NEH Application Cover Sheet Bridging Cultures Through Film: International Topics
NEH Application Cover Sheet Bridging Cultures Through Film: International Topics
PROJECT DIRECTOR Ms. Christine Solinski Romero E-mail:[email protected] Editor, Co-Producer Phone(W): 202-544-6356 507 Kentucky Ave, SE Phone(H): Washington, DC 20003-3026 Fax: UNITED STATES
Field of Expertise: Communications - Media INSTITUTION JWM Productions, LLC Takoma Park, MD UNITED STATES
APPLICATION INFORMATION Title: Besa - The Promise
Grant Period: From 2/2007 to 7/2011 Field of Project: History - European Description of Project: Besa - The Promise tells the incredible story of Albanian Muslims saving nearly 2,000 Jews during the Holocaust. This forgotten history is told through the journeys of two men: Norman H. Gershman, an American photographer who documents the Muslims who rescued Jews; and Rexhep Hoxha, an Albanian Muslim who seeks Norman's help to return a set of Hebrew books to the survivor that his family sheltered over 60 years ago. His inspiring journey offers hope that contemporary misunderstandings and prejudices can be overcome. Woven throughout are interviews with Jewish survivors and the Albanian Muslims who protected them. These witnesses provide the historical background and context that frame Rexhep Hoxha’s verité journey.
Besa - The Promise challenges the prevailing view of Jewish-Muslim relations and speaks to the future as much as it
BUDGET Outright Request $598,839.00 Cost Sharing $94,400.00 Matching Request $0.00 Total Budget $693,239.00 Total NEH $598,839.00
GRANT ADMINISTRATOR Mr. William Morgan E-mail:[email protected] Managing Director Phone(W): 301-891-1769 x17 6930 Carroll Street Fax: 301-891-1644 Suite 600 Takoma Park, MD 20912-4423 UNITED STATES BESA The Promise CFDA Number: 45.164 Opportunity Number: 20100728-TW
Table of Contents
1. Table of Contents 1.1
2. Brief Description 2.1
3. Summary of Topic 3.1 – 3.13
4. Project Team Media Director/Co-Producer, Rachel Goslins 4.1 Editor/Co-Producer, Christine S. Romero 4.2 – 4.4 Director of Photography, Neil Barrett 4.5 – 4.7 Producer, Jason Williams 4.8 – 4.9 Producer/Grants Administrator, William Morgan 4.10 – 4.11 Advisory 4.12 Ambassador Akbar Ahmed 4.13 – 4.16 Dr. Janusz Bugajski 4.17 – 4.20 Dr. John Esposito 4.21 – 4.23 Dr. Nancy Lutkehaus 4.24 – 4.27 Dr. Mordecai Paldiel 4.28 – 4.30 Dr. Emad El-Din Shahin 4.31 – 4.34 Dr. Graham Townsley 4.35 – 4.38 Dr. Petrit Zorba 4.39 – 4.41
5. Organization profile 5.1
6. Project Script 6.1 – 6.44
7. Status of Film and Work Plan 7.1 – 7.2
8. Description of the Work Samples 8.1
9. Project Budget 9.1 – 9.6
10. Letters of Endorsement 10.1 – 10.6
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT1-1234-contents.pdf BESA The Promise CFDA Number: 45.164 Opportunity Number: 20100728-TW
Brief Description
BESA – The Promise is a feature documentary revealing the untold story of the men and women of Albania – almost all of them Muslims – who saved the lives of nearly two thousand Jews during World War II. Witness accounts, personal photographs and archival film are intertwined through the verité journeys of two men: Norman H. Gershman, a renowned Jewish-American portrait photographer determined to honor Albanians who faced down the Nazis armed only with their traditional honor code of besa; and Rexhep Hoxha, a Muslim-Albanian toy shop owner who must fulfill his father’s besa to the Jewish family his father sheltered sixty years before by returning three precious books that the Jewish family was forced to leave behind. With its powerful message of courage and unity, BESA – The Promise challenges the prevailing narrative of Jewish-Muslim relations by revealing an authentic yet almost unknown history of comity and mutual respect.
"The tradition of Besa, is powerful, meaningful, and ever so appropriate for the current obstacles to peace that we face today."
~ Representative Tom Lantos
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT2-1235-description.pdf BESA The Promise CFDA Number: 45.164 Opportunity Number: 20100728-TW
Summary of Topic
Narrative Synopsis
BESA – The Promise is the untold story of the men and women of Albania – almost all of them Muslims – who saved the lives of nearly two thousand Jews during World War II. After the war, this incredible story of heroism nearly disappeared behind the Iron Curtain.
Intertwined with the voices of Jewish survivors and their Albanian rescuers, this history unfolds through the prism of two men and the quest that each undertakes.
Norman H. Gershman is a renowned Jewish-American portrait photographer determined to rescue and record the incredible stories of Albanian bravery and compassion before they disappear forever. His mission has urgency. Since Norman began to explore their story in 2002, many of the subjects have already died. His tireless efforts to identify and document the accounts of the many Muslims who sheltered Jews during the war became the basis of our film.
Significantly, it was one of the Muslims Norman first photographed who provides our film with a story that would come to both eclipse – and shine a light – on all the others.
The man behind that story is Rexhep Hoxha. He is a shopkeeper in Tiranë , Albania.
When Norman interviewed Rexhep, he asked for help locating the Jewish family that his parents had sheltered during the war.
He told Norman how, near the end of the war, this Jewish family had entrusted Rexhep’s father with three Hebrew books – each inscribed with the family patriarch’s name, Nissim A. Aladjem. Mr. Aladjem asked Rexhep’s father to keep them safe and to return them after the war, “protecting them as you would your own eyes.”
It is now Rexhep’s besa – or promise – an obligation that his father could never fulfill and which was thus passed on to him to complete. It was never an easy task. Under the communist regime that followed WWII, religion was outlawed. The doctrine of state atheism was strictly enforced until 1992. If discovered, possession of these Hebrew books – or, indeed, the Qur’an of his father – would have had very serious consequences.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf After the fall of communism, Rexhep continued to dream of fulfilling his father’s besa. And though he had never left Albania before, with Norman’s help and contacts, he begins a quest that takes him from Albania to Bulgaria - and finally to Israel - as he attempts to fulfill a promise made sixty-five years ago.
But it is not so simple. Aron Aladjem, who was a child when sheltered by Rexhep’s family, is now almost eighty years old. He has changed his last name. He hung up on an Israeli researcher when she first called him about the story. The elderly Jewish man has tried so hard to forget the past that he has, in fact, never told his story before – not even to his own family.
Finally, grudgingly, fearfully, Aron agrees to meet Rexhep at his home in Tel Aviv. He has no memory of the books and doesn’t know Rexhep is bringing them. Their meeting, Muslim to Jew, past to present, secrets to light, is emotional and unforgettable.
And even then – one more surprise twist. Aron has been keeping a secret of his own. A diary, written by his mother, of the time they were in hiding in Albania. Even his son has never seen it. Aron, for the first time, shares its contents, giving Rexhep back a piece of his own parents’ history.
Taken together, these are the extraordinary stories of BESA – The Promise. They force us to re-examine everything we think we know about the seemingly age-old enmity between Islam and Judaism.
They eloquently remind us of the power of a single individual to challenge, with simple black and white photographs, the very way we view our world.
And they allow us, by way of Rexhep Hoxha, to discover a tale of such character, drama and conviction, that we are transported into a world of pure cinema.
Humanities Content
The history of Albania - its culture, its politics and its religions - is among the most complex yet least understood of European narratives. A tiny Balkan nation of 3.6 million people, Albania sits on the Adriatic coast just forty-five miles from the boot heel of Italy. Despite its proximity to one of the great centers of European history, Albania seems to define the cultural periphery of the continent.
Indeed, Albania is so little known - especially to the general public - that we elected to approach our chosen chapter of its history in as non-didactic fashion as possible. With few common assumptions to draw upon, we chose to lead viewers into the film through the use of intimate, personal stories that, taken collectively, would yet yield insight into the richness of the Albanian people and their culture.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf This personal and experiential style is also a response to the “absence of history” created by the unique nature of Albania’s post-war experience. In contrast to every other European country - even those of the former Eastern bloc - Albania existed in a state of extreme isolation during the years following the Second World War. Subject to the totalitarian dictatorship of Enver Hoxha for forty years, his unrepentantly Stalinist brand of communism left its mark on every social, political and religious institution in the country. Independent scholarship withered and contact with the outside world was almost entirely disallowed. Any kind of thinking that could challenge the ruling orthodoxy was forbidden under penalty of imprisonment and worse.
The result of the intellectual vacuum wrought under Enver Hoxha’s rule - together with the turmoil wrought by the successive periods of foreign occupation during WWII - is a marked absence of easily available primary and secondary documentary materials relating to recent Albanian history, culture and society. Such documents are rare both inside the country and without.
This raw reality confronts any filmmaker, historian, economist or anthropologist whose goal it is to comprehend any aspect of the wartime and post-war history of the country.
It is a reality that is even more keenly felt when one is trying to uncover what was, especially during the Nazi occupation, a necessarily secret history.
This fundamental reality has profoundly shaped BESA – The Promise.
Indeed, above all other reasons, this is why our film is borne of oral histories and first- person testimonials -- as opposed to the work of independent, peer-reviewed scholars.
Even now, almost twenty years after the collapse of Albanian communism, scholarly work on the film’s subject matter still barely exists -- although we do hope that our recounting of Albania’s response to the Holocaust (truly one of the last great, untold stories of the Second World War) will give impetus to new studies that will further illuminate this signal moment in history.
That having been said, there are several books, pamphlets and manuscripts that must be mentioned owing to their importance to the filmmakers as well as to Norman H Gershman, the photographer whose work has proven so vital to our own undertaking.
Key among these is Dr. Apostal Kotani’s The Hebrews in Albania During Centuries, Eureka Press, 1996 and Harvey Sarner’s Rescue in Albania, Brunswick Press, 1997.
We were also able to access Yeoshua Baruchowic’s Memories of a Solitary Survivor in the Forest, self-published, 2000 and Johanna Gerechter Neumann’s Via Albania, Revised MS, 2010.
Additional source material was also found in the following works: Josef R. Jakoel, Israelitët në Shqipëri, Tirana, Nov. 1990; Hava Tirosch-Rothchild, Between Worlds, the
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf Life and Thought of Rabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon, SUNY Press, 1991; Escape through the Balkans, The Autobiography of Irene Grunbaum, University of Nebraska Press, 1996; Guidebook, A reference to records about Jews in Albania before, during and after the Second World War, State Central Archives, sponsored by the Holocaust Museum, Tirana 2006; and The History of the Hebrew Community of Valona, Bernstein Files, YIVO Institute Archives, New York.
Additionally, and very importantly, BESA – The Promise builds upon the research gathered by Dr. Mordecai Paldiel when he headed the Righteous Among the Nations Department at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. In turn, he would also point us to another invaluable resource - both for his work and our own - Dr. Petrit Zorba, the co-chair of the Albanian-Israeli Friendship Society.
Dr. Kotani and Dr. Zorba also contributed greatly to the filmmakers’ understanding of Albanian culture and history, as have numerous other Albanian scholars, lawmakers and journalists in Albania, Kosovo and the United States. Particular mention should be given to Prime Minister Sali Berisha who took the time to review an early cut with the filmmakers during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in 2010; to Agri Verija, a legal scholar and special assistant to the Albanian Ambassador in Washington DC, who oversaw all the Albanian-English translations in the film; and to Albanian filmmaker and documentarian, Donika Bardha, for the critical insights that she has provided.
