norman Gershman, has taken photographic portraits of Albanian rescuers since 2002 while also documenting the oral reminiscence of these rescuers and the broader history of the time.
Director/Co-Producer: Rachel Goslins
Editor/Co-Producer: Christine Romero
2013 Festival Schedule to date
Multicultural Mosaic Foundation,
in conjunction with Wisdom House Denver
Sunday, June 9 at 4 PM
Malone Theater at the Cable Center
2000 Buchtel Boulevard
Denver CO 80210
Website
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 pm
Alfond Auditorium, G36
Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival
Tuesday, April 16th at 7 PM
Elms College
291 Springfield St. Chicopee, MA 01013
Tickets: http://pvjff.org/tickets
The Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival
Tuesday, April 16 at 5 PM
The Berman Center for the Performing Arts
6600 W. Maple Rd. West Bloomfield, MI
Birmingham Museum of Art
in partnership with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Film Screening
Thursday, April 18th at 7 PM
2000 8th Ave N
Birmingham, AL 35203
Norman H. Gershman's photography will be on display at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute March 2 - June 30, 2013.
Edmonton Jewish Film Festival
Sunday, April 26 at 9 PM
Zeidler Hall, Citadel Theatre
9828 101A Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 3C6
Tickets: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e780eajk711de0b3&oseq=&c=&ch=
The South Brunswick Public Library
Film Screening & Photography Exhibit
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Exhibit opens at 11 AM, film begins at 11:30 AM
110 Kingston Lane,
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
RSVP by April 22nd to Chris Carbone, Library Director
ccarbone@sbpl.info
732-329-400, ext. 7287
South East European Film Festival
Sunday, May 5 at 7 PM
Museum of Tolerance
Simon Wiesenthal Plaza
9786 West Pico Blvd (southeast corner of Pico Boulevard and Roxbury Drive)
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Website: http://www.seefilmla.org/seefest/ (2013 information is not up on their website yet)
Monday, May 6 at 2 PM
The Michigan Theater
603 E Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI
Tickets: https://theberman.jccdet.org/ticketing/
Ann Katz Film Festival
Thursday, May 9 at 7 PM
Arthur M. Glick JCC
6701 Hoover Rd.
Indianapolis, IN 46260
Website: http://www.jccindy.org/page.aspx?id=172632