Festival Screenings
WORLD PREMIERE
European Independent Film
Festival, Paris (2007)
Tribeca Film Festival (2007)
Jerusalem Film Festival (2007)
Film Festival (2007)
The Last Jews of Libya documents the final decades of a centuries-old North African Sephardic Jewish community through the lives of the remarkable Roumani family, who lived in Benghazi, Libya, for hundreds of years. Thirty-six thousand Jews lived in Libya at the end of World War II, today none remain.
The film traces the story of the Roumanis from Turkish Ottoman rule through the age of Mussolini and Hitler to the final destruction and dispersal of Libya's Jews in the face of Arab nationalism.
The Last Jews of Libya is the story of an ancient and unique Jewish community transformed by modern European culture and by its relations with Arabs all the while retaining its own religious traditions, and of a family ultimately saved through the strength of its Jewish tradition and faith.
Based on the recently discovered memoirs of the family's matriarch, Elise Roumani, as well as interviews in English, Hebrew, Italian, and Arabic with several generations of the Roumani family and a trove of rare archival film and photographs, it is an unforgettable tale.
"Anyone who’s ever wondered about their family history especially when that history involved fleeing from persecution will find The Last Jews of Libya fascinating and moving."
-Star Magazine"Roumani-Denn tells this story as experienced by her mother (with Isabella Rossellini giving effective voice to her diaries and letters). Because the focus of Last Jews is entirely on the Roumanis and the Tamams (her mother’s family), the film is something more than another superficial historical documentary. Instead, viewers are given concrete examples of the workings of history on individuals, and history has an appealing and entirely human face."
- George Robinson, The Jewish Week"Libya was once a nation with a large and thriving Jewish community; today, only a tiny number of Jews remain there, and this documentary from filmmaker Vivienne Roumani-Denn (herself a Libyan Jew) explains the tragic legacy of the nation's Jewish community."
-Mark Deming, All Movie Guide"Based on the memoirs of Vivienne's mother, Elise Roumani, that were discovered after her death and enhanced by archival footage and interviews, we see 20th century history through the prism of a proud Jewish community that had prospered in a Moslem country for centuries."
-Judy Lash Balint, Blogcritics.org
The New York Sun, November 30, 2007
Jewish Journal, November 30, 2007
NPR News & Notes, November 27, 2007
$90.00 plus shipping
Institutional Use Only DVD
Does Not Include Public Performance Rights$36.00 plus shipping
Home Use Only DVD
Not for Classroom/Institutional Use
Does Not Include Public Performance Rights
Home Use Only Policy (pdf)
The National Center For Jewish Film
Brandeis University, Lown 102, MS053, Waltham MA 02454
P: (781) 899 7044, F: (781) 736 2070
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