In Tiranë , Dedebaba Haxhi Reshat Bardhi, Head of the Bektashi Order and Hafiz Shaban Saliaj, Mufti of the Tiranë District, both provided invaluable insight into the history of Islam in Albania and its place in pre-war, wartime and post-war society.
Finally, Norman H Gershman’s book Besa: Muslims who Saved Jews During WWII (Syracuse University Press, 2008) must also be singled out. His dogged research, lengthy interviews and extraordinary portraits have all added enormous value to the film. Further, the overwhelmingly positive response to the book in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, enabled us to finalize the last elements of our own research and production.
In brief, our researchers, interviewers and interviewees - both on-camera and off - have allowed us to recount with absolute confidence the following historical narrative…
In 1939, just as the fate of millions of European Jews was sealed, a very different story unfolded in the tiny Muslim country of Albania.
Here Jews were both welcomed and saved, beginning in 1938 when the only Muslim monarch in Europe, King Zog, instructed his European consulates to provide entry visas to any Jews who requested them. As a result, Albania, whose own Jewish community numbered barely 300 people, saw an influx of almost 2,000 Jewish refugees from all over Europe and the Balkans. Indeed, Albania is the only country in Europe that saw a net increase in its Jewish population during WWII.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf The Jewish refugees who came to Albania were relatively safe while the country was under Italian control. But, in September 1943, a brutal Nazi occupation began. One of their first actions was to demand the lists of all the Jews living in the country.
But the people of this predominantly Muslim country refused. Their government destroyed the lists kept by the Italians and told the Germans they didn’t know where they were.
All across the country, from the capital of Tiranë to the most remote of mountain villages, Muslims took Jewish refugees into their homes. Jews were given headscarves and fezzes to wear, taken to mosques and called by Muslim names; they were hidden in plain sight, and ferried to safety seconds ahead of the Gestapo; they were adopted, befriended, and they were never, ever, betrayed.
Most remarkably, this was all done with the consent and support of the entire community. Everyone knew – and no one told.
Our researchers have determined that the Nazis failed to capture a single Albanian Jew – or any of the nearly 2,000 Jews who sought refuge in Albania – with the complicity of any of Albania’s Muslims during WWII. Their reasons for this countrywide demonstration of bravery are varied and complicated. But, in addition to the response of the state under the leadership of King Zog, two themes run throughout.
One is the ancient tribal principal of besa.
An honor code of great antiquity, besa obligates all Albanians to a standard of hospitality unimaginable in the western world. Simply put, once a guest is invited into an Albanian home, they are afforded the same protections offered to all other family members. Under besa, a man can be obligated to sacrifice his own life to help a stranger.
The second is the Albanian Muslim community’s deeply inclusive interpretation of their religious obligations under the Qur’an. The Albanian people perceived then – as they still do today – the existence of a great affinity among “the peoples of the book”. Indeed, they respected the Jewish people as a matter of faith.
Then, as already stated, came the years of xenophobic dictatorship that followed the end of the war. Albania was sealed off from the outside world. Its mosques were closed and its citizens terribly repressed. Closed to all outside scholarship and scrutiny, the extraordinary bravery of the Albanian people would go without a voice for almost fifty years.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf Visual Approach
BESA – The Promise weaves the story of Albania’s heroism in WWII through the verité journeys of Norman H. Gershman and Rexhep Hoxha. Throughout the documentary we return to Norman – and the people he is photographing in Albania – to hear their powerful stories. Interviews with Jewish refugees, and the Albanian Muslims who protected them, are intercut to provide the historical background and context that frame Rexhep’s quest to return the books to the Jewish family his father sheltered. Award- winning cinematographer Neil Barrett superbly lenses these sequences, as well as the interviews with the witnesses. These are shot over a stark black background, isolating the interviewee in their memories. Without distraction, the raw emotion in their faces as they provide the historical context through personal remembrance is compelling.
Norman H. Gershman’s photographs of Albanian Muslims who saved Jews are striking in composition and subject. The faces of the rescuers, now elderly and lined with age, are beautiful. As Gershman says, “I’m looking at lines, and lines are history. Here they are today, proud of who they are and what they did in saving Jews.” Via these photographs, we learn even more about the compassion of the Albanians during those terrible times.
The Jewish and Albanian witnesses interviewed provided photographs of their own from the war years in Albania. These are used where appropriate in the narrative. We have also discovered and restored never-before-seen archival footage of Albania from the period. Through this footage, the stark contrast between the desperately poor Albanians and the refugees who came from the cosmopolitan capitals of Europe is clearly seen beyond the differences of religion.
The Jewish refugees and Albanian rescuers are not identified on-screen. There are five languages spoken, and roughly three-quarters of the film is subtitled in English. Therefore the placing of names would be a distraction during the dialogue. Instead, through the course of the film, the witnesses are self-identified. “When we left Vienna,” a Jewish witness begins. “I was two when the refugees came,” remembers an Albanian. As the film progresses, their voices become familiar. Test audiences at recent review screenings had no trouble telling rescuer from refugee. At the end of the film, tribute is paid to them all by name.
Many of the verité scenes are coupled with voice-over culled from multiple interviews with Rexhep and Norman. Rexhep appears in interview only when showing the books to camera, or towards the end, expressing his feelings when he is finally able to pass them on.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf In the present rough-cut, the verité scenes, photos and archival film elements are all simply cut or dissolved together, but this approach will be considerably refined in future cuts. All stills will be re-printed and then shot on HD tape by way of motion control, with lighting cues moving the images in and out of shadow, as if moving in and out of memory.
Finally, and critical to the completion of the film, is our intended use of evocative animated vignettes rendered in a distinctive 2.5D style. An example of this approach can be viewed on the presentation DVD.
We believe this approach will allow us to add dimension and nuance to Rexhep Hoxha’s character, especially as he recalls the actions of his parents at a time when he was yet unborn.
To develop our approach, we met with renowned illustrator Art Spiegelman and consulted with several other artists, art directors and animators.
The result is the emergence of an animated style that marries the visual conventions of still photography and archival film with a simplicity and a dreamlike quality that’s designed to evoke the memories of youth.
Resources Used
After seven years of research and three years of production, we have shot more than 300 hours of high-definition video, conducting more than twenty original in-depth interviews with survivors, rescuers and other witnesses in Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, and the United States. We have secured rights to hundreds of unpublished photographs and uncovered never-before-seen archive footage. To date, almost thirty weeks of editing have been completed toward an advance cut of the full-length program.
Research for the film was drawn principally from the work of Norman H. Gershman, who combed the archives at Yad Vashem in Israel and spent five years interviewing Albanians for his book Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews in WWII (Syracuse University Press, 2008). Indeed, without Norman’s years of research, investigation, and old- fashioned detective work, the film would never have been made at all.
Other reference materials included:
Albania by Gillian Gloyer, Bradt Travel Guides Ltd. (Published in the US by The Globe Pequot Press Inc, Guilford, CT, 2006)
Rough Guide to Bulgaria by Jonathan Bousfield and Dan Richardson (Rough Guides Ltd, New York, NY, June 2008)
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda During World War II and the Holocaust, Jeffrey Herf, (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA, 2006)
Albania at War 1939-1945 by Bernd J. Fischer (Purdue University Press, West Lafayette, IN, 1999)
Guidebook: a reference to records about Jews in Albania before, during, and after the second world war by Compiled by Dr. Nevila Nika and Mr. Liliana Vorpsi. (Printed by “Pergi” , Albania, 2006)
The Lost World of the Egyptian Jews: First-person Accounts from Egypt’s Jewish Community In the Twentieth Century by Lillian S. Dammond with Yvette M. Raby. (iUnivers, Lincoln, NE, 2007)
Our film subjects also provided reference materials:
The Hebrews in Albania During Centuries, Dr. Apostol Kotani (Eureka Press, , Albania, 1996)
Memories of a Solitary Survivor in the Forest, Yeoshua Baruchowic (self- published, DF, Mexico 2000)
Via Albania, Johanna Gerechter Neumann (Revised Manuscript, Washington, DC, 2010)
Principal photography began in 2007 in Israel, following Norman to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, where interviews with re-united survivors and their rescuers were held at an exhibition of Norman’s portraits. Location filming then moved to Tiranë , the capital of Albania, where Norman was filmed interviewing Albanian Muslim rescuers, including King Zog’s son, Leka I Zogu. Many of Norman’s beautiful portraits are included in the film. Norman was also filmed and interviewed at his home in Colorado.
Tiranë is home to our other principal character, Rexhep Hoxha, as well as to many of our interview subjects. We also filmed eyewitness accounts in the Albanian cities of Shkodra and Kavaje.
Leaving Albania, our cameras also followed Rexhep Hoxha from Tiranë to the Sofia Synagogue Archives in Bulgaria, where he traced the Aladjem family’s departure during the Nazi invasion of 1944. From there he traveled, our cameras in tow, to the Vidin Archives, where he found the 1928 marriage certificate of the Aladjems. This discovery led him to the derelict yet hauntingly beautiful Vidin Synagogue where the Aladjems were married. A second trip to Israel followed Rexhep Hoxha on his journey to meet the son of the Aladjems in Tel Aviv. During this trip, Hoxha was also filmed in Jerusalem at Yad Vashem, the Dome of the Rock, the Damascus Gate, and the Western Wall.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf Archival resources, in the form of treasured family photographs, were generously shared by our interviewees who, in all instances, gave JWM Productions full rights for their use.
Many of our archival film elements were located via the National Archives – these include the ceremonial scenes of Albania’s King Zog in the 1930s; King Zog with Queen Geraldine and Prince Leka in exile in London in 1940; the Nazi invasion of the Balkans in 1943; the liberation of Tiranë by the Partisans in November 1944; and a 1960s Soviet film showing life in Albania under communism.
Most critical to the telling of our story was the discovery at the US Library of Congress of a unique, never-before-requested film depicting both village and town life in pre-war Albania. Such archival film from Albania at this time is very rare. What little can be found shows - almost exclusively - buildings, parades and other staged events. The Library of Congress film, by contrast, shows the everyday life of the Albanian people and is unusual for both its intimacy and its thoroughness. Made during the 1930s by two American schoolteachers, Elliott Taylor (1904-1986) and Burta Beers (1908-1994), it is unparalleled.
Filmed using a Bell & Howell 16mm camera the couple had purchased as a wedding present for themselves, the negative - together with the couple’s photographs and letters - became the basis of the Elliott & Burta Taylor Collection, first in the Library of the College of the Pacific and then in the Library of Congress.
When JWM sought the film from the Library of Congress, we were first provided with a VHS screening tape that had been made by Mrs. Taylor in c. 1990. Wonderfully, she had thought to add some rough commentary to the tape and we were able to transcribe her detailed descriptions of each scene. However, upon requesting a transfer of the original 16mm film, we were told it was in extremely brittle condition, with shrunken and torn sprockets.
Ultimately, it would take nine months, a state-of-the-art film transfer lab and many thousands of dollars (provided by the filmmakers) to get the nearly two hours of negative restored.
Graphic work on the title and end credits has yet to be completed.
All still images will ultimately be transferred via motion control to HD.
A test sample of the animation we intend using in the film is available for screening on the accompanying presentation DVD of the edit-in-progress. This particular sequence shows Rexhep Hoxha looking at one of the Hebrew books and wondering about the circumstances under which Mr. Aladjem left Bulgaria carrying such a book, when, after all, he could have taken other things more useful for survival.
In the scene, the Hebrew letters float off the page, transforming into a scene of Rexhep’s imagining of the journey.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf It’s a fitting visual conceit. Our principal character, Rexhep Hoxha, is a self-described dreamer: he is a former engineer, an inventor and tinkerer. These facets of his character, and the fact that he was born after the war and was never a witness to many of the events described, provide a kind of inner correlation to our visual approach.
