Jewish Studies (Documentaries)

Produced by Doko Media and Anna Frank Center.
53 minutes; released 2004.
Two documentaries about Anne Frank and the Holocaust.

Produced by Illuminations Television.
155 minutes; released 2008.
Three programs about the art and architecture of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Directed by Arturo Sbicca.
39 minutes; released 2008.
A documentary about the efforts of the bishop and clergy of Assisi to save Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II.

Directed by Laurence Rees and Catherine Tatge.
300 minutes; released 2005.
A documentary which draws from over 100 interviews with camp survivors, newly released documents, archival footage and dramatic re-enactments of key moments. Also offers an alarming look at the mindset of the perpetrators.

Produced by the Teaching Company.
30-minute lectures; released 2008.
How did Judaism develop from its biblical roots to the highly developed system we know today? What has changed and what has remained constant? The answers to these questions are relevant to all faiths, as well as to anyone seeking to broaden their understanding of ancient history - a past that is inexorably linked to the present.

Produced by the Teaching Company.
30-minute lectures; released 2005.
Between Cross and Crescent: Jewish Civilization from Mohammed to Spinoza presents an overview of Jewish culture and society from its rabbinic foundations in late antiquity up to the dawn of modernity in the 17th century.

Directed by Isidore Rosmarin.
74 minutes; released 2007.
Digging at the truth beneath the hype and headlines of the Arab-Israeli conflict, this film features interviews with top officials from former Israeli Prime Ministers, Mideast scholars, Hamas leaders, soldiers, terrorists, and the families caught in the middle of the fighting.

Produced by Torah Wisdom Productions.
22 minutes; released 2000.
A documentary about the use of male circumcision as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jewish people.

Directed by Pavel Chukhray et al.
283 minutes; released 2002.
A series of five historical films about human courage, heroism, and triumph among the deepest of adversity during World War II. Produced by Steven Spielberg and the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. In Spanish, Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Russian dialogue, English, French or Spanish subtitles.

Directed by Phil Byrd.
75 minutes; released 2003.
Three of the world's most renowned cantors perform Jewish religious and secular music.

Directed by Yoav Shamir.
79 minutes; released 2003.
More than three million Palestinians live in The West Bank and Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli military authority since 1967. This award-winning film documents the impact of the enforced boundaries know as "checkpoints" on the Israeli border, the border guards drafted to monitor them, and the Palestinians who pass through them every day. In Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles.

Directed by Pamela Mason Wagner.
57 minutes; released 1996.
Religion professor Huston Smith talks with Bill Moyers. Part of the Wisdom of Faith series.

Directed by David Jasse.
31 minutes; released 2004.
A documentary about Jewish psychiatrist Rabbi Avraham Twerski.

Directed by Sy Rotter.
30 minutes; released 1999.
A series of interviews with Italian priests, nuns, and laypeople who helped to hide Jews during the Second World War.

Directed by David Jasse.
25 minutes; released 2000.
An introduction to the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism.

Directed by Victoria Barrett.
64 minutes; released 2001.
The story of small groups of Turkish Muslims, Jews and Christians who worked together to save Jewish lives during the Second World War.

Directed by Judit Elek.
108 minutes; released 1996.
A documentary on Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, following him from the village of his birth in Hungary to Auschwitz and Birkenau. Narrated by William Hurt.

Directed by Martin Himel.
48 minutes; released 2005.
A documentary about the complex relationship between Christian and Jewish Zionists.

Directed by Simcha Jacobovici.
80 minutes; released 1983.
The plight of Ethiopia's Jewish community and the politics which led to their return to Israel in the 1980s.

Directed by David Ash and Dai Richards.
50-minute programs; released 1999.
A PBS series about the conflict between Israelis and Arabs.

Directed by Robert Gardner.
60 minutes; released 2002.
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and author of the Holocaust memoir Night, talks about his life, work and concerns for the future of humankind. He discusses his experiences as a journalist in Paris and Jerusalem, his authorship of more than 40 novels, plays and essays, and the events of September 11, 2001.

Directed by Bob Hercules & Cheri Pugh.
80 minutes; released 2005.
A film about Evar Kor, a victim of Josef Mengele's horrific human experiments at Auschwitz, who finds in herself the power to forgive Mengele and encourages others to do likewise.

Directed by James Longley.
74 minutes; released 2002.
Longley's documentary about Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip under Israeli occupation.

Directed by Arnold Schwartzman.
83 minutes; released 1981.
This documentary about the Holocaust, narrated by Elizabeth Taylor and Orson Welles, received an Oscar for best documentary in 1982.