The “temp” score for the film is presently drawn from traditional Albanian folk music, klezmer violin, the call to prayers of Islamic muezzin, the prayers of Jewish cantors, and some contemporary passages of modern dance music. This guide track will be provided to the composer of the finished film, but it is just that: a guide track.
The film’s final score will be written and composed by either Philip Glass or Lev Ljova Zhurbin. Each has expressed a strong interest in scoring the film.
Audience
“In a world beset by polarizing political and religious animosities, there comes now and then a ray of hope that understanding and tolerance may yet prevail. Such is the case with this documentary.” “Very moving, very powerful. I love it. Emotional, straightforward.” “An absolutely essential, brilliant work.” “Nobody knows this history – it cries out to be told.” “Wouldn’t this be a valuable film to show the entire world…” “Besa could become the next peace movement.” ~ quotes from edit-in-progress screenings
BESA – The Promise is a feature-length documentary for festival distribution and theatres that exhibit independent features. With its thoroughly researched history and its profoundly emotional storytelling style, we are confident the finished film will play well to festival audiences, garner significant awards and secure broad-ranging release into the theatrical, broadcast, DVD and PPV marketplaces.
A theatrical distribution relationship is already in place with the independent documentary distributor, Submarine Entertainment, and multiple broadcasters - including HBO, the BBC, France2, C4, ZDF and GEO TV in Pakistan - have approached the producers with respect to the acquisition of television rights.
Finally, in its off-broadcast window, and in addition to DVD distribution, we will aggressively pursue online distribution models, including streaming outlets (such as Hulu
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf and YouTube’s Screening Room) as well as download-to-own.
While the documentary will certainly play well to Jewish and Muslim audiences, it will also enjoy a following among a general audience for its unique tale of history and humanity. It is, at its core, a universal story of fathers and sons – of Rexhep to his heroic father, Rifat; of Aron to his father, Nissim, who was forced to leave everything behind, possibly even his only son; of Norman to these untold stories of rescuers and rescued; and even of Judaism and Islam to the father of both religions: Abraham.
BESA – The Promise provides unimpeachable documentation of a historical period during which Islam manifested itself as moderate, inclusive, heroic, and healing. It is a vision of Islam that is all too rarely evoked – let alone remembered – in the West today. Also, at a time when Holocaust denial is on the rise in the Islamic world, this film stands out as an invaluable reminder that – not only did the Holocaust happen – but that there are Muslims who still openly celebrate their role in rescuing Jews from its horrors.
If there was ever a time for such a film to be widely seen and distributed, it is now.
Ancillary Activities
Beginning in 2007, short excerpts from the documentary – together with Norman H. Gershman’s photographs – have been showcased at a number of important venues worldwide. These include Yad Vashem and the Knesset in Israel; the United Nations’ Headquarters in New York City; and the European Union Headquarters in Strasbourg, France. (By 2012 more than sixty exhibitions of Mr. Gershman’s work – each including sequences from the film – will have opened in the US, the UK, Israel, Italy, Albania, South Africa and Canada.)
A short trailer of the documentary was screened at the historic Jewish Community Center of Washington DC in September 2008, with officials from the Iraqi, Jordanian and Israeli embassies in attendance.
In November of 2008, the filmmakers were invited to lecture at the 92nd Street Y in New York about the film. The event was oversold and very powerful.
In December 2008, Syracuse University Press published a book of Mr. Gershman’s photographs, Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews in WWII. It has been uniformly praised in numerous reviews.
Subsequently, Mr. Gershman has been invited to lecture at multiple venues worldwide, including The Aspen Institute, Yad Vashem, The 3rd World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, the Council of Europe, and Vanderbilt University. At each event he has featured a short excerpt from the film.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf Similarly, both his work and our film-in-progress have been the subject of multiple features in such media outlets as the Voice of America, NPR, CBS, Al Jazeera, Emel Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, the Jerusalem Post and The New York Times.
In October of 2009 an early rough cut of the film was screened at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The event was hosted by Rick Barton, now the US Ambassador to the UN Economic and Social Council, and Karin von Hippel, now a senior advisor to the State Department on counter-terrorism and was attended by a diverse audience of scholars and journalists with an interest in both Balkan and Muslim studies.
BESA – The Promise originally had the working title of God’s House. Our website, godshousefilm.com, went live on August 1, 2009. Our Facebook fan page and YouTube Channel (both named God’s House Film) went live in November of 2009. Updates from Facebook show over 300 people find their way to the page every week and nearly 1,500 more people have viewed the trailer via YouTube.
In April 2010, we held rough-cut review screenings at the UC Santa Barbara Henry P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies, the UM Duluth Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee, the SCSU Ethnic Heritage Center and the Robert E. Goldberg Peace and Justice Service of the Congregation Mishkan Israel in New Haven, CT.
These screenings yielded invaluable feedback from both the academic and faith-based communities the filmmakers as we continue to edit the film.
On June 29th of 2010, a review screening of a newly revised cut of BESA – The Promise was held on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Hosted by Rep. Eliot L. Engel, Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, the ADL and the National Albanian American Council, it drew a broad cross-section of attendees from the House, the State Department, the Israeli Embassy as well as the Albanian Ambassador and his staff.
Thanks to these kinds of outreach efforts in the academic, diplomatic and inter-faith communities, support for the film and its goals has been building steadily. Michael Abramowitz, the Director of the Committee of Conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, is now committed to working with the filmmakers to bring attention to the film. Similarly, the offices of Hannah Rosenthal (the State Department’s Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism) and Farah Anwar Pandith (the State Department’s Special Representative to Muslim Communities) have informed the filmmakers that they, too, wish to arrange for a joint screening of the latest cut of the film.
Most recently, the filmmakers have been approached by the Doha Film Institute to submit our film to the Doha Tribeca Film Festival - the premier film festival in the Muslim world.
Beyond our intentions to finish the film and to distribute it as widely and deeply as
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf possible, our further goal is to build up its value as an important pedagogical tool with broad applicability in schools and universities here in the United States as well as overseas. To this end, we have been working with the Eye Contact Foundation, Paul Bernstein’s Seeds of Peace Foundation and the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation to develop a curriculum guide to accompany Norman H. Gershman’s book and the finished film.
Encouragingly, we learned this July 3rd that the Eye Contact Foundation has been short- listed for a $400,000 grant to develop an educational program for grades 7-12 around the themes explored in both the book and film.
The filmmakers are also planning to evolve the film’s website into a valuable tool for both academics and researchers, as well as a hub for interfaith dialogue that is meaningful to scholars, students, schoolchildren and people of faith everywhere.
To this end, by the close of fiscal 2011, we hope to have built the site into a portal that provides access to all the research and interview materials assembled to date.
Finally, additional screenings of the work-in-progress film - or elements thereof - are set to occur at a variety of venues during the remainder of 2010 and into 2011, including at the British House of Lords, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, the Simon Fraser University Gallery in Vancouver, BC, the Aspen Institute in Aspen, CO, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Center in Vancouver, BC, and - under the auspices of Yad Vashem’s International Exhibitions - at venues in Scotland, Israel, Italy and South Africa.
“I hope that these photos and their stories become widely known. They offer hope for a future in which Muslims and Jews can overcome their conflicts and focus on their common humanity.” ~ President Jimmy Carter
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT3-1236-summary.pdf BESA The Promise CFDA Number: 45.164 Opportunity Number: 20100728-TW
Project Team
Media Team
Director/Co-Producer…………….Rachel Goslins Editor/Co-Producer………………Christine Romero Director of Photography…………Neil Barrett Producer……………………….…Jason Williams Producer/Grants Administrator….William Morgan
Rachel Goslins – Director, Co-Producer
Rachel Goslins’ most recent feature documentary, ‘Bama Girl, premiered at SXSW in 2008 and aired on IFC. Her first short film, Onderduiken, was about her family’s history in Holland hiding from the Nazis during WWII. She has made films for National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, A&E and History.
She was also the Director of the Independent Digital Distribution Lab, a joint PBS/ITVS project focused on distributing independent films online.
Rachel began working on BESA - The Promise in 2007 when the working title was God’s House. She spent two years tracking down Albanian and Jewish witnesses and filming them on three continents, as well many more weeks in the edit room reviewing dailies, supervising the editing of the first cuts, and working on the art direction and storytelling style for the animated sequences of the film.
While maintaining a personal interest in the project, Rachel has not worked on the documentary since July 2009 when she took up her appointment as the Executive Director of the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities. She nonetheless retains her credit as Director for the indelible mark her creativity has left on the film. Rachel has neither financial interest in, nor decision-making authority over the film. She has not participated in the grant application process other than to alert her general counsel to the fact that this grant application is being made.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Christine S. Romero – Editor, Co-Producer
Christine S. Romero’s varied documentary film career spans more than three decades. Her credits include multiple award-winning independent and broadcast documentaries for PBS, Discovery, National Geographic, History and NBC.
In addition, she has edited and produced films for such organizations as the National Park Service, the American Red Cross, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Manzanar National Historic Site among others.
Awards for editing include several Cine Golden Eagles and the International Television Association award for Best Editing (Voices of Manzanar). Her work is known for its depth, pacing and rich use of audio elements.
For the past fifteen years, Christine has edited numerous projects for JWM Productions, working closely with its managing partners, Bill Morgan and Jason Williams.
Christine began editing with Rachel in December 2008 as the first phase of shooting for BESA - The Promise was completed, and continued working with the Director on the material until June 2009. Since then, Christine has completed a feature-length rough cut of the film and traveled around the country talking to preview audiences about the work- in-progress.
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby express my commitment to continue working on BESA — The Promise as Co- Producer/Editor.
Yours Sincerely,
Christine S. Romero
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf CHRISTINE S. ROMERO EDITOR & POST PRODUCTION DIRECTOR 507 Kentucky Avenue, SE WASHINGTON, DC 20003 voice: 202/544-6356 email: [email protected] More than 60 hours of Broadcast Editing Credits include:
BESA - THE PROMISE feature documentary currently in post-production 2010.
TREASURE QUEST – MERCHANT ROYAL & BATTLE FOR THE BLACK SWAN 1 hour each, The Discovery Channel; 2008/2009.
IN SEARCH OF JESUS 1 hour, The Discovery Channel; 2007.
DIGGING FOR THE TRUTH – MACHU PICCHU 1 hour, The History Channel; 2006.
MUTUAL OF OMAHA’S WILD KINGDOM 4 X 1 hour, Animal Planet; 2005.
CIVIL WAR GOLD & RAISING THE REPUBLIC 1 hour each, PBS National Geographic Special & a featured production for NBC/Dateline/Ultimate Explorer 2004/2005.
NATURAL BORN SINNERS 1 hour, Animal Planet; 2003
TOP TEN CANCER MYTHS 1 hour, Discovery Health Channel; 2003
MISSION RESCUE - MAYDAY & LOST AT SEA 2 x 1/2 hour for National Geographic Channel; 2002
RIDDLES OF THE DEAD - SAVAGE EVIDENCE* & INVISIBLE PEOPLE 1 hour each, National Geographic Channel; 2001/2002 * GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine
GREAT BOOKS – THE JUNGLE & METAMORPHOSIS 1 hour each, TLC; 2000/2001
OUT THERE - ANGEL FALLS & SEA EAGLES OF NORWAY 1/2 hour each, National Geographic Channel; 2001
TREASURE SEEKERS 4 x 1-hour, National Geographic Channel; 1999/2000 GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine for “Silk Road” WRESTLING THE MISSISSIPPI 1 hour, The Discovery Channel; 1998 GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine OUR INSPIRATION, THE MAGGIE LENA WALKER STORY 1 hour, PBS (1998) 8 National Awards including: GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine; GOLD, Aurora Awards, SILVER AWARD, US Int'l Film & Video Festival
CAYUTAVILLE 1 hour independent documentary, PBS; 1997
WINGS 13 x 1 hour, The Discovery Channel; 1995/1997 GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine for "Flying Fortress - The B17"
MEDIA MATTERS - THE MEDIA AND RELIGION 13 minutes, PBS; 1995
BEHIND THE LOOKING GLASS 1/2 hour, The Discovery Channel; 1994 (also produced)
FRONTLINE - THE STRUGGLE FOR RUSSIA 2 hours, PBS; 1994
GREAT COUNTRY INNS - THE MARQUESSA 1/2 hour, TLC; 1993
EXPOSE' - THE COMPANY HE KEPT 11 minutes, NBC; 1992
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf THE TREASURE CHEST 1/2 hour, TDC; 1991(also produced)
FRONTLINE - OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY 1 hour, PBS; 1991 EMMY Award; BLUE RIBBON, American Film & Video Festival; GOLD APPLE, National Educational Film & Video Festival; SILVER, Chicago Film Festival
PRISONER OF PEACE 10 minutes, United Methodist Communications; 1990, (also produced)
BANESA'S COURTYARD 1 hour & THE RICE HARVEST 1/2 hour, PBS; 1989 GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine; BRONZE, Columbus International Film Festival
REFLECTIONS: THE TREASURE HOUSES OF BRITAIN EXHIBITION 1/2 hour, PBS; 1986
SPACEFLIGHT 4 hours, PBS, A&E; 1985 (also associate-produced and directed)
Museum Films: “SS Republic Discovered” Odyssey Marine Shipwreck & Treasure Adventure Museum “Voices of Manzanar” Manzanar National Historic Site 7 National Awards including: 2004 ITVA Best Documentary & Best Editing, 2005 GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine & Best in Show “Daniel’s Story” US Holocaust Memorial Museum 1993 GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine Freelance Producing and Editing - Documentaries, Industrials and Spots: American Bankers Association MCI American Institute of Architects National Assoc. of Retired Federal Employees American Psychological Association National Education Assoc. American Red Cross National Park Service National Society of Professional Engineers Armed Forces Radio and Television Service PaineWebber Population Crisis Committee Arthur Young and Associates Public Heal h Service Bonnie Wa ker & Assoc. Realty World Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Scenic America CNN Schlessinger Media Comsat Video Enterprises Smithsonian World Discover Card The Discovery Channel The Discovery Channel/PTA District of Columbia Public Schools The Learning Channel/NEA Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation Turner Program Services Electronic Industries Association US Agency for International Development EPA IBM United Way of America Indian Health Service White House Conf. on Libraries and Info. Services Institute for Defense Analysis Wooster College International Association of Firechiefs World Monitor News Other Awards Include: 2000: GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine, "Space Science for Children - All About the Earth" 1999: GOLD, Maturity Awards, "Sexuality and the Elderly" Series 1997: SILVER, Maturity Awards, “Injury Prevention for the Elderly” Series 1993: GRAND AWARD, Czech EcoFilm Fest, "Decade of Decision” - Population Crisis Committee 1992: GOLDEN EAGLE, Cine, “Decade of Decision” - Population Crisis Committee May 1980 - July 1981 Goldberg/Marchesano & Associates - Broadcast Producer responsible for all local and national radio and television commercials, including award-winning spots for Drugfair, PBS and the Washington Star. July 1979 - April 1980 Traveled cross-country in a VW van playing music in small towns for tips. January 1976 - June 1979 Texas & Pacific Film Company, Inc. - Associate Producer and Editor of documentaries, commercials and a feature film rockumentary, "Jiveassp," with Larry Raspberry and the Highsteppers. EDUCATION BS (with Honors and Special Honors) Radio-TV-Film UT/Austin 1976
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Neil Barrett – Director of Photography
Neil Barrett is a British cinematographer who has worked on over thirty broadcast documentary films for National Geographic, BBC, PBS, Discovery, History, NBC, ABC and CNN.
His work has won several awards, including a Columbia Dupont award for excellence in journalism and the Edward R. Murrow award for a documentary on the civil war in Liberia.
His films have been shown at the Sundance, Toronto, Fullframe, SilverDocs, Jackson Hole and Los Angeles Film Festivals. Two recent films were screened at the 2010 Tribeca Festival, on which one, The Woodmans, Rachel Goslins served as Creative Consultant.
Two of his feature documentaries – Kicking it (2008) and Everything’s Cool (2007) – have been released theatrically in the United States.
Neil worked closely with Rachel Goslins on location in Albania, Bulgaria, Israel and the United States for the shooting of the BESA - The Promise documentary. He has lensed several JWM Productions and collaborated with Christine Romero on the Treasure Seekers series for JWM.
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby express my commitment to continue working on BESA — The Promise as Director of Photography.
Yours Sincerely,
Neil Barrett
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Jason Williams – Producer
Jason Williams is a multiple Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker with over three hundred credits as a director, producer, writer and executive producer. His twenty years of professional filmmaking experience has proven invaluable to producing BESA – The Promise, but not more so than his academic background as a graduate student of film and anthropology.
His ability to combine academic rigor with visual flair - and his commitment to nuanced cultural analysis alongside powerful and emotional storytelling - has afforded the creative team behind BESA – The Promise the leadership necessary for a multi-year undertaking of great complexity and significance.
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby express my commitment to continue working on BESA — The Promise as Producer.
Yours Sincerely,
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Jason Williams 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 600 Takoma Park, MD 20912 301-891-1769 x 14 [email protected]
Jason Williams is the President and co-founder of JWM Productions (www.jwmprods.com).
His multiple Emmy Award-winning work has been seen on broadcast, cable, satellite and internet outlets around the world, including on PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, BBC, Channel 4, Animal Planet, History and CNN.
He has made films about such diverse subjects as anthropology, current affairs, natural history, archaeology and marine technology and he has executive produced, produced and directed over three hundred and fifty hours of programming in the past twenty-five years. His work has taken him to more than thirty countries on six continents and he has spent time in almost every conceivable human and physical environment -- from Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas to multiple war zones in the Middle East.
He has been published on the OpEd page of the New York Times, profiled in the journal Current Anthropology, and featured - for his documentation of archaeological sites in post-invasion Iraq - on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
Before founding JWM Productions with Bill Morgan in 1996, Jason was Time Lifeʼs Series Producer for the Primetime Emmy Award-winning series Lost Civilizations and the Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-winning series Submarines: Sharks of Steel.
Before joining Time Life, he was the Executive in Charge of Production of Sir David Attenboroughʼs The Trials of Life and National Geographic Explorer for TBS Productions.
Jason Williamsʼ career in television production began twenty-five years ago as a journalist at CNN in New York where he specialized in international news.
He possesses a Masterʼs degree in Anthropology and Film from New York University, served as rapporteur for multiple Wenner-Gren Foundation conferences, was the author of "Ethnographic Film?" Society for Visual Anthropology Newsletter 1(3): 1-2, 1986 and, in 2005, served as a Panel Reviewer for the National Endowment for the Humanities, Media Division.
He earned his undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Sussex. (b) (6)
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Bill Morgan – Producer/Grants Administrator
Bill Morgan is the Managing Director and co-founder of JWM Productions. In the last fourteen years, he has executive produced more than two hundred hours of documentary programming that, collectively, have aired on almost all major US and overseas cable and broadcast networks.
He first partnered with Jason Williams while making the landmark documentary series, Time Life’s Lost Civilizations, the sole winner of the 1996 Primetime Emmy Award for Factual Programming.
Bill Morgan’s prior work experience was gained in The National Geographic Society’s television division. While at National Geographic, he worked on over 100 segments for National Geographic Explorer and on National Geographic Specials for PBS and NBC.
Bill is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (b) (6)
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby express my commitment to continue working on BESA — The Promise as Producer and Grants Administrator.
Yours Sincerely,
William Morgan
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Advisory Team
Ambassador Akbar Ahmed…..Chair of Islamic Studies, American University
Dr. Janusz Bugajski…………..Director of the New European Democracies Project, CSIS
Dr. John Esposito……….……Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University
Dr. Nancy Lutkehaus………... Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Dr. Mordecai Paldiel………... Former Director, Righteous Among the Nations Department, Yad Vashem
Dr. Emad El-Din Shahin……...Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Graham Townsley….…….Managing Director, Shining Red Productions, PhD Social Anthropology
Prof. Petrit Zorba……………..Chairman, Albania-Israel Friendship Society, Tirana, Albania
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Ambassador Akbar Ahmed Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington, DC
Former Pakistani Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Professor Akbar Ahmed is one of the preeminent scholars of Islam teaching in the United States today. Profound yet versatile, Dr. Ahmed is as comfortable in front of the camera as he is within the academy where, today, he is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American University in Washington DC.
In addition to his past achievements in the humanities, Ahmed has had recent experience as an anthropological observer of contemporary American mores for his book Journey Into America: The Challenge of Islam. The cultural study that Ahmed has conducted - with his specific emphasis on the experiences of the American-Muslim community - can only add to our understanding of why the actions of Albanian Muslims seventy years ago remain so profoundly relevant today.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf LETTER OF COMMITMENT (SENT VIA E-MAIL)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am delighted to offer my full backing to JWM Productions, the producers of Besa - The Promise, and to their application for finishing funds by way of the NEH’s Bridging Cultures through Film grant.
I have been aware of this film project since its inception, and I have met with its producers - as well as with Norman H. Gershman.
I have consistently offered them my every encouragement and support.
Their documentary, Besa - The Promise, represents the highest values of humanities’ scholarship. By undertaking a substantial body of original oral and archival research, the producers have sought to illuminate a forgotten moment of European history whose importance only grows with each passing day.
I genuinely believe that this film can move the needle on one of the most significant and intractable debates of our present century. It is a powerful example of how the accepted wisdom of Muslim-Jewish relations requires a profound revisiting - by all sides to the debate.
I would be delighted to be empanelled with respect to this project and would gladly offer my services to the producers and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Sincerely, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Ambassador Akbar Ahmed: Bio Tel: 202 885 1961/202 885 1641 Email: [email protected] Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University in Washington DC, was the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Great Britain. He has advised Prince Charles and met with President George W. Bush, General David Petraeus and Secretary Michael Chertoff on Islam. His numerous books, films and documentaries have won awards and his books have been translated into many languages including Chinese and Indonesian. Ahmed is “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam” according to the BBC. Ahmed was appointed in September 2008 as the first Distinguished Chair for Middle East/Islamic Studies at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, in addition to the Ibn Khaldun Chair at American University. From Fall 2009 onwards he was appointed Distinguished Visiting Affiliate at the US Naval Academy and he has been Non-Resident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution for several years.
Education: Ahmed has been Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and has taught at Princeton, Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Ahmed was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Liverpool, received his PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, MA and Diploma in Education from Cambridge University, and Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honors) from Birmingham University.
Current Project: Ahmed was on sabbatical from 2008 through to 2009 conducting a study of American society through the experiences of the Muslim community. He toured the United States with his American assistants and their journey with accompanying film footage can be seen on journeyintoamerica.wordpress.com. A film, Journey Into America, and a book, Journey Into America: The Challenge of Islam, contain the findings. The film has been shown in film festivals and the book is the lead title in the 2010 Brookings catalogue(“I have not read a work as insightful, erudite, and innovative on the challenge of American identity since Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America”, Melody Fox, Berkley Center at Georgetown University).