Produced by the Teaching Company.
30-minute lectures; released 2003.
Surveys the history, traditions, and practice of Judaism from biblical times to today, with explanations of the major aspects of Jewish culture. Focuses on Judaism from within and how it is understood by its adherents, past and present. Covers topics such as the sacred books of Judaism, modes of worship, the calendar and holidays, and rites of passage such as bar and bat mitzvah and marriage.

Directed by Malka Touger.
39 minutes; released 2000.
An introduction to the lives of Lubavitcher Hasidic children, with special emphasis on the example of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Directed by David Naglieri.
55 minutes; released 2008.
An examination of the response of Pope Pius XII to the Nazi extermination of Jews during World War II.

Produced by Home Vision Entertainment.
60-minute programs; released 1984.
The 5000 year history of the Jewish people.

Directed by Karen Pascal.
50 minutes; released 2001.
The story of Dutch Christians who saved Dutch Jews from the Holocaust.

Directed by Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky.
85 minutes; released 2004.
A documentary about a Holocaust survivor who returns to Poland with his two sons to find the Christian farmers who hid him from the Nazis.

Produced by Ergo Media.
120 minutes; released 1994.
An aid to learning Hebrew using oral reading exercises and charming animations.

Directed by Malka Touger.
39 minutes; released 2000.
A sequel to Hand in Hand about the lives of Lubavitcher Hasidic children, with special emphasis on the example of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Directed by Christof Wolf.
74 minutes; released 2008.
Every November an interfaith retreat is held at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Filmed over a period of seven days, this documentary tells the story of five retreatants, among them a rabbi, an atheist, and a Catholic priest, and how they come face to face not only with their own vulnerabilities and complicity but with new-found strength, peace, and glimmers of hope.

Directed by Mark Jonathan Harris.
118 minutes; released 2000.
A documentary about the Kindertransport, the successful rescue of 10,000 German, Austrian, and Czechoslovakian Jewish children just prior to the outbreak of World War II. Narrated by Judi Dench.

Produced by the Teaching Company.
30-minute lectures; released 2004.
Shai Cherry, professor of Jewish thought at Vanderbilt University, presents the unfolding of the religious aspects of the Jewish civilization from the Hebrew Bible to today, while keeping an eye on the historical background against which those changes within Judaism have occurred.

Directed by Neville Meyer.
60-minute programs; released 1994.
Former Israeli ambassador to the United States Abba Eban chronicles the birth and development of the state of Israel. Featured in interviews and archival footage are Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Winston Churchill, Anwar Sadat, Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin. English with optional Hebrew, Russian and Spanish subtitles.

Directed by Mohammed Bakri.
54 minutes; released 2003.
A controversial documentary from the Palestinian perspective about the Israeli army's occupation of the town of Jenin in April 2002.

Produced by the Teaching Company.
30-minute lectures; released 2002.
God, Torah, and Israel. These three concepts (i.e., personal belief, the meaning of Jewish ritual acts, and the purpose of continued Jewish existence) have been the focus of Jewish thought throughout history. But the last four centuries presented Jewish thinkers with difficult challenges. These lectures address the challenges to Jewish intellectual thought in the past 500 years, identifying such challenges and revealing the ways in which a small group of Jewish thinkers attempted to address these challenges.

Produced by the Eternal Word Television Network.
180 minutes; released 2005.
Jesus, whose lineage from the royal house of Israel was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, fulfilled Mosaic Law when he instituted the New and Eternal Covenant. Bob Fishman, a convert from Judaism, traces Judaism to its end, the Holy Catholic Church. An intriguing series on our heritage and indebtedness to our "elder brothers in the faith."

Directed by Carl Byker and Mitch Wilson.
220 minutes; released 2003.
Focusing on the stories of such legendary figures as Abraham, Moses and King David, Kingdom of David tells the story of the Israelites--their beginnings nearly 3,000 years ago and the subsequent birth of the world's first major monotheistic religion.

Directed by Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky.
95 minutes; released 1997.
A documentary about the Hasidim of New York City.

Directed by Robert Prince.
57 minutes; released 2005.
Interviews with four Dutch citizens who risked their lives to protect Jews during World War II.

Directed by Sidney Bernstein.
60 minutes; released 1985.
In 1945, British and American film crews accompanied Allied troops as they liberated Nazi death camps. These crews witnessed and captured Nazi atrocities firsthand. The resulting film, directed in part by Alfred Hitchcock but left unfinished, was discovered by PBS Frontline in 1984 and rebroadcast.

Directed by Giacomo Moncada.
50 minutes; released 2004.
A dramatic Gospel presentation of the birth of Christianity, showing how one Rabbi becomes a follower of Yeshua of Nazareth. Now his greatest challenge is to convince his loved ones that the long awaited Messiah Son of David has finally come.