Recent Publications: Ahmed’s book Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization is published by the Brookings Institution Press (“Book of the Week,” “The Colors of Allah,” review by Edward Mortimer June 23, Guardian; “Washington policy-makers and journalists should read this book,” review by Tony Blankley, The Washington Times, June 20; “a fascinating read,” Tavis Smiley on the Tavis Smiley Show; “utterly readable book and really quite gripping ... why are there not more Akbar Ahmeds?” Milt Rosenberg on the Milt Rosenberg Show; “a deeply moral work ... which confirms Ahmed’s position as
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf preeminent Muslim public intellectual”, review by Professor Tamara Sonn, Emel magazine, September). It was the No. 1 Book of the Year for The Globalist. The Interfaith Conference of Richmond has published a six-week course as a Guide to understanding Islam based on Journey into Islam. His book with Amineh Hoti, Knowledge: Why Civilizations Rise and Fall, is with Polity Press, Cambridge.
Ahmed’s chapter “The Clash of Civilizations?” is in Debating the War of Ideas edited by E.D. Patterson and J.Gallagher,Macmillan,2009.“Swat in the Eye of the Storm: Interview with Akbar Ahmed” is featured in Anthropology Today, Vol. 25, No. 5, in October 2009. Earlier Anthropology Today published “Islam in Today’s World: A Conversation with Akbar Ahmed”, Vol. 23, No. 1, in February 2007. Ahmed’s article “Talking Can Stop Hate” was featured as the “Big Idea!” in AARP the Magazine, in the March/April 2007 issue and “Bush Still Doesn’t Get It” featured in the Outlook section of the Washington Post (July 22, 2007).
Ahmed’s play, Noor, was part of the summer Festival at Theater J in Washington, DC in 2007 (“Akbar Ahmed’s ‘Noor,’ A Paean to Religious Tolerance,” by Ted Merwin, Washington Post, July 26). Noor was performed at the Katzen Arts Center in November 2007 to full houses and was seen again at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in April 2008 (Saqi Books, London, 2009). His The Trial of Dara Shikoh (published by The Buxton Initiative, Washington DC, Pakistan Link, 2008 and along with Noor by Saqi Books, London, 2009) has been performed on several stages. His “memoir monologue,” Waziristan to Washington: A Muslim at the Crossroads, was first performed by him at the Washington DC, Jewish Community Center, Dialogues and Public Affairs, on August 22 and October 2, and the Katzen Arts Center on December 18, 2008, and at Theater J on March 23, 2009. (b) (4)
Media:
Ahmed is regularly interviewed on CNN, CBC, the BBC, ARY TV and has appeared several times on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Night Line. Ahmed appeared on the Sir David Frost Show (along with Lord Owen) on Al Jazeera and also Newsnight for the Annual Review 2007.
He presented and narrated “Living Islam”, the six-part BBC television series, in 1993 and “The Glories of Islamic Art”, the three-part television series for Channel 5, UK, broadcast in 2006. He initiated, developed and completed “The Jinnah Quartet” – a feature film, a documentary and two books on M.A. Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Ahmed is Consultant and interviewed for “Rumi Returning”, a major television film on the mystic poet. He is an expert panelist with the new online feature, “On Faith,” for the Washington Post and Newsweek. He has recorded 12 lectures for an audio CD series, “Encountering Islam”, for NowYouKnow Media, Washington DC and is Senior Advisor to an innovative on-line project for an Islamic syllabus for Jones Knowledge Inc. He is on the Advisory Board of The Globalist and is on the Board of Directors for Interfaith Voices, a public radio show. Ahmed is working with his son Babar Ahmed on the feature film (b) (4)
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Dr. Janusz Bugajski Director, New European Democracies Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington, DC
Dr. Janusz Bugajski is an acknowledged expert on the Balkans in general and on Albania in particular. His early training in anthropology and his subsequent mastery of southeastern European political affairs make him a uniquely well-placed scholar with respect to judging the historical and cultural accuracy of our story and the manner in which such facts are contextualized in the body of the film.
Dr Bugajski is also able to assess the impact of this film in the Balkans and how the story it tells will register among the many communities - Muslim, Christian and Jewish - that make up this important and sometimes volatile corner of Europe.
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Janusz Bugajski
Holder, Lavrentis Lavrentiadis Chair in South East European Studies Director, New European Democracies Project Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Washington, D.C.
• Recipient in 1998 of the Distinguished Public Service Award from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
• Books include Dismantling the West: Russia’s Atlantic Agenda (2009): America’s New European Allies (2009); Expanding Eurasia: Russia’s European Ambitions (2008); Atlantic Bridges: America’s New European Allies (2006), Kosova: From Occupation to Independence (2006); Cold Peace: Russia’s New Imperialism (2004), Political Parties in Eastern Europe: A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era, (2002}, Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations, and Parties (1994); Nations in Turmoil: Conflict and Cooperation in Eastern Europe (1993); East European Fault Lines: Dissent, Opposition, and Social Activism (1989); and Czechoslovakia: Charter 77's Decade of Dissent (1987).
• Contributor to various newspapers and journals, including The National Interest, Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Washington Times, Slavic Review, The Washington Quarterly, Nationalities Papers, Journal of Democracy, Stanford Journal of International Affairs, The International Journal on Group Rights, Problems of Communism, Uncaptive Minds, The New Republic, and The World & I.
• Chairs the South Central Europe Area Studies program at the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State.
• Conducted consultancy work for the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Rand Corporation, the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), the 21st Century Foundation, and other private organizations and foundations.
• Testified before various U.S. Congressional committees, including the Helsinki Commission, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the House Defense Appropriations Committee.
GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf • Columnist for Dnevni Avaz, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Koha Ditore, Prishtina, Kosova, Nacional, Zagreb, Croatia, and Trud, Sofia, Bulgaria.
GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Dr. John Esposito Director, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Dr. John Esposito is one of the foremost Islamic scholars of his generation and we are enormously fortunate to have his agreement to serve on our panel. A former President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America and the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, Vice Chair of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, and member of the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders, he is a member of the E. C. European Network of Experts on De-Radicalisation and an ambassador for the UN Alliance of Civilizations.
As a champion of the Common Word initiative, Dr Esposito has been able to work with leaders of the Muslim and Christian communities in a manner unparalleled in recent times. Additionally, his interest in expanding the reach of that conversation to include members of the Jewish faith has been clearly heard in many different forums and his embrace of our film project is yet one more example of the depth of his interest in a dialogue between the three great monotheistic faiths.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Dr. Nancy Lutkehaus Chair, Department of Anthropology University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Dr. Lutkehaus is a visual anthropologist with a special interest in ethnographic documentary. She served as an anthropological consultant on two documentary films about the anthropologist Margaret Mead (“Margaret Mead: Taking Note”, WGBH, Ann Peck, director and “An Observer Observed,” NSF, Virginia Yans, director). Dr. Lutkehaus was the anthropological consultant for Director James Cameron’s film, Avatar. Dr. Lutkehaus also works with the USC Shoah Foundation on cross-cultural and cross-historical studies of genocide.
She has more than twenty-five years experience teaching visual anthropology at USC and has guided more than sixty graduate students in the completion of short ethnographic and documentary films. Dr. Lutkehaus also produced and directed a short ethnographic film based on her field research in Papua New Guinea titled “Finishing ‘Apui’s Name: Death on Manam Island, Papua New Guinea” (1995).
In 1997-98 she was a National Endowment for the Humanities scholar at the School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her research has focused on issues of culture change, political economy and gender as well as gender and warfare.
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NANCY C. LUTKEHAUS Department of Anthropology, Gender Studies and Political Science University of Southern California Grace Ford Salvatori 126, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0032 213-740-1917 (o), 213-740-1900 (dept) Fax: 213-747-8571 [email protected]
EDUCATION • Ph.D. Anthropology, Columbia University, 1985 • M.A. Anthropology, Columbia University, 1975 • B.A. Anthropology, Barnard College/Smith College, 1972, Magna cum laude
EMPLOYMENT • Chair, Department of Anthropology, June 2010- • Research Scholar, Getty Research Institute, Sept. 2009-June 2010 • Full Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, 2008 • Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, 2007-2009 • Chair, Gender Studies Program, University of Southern California, 2001-2007 • Co-Director, Center for Visual Anthropology (CVA), University of Southern California, 1995-present • Visiting Associate Professor, Women's Studies Program and Visiting Scholar, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Spring 1995 • Visiting Scholar, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 1992-1993 • Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, 1991-1995 • Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Southern California, 1992-2007 • Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, 1985-1991 • Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 1984-1985 • Research Intern, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, New York City, 1984-1985 • Research Consultant, World Bank: Enga Development Program, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea, 1983 • Administrative Assistant, Dr. Margaret Mead, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, 1972-1974
Awards and Honors • FACULTY FELLOW, USC, CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING, 2005-2008 • National Endowment for the Humanities Research Scholar, School of American Research, Santa Fe, NM, 1997-1998 • USC Phi Kappa Phi Society award for outstanding scholarship, 1997 • Fulbright Doctoral Award to Australia, 1976-1978
PUBLICATIONS Books
• Margaret Mead: The Making of an American Icon. Princeton University Press. 2008. (Paperback edition, Fall 2010).
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf • Zaria's Fire: Engendered Moments in Manam Ethnography. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1995). American Library Association’s Choice Award for outstanding academic book, 1996. • Gendered Missions: Women and Men in Missionary Discourse and Practice. Co-edited with Mary Huber. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999). • Gender Rituals: Female Initiation in Melanesia. Co-edited with Paul Roscoe. (New York: Routledge, 1995). • Sepik Heritage: Tradition and Change in Papua New Guinea. Principle Editor. Co-edited with Christian Kaufmann, William Mitchell, Douglas Newton, Lita Osmundsen, and Meinhard Schuster. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1990) • Edited English translation of Karl Böhm, The Life of Some Island People of New Guinea. (Das Leben einiger Insel völker Neuguineas.). (Berlin: Reimer Verlag, 1983).
Video • "Finishing 'Apui's Name:" Death and Morturary Ritual on Manam Island. Written and Directed by Nancy Lutkehaus. Edited and shot by Sarina Pearson. Center for Visual Anthropology, University of Southern California, 1995 (25 mins.)
GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS • Getty Research Institute Scholar’s Fellowship, 2009-2020. • Rockefeller Archives Research Funds, 2009. • USC Advancing Scholarship in the Social Sciences and Humanities Fellowship, 2008. • HED/USAID-IDEAS Grant: “University-NGO Coalition Building Initiative,” Nairobi and Eldoret, Kenya, 2006-2008. • Fogarty International Center/NIH: “Pacific Rim Global Health Framework,” with Dr. Andrew Johnson, Dr. Lawrence Palinkas, et. al., 2006-2008. • Asian Studies Association, Northeast Asian Council for conference on “Anime and the Contemporary Japanese Imagination.” Co-organized with Dr. Mizuko Ito, 2004. • The Provost’s Distinguished Visitors Program: Isao Takahata, Filmmaker, Japan. Co-sponsored with Dr. Mizuko Ito, USC School of Cinematic Arts, 2004. • USC, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, Pew Foundation Faculty Small grant, 2004. • USC Provost's Initiative, Southern California in the World: “Kaleidoscope of Cultures Ethnographic Film Festival,” 1999. • Summer Resident Scholar Stipend, School of American Research, Santa Fe, NM, 1998. Resident Scholar, School of American Research, Santa Fe, NM, 1997-1998. • USC Annenberg Center for Communication, (With Dr. Najm Meshkati, Engineering and Prof. Doe Mayer, Cinema-TV), 1996. • USC Annenberg Center for Communication, (With Dr. Najm Meshkati and Prof. Doe Mayer), 1995. • The Pioneer Fund: Film Grant (with Ilisa Barbash) (Declined), 1992. • The Spencer Foundation. Study of the impact of ethnographic film on undergraduate students, 1988. • Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), 1980. • National Institute of Mental Health Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship, 1977-1979.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Dr. Mordecai Paldiel Former Director, Righteous Among the Nations Department, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel
Dr. Mordecai Paldiel is uniquely qualified to be a panelist. As the former head of the Righteous Among the Nations Department at Yad Vashem, he was responsible for initiating Norman H Gershman’s research into the history and current whereabouts of “Righteous” Muslims in Albania.
His access to the vast archival resources of Yad Vashem and to the careful research, documentation and standards of proof required by that organization, have already provided the filmmakers with a substantial advantage in our own research. His continuing involvement in the film - as it draws towards its conclusion - can only help secure its legitimacy, veracity and historical accuracy.
LETTER OF COMMITMENT (SENT VIA E-MAIL)
Dear Jason,
As the person who suggested to Norman the Albanian project when he came to visit me at Yad Vashem; opened the Albanian files to him, and arranged his meeting with several important Albanian Jewish immigrants in Israel -- I am more than delighted to be of assistance in this worthwhile undertaking. If necessary, I will make myself available to be in Washington DC on Feb . 25/26 (Friday/Saturday) 2011.
As I recall, when Norman Gershman first came to see me, when I headed the Righteous Among the Nations Department at Yad Vashem, he spoke to me on the possibility of going to Russia to photograph the still- living Righteous there. I then told them that these persons live in far and distant places from one another, and he would have to cover much territory to get to these people. I then told him about persons in Albania, mostly Moslems, who saved the Jewish community there, and the over 60 persons who had already been awarded the prestigious Righteous title. Given the nearness and small size of the country, it was a photographic undertaking that could be done more easily, and it had the added the attraction of the Moslem faith to which these people belonged. I then opened to him the archives of these persons, including names, addresses and stories, and also had him meet several Albanian Jews in Israel who provided him with more information on the rescue of Jews in that country. Norman's imagination was fired by this story, and after he had been there on his first trip, he was and remains captivated by the goodness and simplicity of the rescuers and their families that he met. I then spoke with Yad Vashem management to have Norman's photos and stories exhibited at Yad Vashem, and after initial refusal and hesitations this too was achieved.
I am proud to have opened this window of opportunity; of being able through Norman Gershman's dedication and professional photographic expertise, to tell the unique story of how the mostly Moslem Albanians achieved in rescuing almost all of Albania's 2,000 Jews. It could not have been done without Norman Gershman's fullest dedication to this meritorious undertaking.
Enclosed is my CV
Mordecai
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Mordecai Paldiel (b) (6)
Short Curriculum Vitae
Introduction: I headed the Righteous Among the Nations Department, at Yad Vashem, from November 1982 to March 2007. This unit deals with honoring non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. To- date, close to 22,000 men and women, representing many countries and different walks of life, were awarded the Righteous title.
(b) (6)
I earned two B.A. degrees from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in Economics and Political Science. Continuing my studies in the United States, I earned an M.A. and Ph.D. at Temple University, Philadelphia, specializing in Religious and Holocaust studies.
I write extensively on the theme of the Righteous. Included among my writings are five books in English (“The Path of the Righteous,” “Sheltering the Jews,” “Saving the Jews,” "Diplomat Heroes of the Holocaust," "The Righteous Among the Nations"), a book in German and one in Hebrew, and numerous articles on this theme, in various professional journals. I have also lectured widely in the United States, and appeared on radio and TV programs. I currently teach at Stern College, NY (Holocaust & Rescue, and History of Zionism), and Drew University, Madison, New Jersey (Holocaust Perspectives), and serve as a consultant for the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, in New York.
Education: 1982 – Ph.D. – Temple University, Philadelphia; Holocaust Studies (reference: Prof. Franklin H. Littell) 1979 – MA – Temple University, Dept. of Religion 1967 – BA – Hebrew University Jerusalem; Political Science & Economics
Teaching Experience: 1977-81: Assistant in several courses, Dept. of Religion, Temple Uni., Philadelphia. 1978-81: Instructor in History and Bible, Gratz High School, Philadelphia. 1983 to present: Instructor at Yad Vashem in various Holocaust courses for students, educators and scholars, from Israel and other countries (reference: Ephraim Kaye, Yad Vashem).
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf 1991: Visiting Professor of Holocaust Studies, Fall Semester, Stockton State College, Pomona, New Jersey (reference: Dr. Jan Colijn, Stockton College). 2007: Adjunct Professor at Yeshiva-Stern and Touro Colleges, New York.
Administrative Experience: November 1982 to March 2007 - Director, Righteous Among the Nations Dept., Yad Vashem – soliciting, gathering, examining and processing testimonies, within the framework of the Righteous program - honoring non-Jewish rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust.
Publications (Books)
1) The Path of the Righteous: Gentile Rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. Hoboken, NJ: Ktav, 1993. 2) Sheltering the Jews: Stories of Holocaust Rescuers. Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg/Fortress, 1995. 3) Saving the Jews: Amazing Stories of Men and Women Who Defied the Final Solution. Rockville, MD: Schreiber Publishing, 2000 4) Whosoever Saves One Life: The Uniqueness of the Righteous Among the Nations (Hebrew). Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1992. 5) Es Gab Auch Gerechte: Retter und Rettung juedischen Lebens im deutschbesetzten Europa 1939-1945.(German) Konstanz, Hartung-Gorre, 1999. 6) Churches and the Holocaust: Unholy Teaching, Good Samaritans & Reconciliation. Jersey City, NJ: Ktav, 2006. 7) Diplomat Heroes of the Holocaust. Jersey City, NJ: Ktav, 2006. 8) The Righteous Among the Nations. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
Articles: Many articles in professional journals (English & Hebrew) on the subject of the Righteous (full list available upon request).
Lectures: I have lectured widely on the topic of the Righteous in the United States, Israel, England, Australia and other countries, and appeared on TV and radio programs (list available upon request). In my lectures, I emphasize the uniqueness and significance of the rescuers as a psychological and educational counterweight to the terrible legacy of the Holocaust. Their deed is proof that, even under the worst circumstances, the individual person has the capacity to choose between right and wrong – between good and bad deeds.
Languages: I speak fluently English, Hebrew, French and Yiddish, and can also read and converse in German.
Miscellaneous: (b) (6)
REFERENCES PRESENTED UPON REQUEST
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Dr. Emad Shahin Henry R. Luce Associate Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
As the recently appointed Henry R. Luce Associate Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame, Dr Shahin has argued for reclaiming the humanistic and universal values of Islam, especially those aspects of the faith that provide common ground with the rest of humanity and reaffirm the dignity, freedom, and independent reasoning of the individual.
As a comparativist who examines the foundation for democracy and political reform within Islamic law, philosophy, and political practices, we believe he will bring an invaluable perspective to his analysis of the Albanian response to the holocaust and the degree to which it was driven by Islamic forces as opposed to local political and cultural traditions.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf EMAD EL-DIN SHAHIN Henry R. Luce Associate Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies University of Notre Dame http://kroc.nd.edu/people/directory/faculty/emad-shahin
100 Hesburgh Center [email protected] Notre Dame, IN 46556 (574) 631-4685
EDUCATION
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, SAIS, Washington, DC Ph.D., International Relations, April 1989. • Dissertation Title: “The Restitution of Islam: A Comparative Study of the Islamic Movements in Contemporary Tunisia and Morocco.” • Areas of Concentration: International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Middle Eastern Studies. M.A. Equivalency, International Economics, 1984
THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO, Egypt • M.A. Political Science, 1983 • B.A. Political Science, minor in Economics, Highest Honors, 1980
CURRENT POSITIONS
University of Notre Dame, Henry R. Luce Associate Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Associate Professor, Political Science Department (2009-present) Courses: Islam and Politics in the Middle East; Contemporary Arab Political and Social Thought; Globalization, Development, and Democracy the Middle East.
Editor in Chief, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics.
Co-editor with John L. Esposito, The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics.
FORMER POSITIONS
Harvard University, Department of Government Visiting Associate Professor (January 2006-July 2009) Courses: Comparative Politics and the Middle East; Globalization, Development, and the Middle East; Contemporary Political Islam; Contemporary Arab Political and Social Thought.
Kennedy School of Government, Belfer Center, the Dubai Initiative. Faculty Affiliate (June 2007-June 2008)
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Boston University, Lecturer, (Fall 2007-July 2009) Course: Islam and Middle East Politics
Harvard University, Department of Government Visiting Associate Professor (Spring 2006) Course: Contemporary Political Islam
Harvard University, Law School, Islamic Legal Studies Program Visiting Scholar (Spring 2006)
Georgetown University, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies Visiting Associate Professor (Fall 2005) Courses: Comparative Governments of the Middle East; Post-Revolutionary Egypt.
The American University in Cairo, Egypt, Political Science Department (09/98-Present) Tenured Associate Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator Courses taught: • Graduate: Comparative Theory, Comparative Politics and the Middle East, Middle East Politics, Islamic Protest Movements in the Middle East and North Africa, Contemporary Issues in Political Islam.
• Undergraduate: Introduction to Political Science, Political Economy of the Middle East, Political Economy of North Africa, Comparative Governments of the Middle East, Comparative Developing Systems, Contemporary Political and Social Thought in the Modern Arab World, State and Society in North Africa, Political Islam in North Africa, Twentieth Century Egypt, Politics of the Arab Gulf States, Contemporary Political Islam.
George Washington University, Washington, DC, (01/98-6/98) Professorial Lecturer, International Relations and Political Science Courses taught: • Undergraduate: Culture and International Affairs.
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco (01/96-12/97) Assistant Professor, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Science. Courses taught: • Graduate: Muslim Societies and the West, Islamic Civilization, Political Science Module. • Undergraduate: Comparative Political Systems, International Relations, Introduction to the Study of Islamic Civilization, Contemporary World History.
George Washington University, Washington, DC. (Fall 94, Fall 95) Professorial Lecturer, Comparative Politics and Political Science. Courses taught: • Graduate: North African Governments and International Relations. • Undergraduate: Comparative Politics of the Middle East.
Research Assistant, The Middle Eastern Studies Department, The Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, Washington, DC. (1983-87)
Arabic Language Tutor for M.A. candidates at advanced level, The Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, Washington, DC. (1983-85)
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Dr. Graham Townsley Managing Director Shining Red Productions Washington, DC
Graham’s potential contribution to the panel discussions about the film project come from his twin backgrounds as cultural anthropologist and filmmaker. As an anthropologist he has many years of field experience and a Ph.D in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University. This has given him a keen appreciation of the complexities of social contexts and human interactions.
As a filmmaker he has many years of experience distilling those complexities into compelling and graspable film narratives, at first in ethnographic film and more recently in the many ancient historical and scientific films he has made for PBS, National Geographic and others. This could be very helpful to us as we hone Besa – The Promise into the powerful film we all feel it can be.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf GRAHAM TOWNSLEY
Graham Townsley is an Emmy-nominated film maker whose documentaries have been shown on PBS, National Geographic, TLC and Discovery Channel in the US; Canal + in France; Channel 4 and the BBC in England. Born (b) (6) , he has a Ph.D in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University based on his long fieldwork in the Amazon. He now lives in (b) (6)
He has just finished producing a major three-part series on Human Evolution for NOVA PBS. “Becoming Human”, premiered on PBS in November 2009. It was shot all over the world and featured most of the major scientists in the field along with state-of-the-art computer graphics. Graham wrote and directed all the films. The New York Times called it “compelling…a well-paced series, which keeps adding layers of complexity while not getting too wonky”
In 2008 he made an anthropological film for National Geographic called Magic Mountain, a journey with writer Wade Davis to the sacred lakes at the top of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. Nearly captured by the FARC, he ended up making a film about the remarkable indigenous survival of the Arhuaco Indians in the face of terror and the drug trade.