Directed by Hans Spatzeck-Olsen.
65 minutes; released 2009.
Lauren Winner's course of seven ways of Christian formation inspired by the Jewishness of Jesus.

Produced by the Teaching Company.
30-minute lectures; released 2008.
Examines the spiritual, literary, and intellectual heritage of these three religions in relation to the mystical experience.

Directed by Alain Resnais.
31 minutes; released 1955.
Produced ten years after the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, this piece documents the abandoned grounds of Auschwitz and Majdanek. In French with English subtitles.

Produced by the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
440 minutes; released 1992.
Hosted by Yitzhak Navon, the fifth president of Israel, this documentary visits historical sites that tell the story of the Jews in Spain, Portugal, and Majorca. Audio-track in English.

Produced by Gospel Communications.
30 minutes; released 1975.
The celebration of the Passover Seder in an American home. Starring Zola Levitt and Doris Witmer.

Directed by Ernest Schultz.
30 minutes; released 1994.
Elie Wiesel guides the viewer through a family celebration of the Passover Seder using live action, original illustrations, and animation.

Directed by Ya'akov Eisenman.
60-minute programs; released 1979.
Relates the drama of the Jewish people's return to Zion and the establishment of the State of Israel. Also portrays the Jewish-Arab struggle for Palestine, persecution of Jews in Europe, the war of 1948 and David Ben-Gurion's Declaration of Independence. Narrated by Ian McKellen.

Directed by Marc Levin.
95 minutes; released 2005.
This documentary examines the rise of anti-Semitism in the USA after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Directed by Steve Edwards.
51 minutes; released 1988.
This documentary helps the viewer better understand Jewish life and customs by looking at the Sabbath, the meaning of Kosher, Chanuka, the Shofar, Mezuzah, Tfilin, and Tzedakah.

Directed by Brian Bain.
59 minutes; released 2002.
A documentary about the Jewish experience in the American South.

Directed by Claude Lanzmann.
566 minutes; released 1985.
Without dramatic re-enactment or archival footage, this documentary uses interviews with surviving camp inmates, SS commandants and eyewitnesses to unearth disturbing details--including timetables, finances, and logistics--about the step-by-step Nazi plan to carry out the Holocaust.

Directed by Oren Jacoby.
88 minutes; released 2004.
The story of Sister Rose Thering, a Dominican nun who has made the battle against anti-Semitism her life's work.

Directed by Donna Zuckerbrot and Daniel Zuckerbrot.
48 minutes; released 2005.
A documentary about a Vancouver woman artist and calligrapher who decides to create a Torah scroll.

Directed by Robert Kirk.
85 minutes; released 2000.
During the Second World War, the Japanese Consul to Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara, defied Tokyo authorities by assisting roughly 40,000 Jews to escape Nazi persecution. Using home movies, photos, papers and interviews with Sugihara survivors, this documentary tells the story of this little-known Japanese diplomat. In English.

Directed by Pierre-Henry Salfati.
55 minutes; released 2006.
Salfati trances the history of the Talmud, the repository of millennia of Jewish wisdom.

Directed by Austin de Besche.
60 minutes; released 2006.
A celebration of Chanukah through lighthearted songs and sacred prayers.

Directed by Amram Nowak.
60-minute programs; released 2001.
A documentary history of Jews in the United States from 1654 to 1880.

Produced by Jewish Educational Media.
211 minutes; released 2000.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson celebrates the High Holy Days.

Directed by Hilla Medalia.
75 minutes; released 2007.
Two women meet in an emotionally charged encounter that underscores the deep roots of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. One is the mother of an 18 year old Palestinian suicide bomber. The other is the mother of a 17-year-old Israeli student killed in the suicide bombing.

Directed by Denis Mueller.
121 minutes; released 2002.
A documentary about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from the Palestinian perspective.

Produced by The Teaching Company.
30-minute lectures; released 2003.
Presents lectures concerning foreign relations between the United States and the Middle East, from 1914 to September 11, 2001.

Produced by Yale Roe Films.
41 minutes; released 2000.
Harold Kushner pursues the paths of six people who have confronted and overcome monumental loss. Inspired by the best selling book of the same name.

Directed by David Jasse.
13 minutes; released 2002.
A documentary about the seven Noahide laws (belief in one god, respect for the divine, do not murder, proper sexual conduct, do not steal, system of justice, respect for all life), and how they can lead to world peace.

Directed by Marc Villiger.
85 minutes; released 1999.
A two-part documentary which explores the Jewish religious atmosphere in which Jesus grew up and its influence on his message.

Directed by Sy Rotter.
28 minutes; released 1998.
A documentary about the efforts of the Council for Aid to Jews in Occupied Poland to rescue Jewish people from death in the concentration camps during the Second World War.