In 2007, Graham wrote and directed The Great Inca Rebellion for NOVA and National Geographic, the little known history of the indian allies of the Conquistadores who actually made the Conquest possible. That year he also produced for the Discovery Channel a film about the life of Christ called Jesus, The Missing History.
In 2005/6 he was Series Producer of the JWM production for the History Channel, Digging for the Truth with Josh Bernstein He also made four of the films himself (Secrets of the Nazca Lines, Giants of Easter Island, Passage to the Maya Underworld, and The Search for El Dorado).
In 2004 he produced a National Geographic Special for PBS which he directed and wrote: “Dawn of the Maya” . It has aired on PBS in the US and Channel 4 in the UK. It was nominated for 2 Emmys.
Among other projects in the last eight years, Graham has series-produced a 13-part series for National Geographic, “Treasure Seekers”, writing and
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf directing four of them himself. He was also series producer of a 6-part series on the Roman empire for TLC (“Rome: Power and Glory”)..
Arising from his work in anthropology, he has also made numerous ethnographic films with indigenous people in South and Central America – The Huichol (Mexico), the Yanomami (Venezuela) and the Kogi (Colombia). “The Shaman and his Apprentice” (Under the Sun – BBC), made among the Yaminahua, the people he lived with for three years in the Amazon as an anthropologist, won the Prix de la Sept at the Jean Rouche festival in Paris.
His first films were made for Café productions in London and included two films for the Divine Magic series (Discovery) and Children of the Sun, a film about the Huichol Indians of Mexico.
He speaks Spanish, French, Italian and Yaminahua.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Prof. Petrit Zorba Chairman, Albania-Israel Friendship Society Tirana, Albania
As the Chairman of the Albania-Israel Friendship Society in Tirana, Albania, Professor Petrit Zorba has been one of the most important figures in Albania with respect to documenting the history of the Jews saved by the Albanian people during WWII. His formal training is in climatology, but he has devoted much of his life’s work since the end of the communist era to creating a database of the many Albanian families who helped save Jews during the Second World War.
Dr. Zorba’s knowledge of the individual histories of many of our interviewees is unparalleled as is his understanding of the distinctly Albanian response to the Holocaust in the fourteen months from September of 1943 until November of 1944.
LETTER OF COMMITMENT (SENT VIA E-MAIL) Tirana, July 18, 2010
I appreciate very much your request and I declare that I will be happy to be helpful for the realization of the project, which will bring to the eyes of the word a new vision about what’s happen in SWW, that is valid also in now days, for a more peaceful world.
In this context I am planning to be present in February, as part of such respected panel.
From my part I confirm that my willingness will be totally and I hope to contribute with all my knowledge. Sincerely,
Prof.Dr. Petrit ZORBA Head of Albania Israel friendship Association AIFA, P.O.Box:1544 Tirana ALBANIA Mob.Phone: 00355 68 2151684 Tel/Fax: 00355 4 2229317
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf Résumé in short form - via e-mail
Family name: ZORBA Surname: Petrit
Birthdate: (b) (6) Place of birth: (b) (6) Address: (b) (6) Mob. Phone: (b) (6) Tel/Fax: (b) (6)
Title: Professor Education: University level Post graduate qualification in: France, Israel, UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, etj Place of work: 1986 – 2007, IHM, Academy of Sciences of Albania. 2008 – until now, IEWE, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania. Representative of Albania to WMO for CAgM commission in Geneva, from 1993. Member of different International institution in professional field of meteorology and environment.
Language knowledge: English, French, Italian and Spanish. Mother language: Albanian.
Knowledge in Informatics: different software for video recording and photography other than Microsoft Office package, and as well as web master experience.
I have the title of Professor in my professional field that is Meteorology and I am teaching climatology at the different universities in Albania (part time) from 18 years. Actually I am head of the Department of Climatology and Environment at the Institute of Energy, Water & Environment of Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania.
I have been part of different projects done by international institutions like WB, UNDP, GTZ, USAID, FAO, etc.
Related to the project I can say that:
I am the Chairman of Albania Israel Friendship Association, which office is located in Tirana – Albania.
I have done recording in HD for different cases related to the stories of Albanian people that saved the Jewish (in Albania and in Israel), which may be useful for the project.
I have done an interview, as well as in HD, recently with Madame Scarlett Epstein - OBE (order of British Empire) a world known personality from UK – Jewish by origin, saved during 1938-1939 in Albania (actually 88 years old).
As association we have the database and stories of all Albanian families that contributed to save the Jewish during the SWW.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf I have a lot of other recordings and photos that I have done for different part of the territory of Albania, which can be useful for the project.
I have been in different international conferences related to the topics of Holocaust. Each year I organize an event related to the end of Holocaust (January 27).
I have supported with information, suggestion or interview the TV program of different channels in Albania.
I have been a co-organizer of an International activity done in 2008 at the Senate in Paris, related to the contributions of Albanians in saving the Jewish during the SWW.
Related to the present project and film I have contributed to contact and select the right people and suggest different stories for the first phase.
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT4-1237-team.pdf BESA The Promise CFDA Number: 45.164 Opportunity Number: 20100728-TW
Organization Profile
JWM Productions, LLC
Jason Williams and Bill Morgan are the Emmy Award-winning founders of JWM Productions, producers of BESA – The Promise. Specializing in cultural, natural history, science and children's programming, their work has been featured on PBS, History, Discovery, TLC, NBC, CBS, TBS, TNT, CNN and by more than 85 international broadcasters. Founded in 1996, the company has produced well over 300 hours of high- quality, award-winning programming and is now in production on some twenty hours more.
The Eye Contact Foundation
Acting as the fiscal sponsor for BESA – The Promise, The Eye Contact Foundation promotes religious, political, cultural and economic understanding and tolerance among people worldwide. Through its financial support of photographic projects, exhibitions, books, lecture series and documentary films, The Eye Contact Foundation and its founder, photographer Norman H. Gershman, seek to bring together people of radically diverse backgrounds and beliefs in an effort to advance humanitarianism into the future.
“Through the eyes of Norman H. Gershman, we can see that beyond our individual identities and desires, there is a common core of self, an essential humanity whose nature is peace, whose expression is thought, and whose action is unconditional love.” ~ Madam Jehan Sadat
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BESA,, The Promise CFDA Number: 45.164 Opportunity Number: 20100728-TW
8 0:01:40 WS of alley way. STU: Look at this scene… Is this classic Albania?
9 Stu Huck, Norman NORMAN: This is classic Albania. This is Gershman & Albina Fico it. This is what I remember. (Laughter) walk thru alley in Albania 10 They walk up steps to the NORMAN INT: The Holocaust, the Shoah, Salillariʼs apartment. it happened in my lifetime. As a young boy, listening to the radio, knowing that something terrible was happening to Jews in far off Europe. Itʼs a defining moment in my life.
11 Norman greets and enters NORMAN: Hello, Iʼm Norman Gershman. apartment. Iʼm very pleased to meet you.
12 Drita Salillari cu. NORMAN INT: I have the tools and the skill to remember, in a very positive way.
13 Norman sits with Freskita NORMAN: Your family rescued this Jewish and Drita Salillari. family under the Nazis. What motivated you to do it? Your family are Muslims, is that correct?
FRESKITA: Yes.
14 Norman interview. NORMAN INT: Ukrainians saved Jews, Poles saved Jews, French saved Jews, yeah many people saved Jews…Muslims? What, are you crazy?
15 Norman photographʼs And therefore in our way, with our pictures, Freskita and Drita. we are telling a story that has never been told.
16 Footage of photos at MEHMET INT: (Albanian) We are exhibit. Muslims. Muslims.
17 Mehmet Frasheri interview. We tried to protect these people, and thatʼs what we did. We protected them.
18 Children archival photo JOHANNA INT: There were moments of transition to Johanna great danger. We were Jews, we are Neumann interview. Jews. We were protected by them.
19 Norman with people at In Albania, a stranger in your house is to exhibit. be protected at all cost.
20 Vehbi Hoti interview. VEHBI INT: (Albanian) This is Besa -
21 NHG photo of hands Your life is in my hands. holding photo.
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22 0:03:30 TITLE: BESA, THE PROMISE
23 0:03:40 Norman opening drawer NORMAN INT: Pictures tell a story. containing various photos and selects two. In a small country called Albania, simple people did simple things. But in retrospect, they were not simple at all – they were greatly heroic.
24 Norman discusses photos NORMAN: I love this picture. And the with Stu at a living room contrast between the two – the modern table. and the traditional sister…wonderful.
STU: It was one of our first interviews.
NORMAN: One of the first, right…right.
25 Norman looks through and STU: And these guys… discusses photos with Stu at a living room table. NORMAN: I love these guys, these two brothers, remember them? And didnʼt they say the religion of Albania is Albanian?
STU: Well, thatʼs actually a fairly famous saying…
NORMAN: Right (laughs).
26 Norman discusses photo of STU: And Mr. Hoxha. Rexhep Hoxha. NORMAN: Hoxha. This is one of the first pictures we did on the first trip. Sixty years heʼs got these, these books.
27 Norman discusses photo of STU: Yeah. Rexhep. NORMAN: Look at what a story it became…
28 0:04:40 WS valley and buildings (Call to prayer) TIRANE, ALBANIA
29 Rexhep exits door and REXHEP INT: (Albanian) My name is walks through yard. Rexhep Hoxha. The house where this story took place is exactly where I live today.
30 Shots of Rexhepʼs Itʼs the same house. bedroom.
31 Bardha washing dishes My family consists of my wife, Bardha;
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32 Romira seated at kitchen my daughter, Romira, works as a financial table. auditor in an international company;
33 Photo of Ermal with my son Ermal studies architecture in grandfather Rifat. Ferrara, Italy.
34 Photos of Rexhepʼs father My fatherʼs name was Rifat. He was a Rifat Hoxha. pastry baker, born poor and died poor.
35 Photos of Rexhepʼs My mother was the perfect housewife. Her mother. family was Albanian from Skopje, same as Mother Teresa.
36 Rexhep interview. She was a very affectionate woman, and she was guided by virtue, just like my father.
37 Rexhep at his toy shop. After the walls of communism fell, I opened a toy store, which I still have today.
38 Montage of toy store & Rexhep helping customers.
39 Rexhep stands at the I was born in 1950, six years after the war. counter in his toy shop. When I was about 17 years old, my father told me this story:
40 0:06:57 Photos of Jewish family. During 1944, this Jewish family from Bulgaria crossed the border into Albania. Nissim Aladjem, his wife Sarah, and their son, Aron. This family knocked on my fatherʼs door and they stayed for six months.
41 Photo of Tirane mosque. At that time, Albania was occupied by Nazi fascist Germans.
42 0:07:34 Rexhep gets the three Before Albania was liberated, the Aladjem books from his book shelf. family fled. Mr. Nissim handed over three volumes of books.
43 Rexhep interview with From the first volume you can see that this books. is a fine quality book. The edge of the book is gilded, gold.
These books are different from what we are used to. You have to open it the other way around – in the opposite direction. It is written in Hebrew with hieroglyphics.
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44 REXHEP INT: (Albanian) Mr. Nissim said, “If I take these with me they will realize I am a Jew and we could suffer consequences.”
45 0:08:32 Snow scenes. BASALT, COLORADO
46 Norman walks to house NORMAN INT: I grew up in Bayonne, fills bird feeder. Bayonne New Jersey. Itʼs right across the water from Manhattan. Itʼs perhaps 20 minutes by car, probably 2,000 years away from New York. There were Italians and Poles and Lithuanians and Jews. These immigrants that lived on my block hated me cause I was a Jew. Therefore, I hated them. I didnʼt why I was hating them and Birds fighting. Iʼm not sure they knew why they were hating me.
47 Norman packs cameras. I choose to do portraits of Muslims because of the paranoia we’re experiencing particularly in the west.
48 Norman drives to airport. When I learned about Albania being a Muslim country. I said, that’s what I wanna do – that’s the story!
49 0:09:37 Archival footage Albania The population of Jews within Albania was small, several hundred. Nobody really quite knows. But there were ten times as many Jews in Albania after the war than before the war – refugees fleeing Hitler.
50 Photo of Gerechter family / JOHANNA INT: Before we left Hamburg, interview / King Zog. somehow, my mother had found out that the king, King Zog, was willing to give visas to Albania.
51 Archival footage Albanian He told his border police that if Jews came flag and border. and wanted to enter the land not to ask questions but to let them come in.
52 Archival footage Albanian Albanians were extremely friendly, warm… women / Johanna But the, letʼs call it culture shock was interview. tremendous to, to put it mildly.
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53 Archival marketplace And we really didnʼt know what we got scenes, butcher, baker, into. As far as meat was concerned, of drawing water. course, there was no kosher meat available. And a lot of other things that, you know, were not as kosher as we were used to in Germany.
54 Aron Etrogy interview. ARON INT: (Hebrew) I remember the Albanians as backward.
55 Archival film of Kruja They walked around dressed like the marketplace Turkish people a hundred years ago.
56 Aron Etrogy interview. And the women covered their faces.
57 Amarilio family photo / MONI INT: (Hebrew) Arriving from Moni Amarilio interview. Yugoslavia, we rented a small room. Not an apartment, a room. To pee you had to go outside.
58 Fritzi Owens interview. FRITZI INT: I mean this was a real shock for us, when we came from Vienna that was totally unacceptable. We had hot running water; there was no running water at all.
59 Photo of two men, one But at the same token we felt we escaped wearing a tall white hat, hell. We didnʼt talk their language, they and little girl. didnʼt talk ours but they knew enough to ask us as Jews to come.
60 0:12:10 Scenes of rain in Tirane.
61 Rainy countryside. SHKODRA, ALBANIA
62 Match dissolve to archival VEHBI INT: (Albanian) German forces had photo of Shkodra Mosque. several units located in Shkodra.
SS troops in Balkans. 63 Hoti family compound. And our house soon got their attention, our Vehbi interview. compound. They wanted to station a garrison there. My father and uncle said, “Yes,” without asking any questions. We all knew about the cruelty of the Germans. In fact, we didnʼt have the courage to say “No”.
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64 Vehbi interview. VEHBI INT: (Albanian) Our compound was filled with army vehicles.
Soon after this, my cousin came over and said, “Even though the Germans forces are here, I have come reluctantly to ask a favor…
65 Photo of Rashelaʼs family. I have a Jewish family with me that came from Pristina. They have four daughters.” The second, Rashela – we took in.
66 Rashela Lazar interview. RASHELA INT: (Hebrew) I was with the Hoti family for a year. One winter, summer.
67 Tilt down of Hoti home. VEHBI INT: (Albanian) We mainly stayed upstairs. German forces stayed downstairs.
68 Vehbi outside of house. Whenever she would come outside she Photo of 3 girls, one in veil. would wear my sisterʼs clothes and veil.
69 Rashela interview. RASHELA INT: (Hebrew) I went around like a Muslim. I didnʼt observe the Jewish faith, I observed the Muslim faith. I ate cheese with meat. I did what Muslims do.
70 Photo of Rashela with If they caught me, they would catch my family. father, my mother, my sisters, everyone. I was afraid of the Germans.
71 Rashela interview. You donʼt know that kind of fear…I always thought it was written on my forehead that I am a Jew.
72 Shot of rain falling. VEHBI INT: (Albanian) My father thought about it this way – these people –
73 Vehbi interview. They are in need.
74 Child in room with woman So we canʼt close our door on them. looking out of the window.
75 Rashela interview. RASHELA INT: (Hebrew) It was no small thing. It was great bravery.
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76 Hoti archival family photo VEHBI INT: (Albanian) Father and Uncle transition to were convinced that the Germans would Vehbi interview. look for their prey everywhere except in the den where they themselves live. This reassured them, and, in fact, it turned out they werenʼt so wrong.
77 0:15:17 Shot of Mother Teresa Airport sign.
78 Norman in cab. NORMAN INT: What did they do this for? What is it?
Mother Teresa statue. Whatʼs unique about these people – I mean are they all Mother Teresas?
79 Norman and Stu riding on The first time I went to Albania was in bus. 2002.
80 Tirane street scene Iʼm compelled in many respects to go back through car window ʻcause if thereʼs another story, it has to be told.
81 Norman and others walk NORMAN: Professor Kotani! How are down hall to meet Kotani. you?
82 NORMAN INT: Most of the stories are in a notebook carried around by Professor Apostol Kotani, a man in his eighties who was a partisan.
83 Kotaniʼs hands flipping And he has chronicled the stories of through his notebook. families that saved Jews in WWII.
84 Norman, Albina and Kotani NORMAN: Youʼre not Jewish… What seated at table in motivated you to be the historian for Jews restaurant. in Albania?
85 Albina translates Normanʼs ALBINA TRANSLATES. (Albanian) questions to Kotani. KOTANI RESPONDS (Albanian)
ALBINA: To bring all the virtues and values of my nation. Of my people. Itʼs the feeling of patriotism.
86 Close up of pages in NORMAN INT: So many of the families Kotaniʼs book as Norman that we visited, their parents were those flips through. who rescued Jewish families but the children remember the story.
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87 Pointing to photo of books. KOTANI: …Nissim Aladjem…
88 0:16:37 Rexhep interview. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) After the three books were left with my father, he realized the author was Nissim. Close up of books. Itʼs engraved Nissim A. Aladjem.
89 Photo of Nissim Aladjem. Mr. Nissim left three volumes written by himself. He would return for the books after Albania was liberated.
90 Photo of Rifat Hoxha. Mr. Nissim told him, “Iʼm leaving them with you… trusting you to keep them safe. Close up of book. Protect them as if they were your own eyes…..”
91 Photo of Tirane. My father regarded it as a sacred promise.
0:17:20 (Call to Prayer) 92 Johanna interview. JOHANNA INT: Albanians are guided by their principles… We heard the Muezzin call the faithful to prayer five times a day…
93 Yeoshua Baruchowic YEOSHUA INT: (Spanish) …Allah, Allah, Interview. Allah… I didnʼt understand, I didnʼt know. But, I knew they were praying to God.
94 Archival scenes of Tirane EDIP INT: (Albanian) I saw that my Mosque grandfather prayed three or four times a day.
95 Edip Pilku interview. He spent his day reading the Qurʼan. And Close up of writing in taught us religious values, eat good and Qurʼan. proper food, early to bed and so on.
96 Mehmet Interview. MEHMET INT: (Albanian) Father used to say the religion of the Jews is very similar to the Muslimʼs.
97 Archival Tirane On Fridays, for their Sabbath, Iʼd go to the marketplace. market to get the lemons Mr. Gershon needed for rituals.
98 Mehmet Interview. Heʼd see the lemon and say, “Oh! Where did you find it?” Ha ha ha!
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99 Photo of Tirane. JOHANNA INT: The Germans were all Johanna interview. over Albania at this point. It was a dangerous time. It was a very dangerous time.
100 Yeoshua interview. YEOSHUA INT: (Spanish) The Germans came and they tried to collect the Jews.
101 Jasa Altarac interview. JASA INT: After we left Belgrade, we arrived at Kavaje. The mayor of Kavaje, at Close up of Muslim least according to my father, gave to every Document. head of every Jewish family a document which stated that we were Muslims.
102 Johanna interview. JOHANNA INT: The Germans asked the Albanian government for the lists of Jews and they said, “We donʼt know any, any Jews. We only know Albanians.”
103 Kazazi interview. KAZAZI INT: (Albanian) Hitler did something nasty, something disgusting. How unfortunate is the country that has a psycho as a leader. Unfortunate country. God only knows.
104 0:19:40 Shots of city of Tirane.
105 Group of older gentlemen NORMAN INT: These people in this small chatting in Tirane. little country did something miraculous.
Norman, Albina, and Stu Iʼve got to photograph them. I have to walking. honor them.
106 Norman walking with NORMAN: Whatʼs the name of this family camera equipment through weʼre meeting? alley to the Babani house. ALBINA: The ladyʼs name is Verushe Babani.
NORMAN: Verushe Babani. Okay. Itʼs a walk up too, Iʼll bet.
107 Norman, Stu, Albina and Itʼs always the top floor usually. Itʼs always Kotani walking up stairs to a walk up. Maybe weʼre lucky this time, itʼs the Babani apartment. not the top floor? (chuckles)
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108 NORMAN INT: Theyʼre anonymous rescuers. They risked everything. Theyʼre forgotten. If I can get the remnants of a story, it has to live. As a testament of the goodness of people.
109 0:20:39 Norman, Stu, Albina meet NORMAN: Hi, my name is Norman Verushe in her living room. Gershman, Iʼm very pleased to meet you. Very pleased to meet you.
STU: Stuart Huck.
110 NORMAN INT: We go into these peopleʼs homes. Stu, who is my assistant, an interpreter, Professor Kotani, and me.
111 Verushe is interviewed by NORMAN: What weʼve been doing is Norman. portraits and stories of families that rescued Jews in World War II.
ALBINA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
VERUSHE RESPONDS (Albanian)
ALBINA: Well, these years still live in my memory.
112 NORMAN: Really, and I understand youʼre a Muslim as well?
ALBINA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
VERUSHE RESPONDS (Albanian)
ALBINA: Yes.
113 NORMAN: So, whatever you can tell us about those times…
VERUSHE SPEAKS (Albanian)
ALBINA: Oh… In fact, her father owned a store and they just gave it to the Jewish man.
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114 Norman interviews NORMAN: Wow. For your family, to give Verushe. the business, a whole business to… to , to refugees, itʼs wonderful. What motivated your father? Why did he rescue strangers?
ALBINA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
VERUSHE SPEAKS (Albanian)
ALBINA: Thatʼs how they were.
115 NORMAN: She has a beautiful smile. Look at that smile.
ALBINA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
VERUSHE LAUGHS 116 NORMAN: You know why she has a good smile? Because she and her family did good deeds.
Iʼd love to take your picture.
ALBINA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
117 Albina opens curtains. NORMAN: Can you open that?
118 Norman at camera. These are my eyes, right here…
119 Norman preps Verushe. NORMAN INT: Iʼm photographing an ordinary person so I want them to connect with something they did regarding saving Jews.
120 Norman directs Verushe. NORMAN: What I want you to do is make love to the camera. Make love to the camera, thatʼs better….
121 0:22:32 NORMAN INT: I donʼt walk in with a preconceived idea, no. I donʼt know whatʼs itʼs gonna be. But itʼs revealed to me.
122 To Verushe. NORMAN: Yeah, yeah, got it… Gimme an orange – an apple! Offer me some.
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123 Norman takes Verushe NORMAN INT: Iʼm seeking an object in picture. their home…
124 To Verushe. NORMAN: Offer it to me! To me! To me!
125 To Verushe. NORMAN INT: thatʼs meaningful to them…
126 NORMAN: Got it! Got it!
127 NHG Photo of Verushe NORMAN INT: …to connect them with with apple. who they are and what they did, and connect me with them as well.
128 NHG Photo of Josef Dodi NORMAN INT: One of the pictures, heʼs sitting at old table resting sitting at a table, table looks old and it is head in palms. old, because Joseph, the Jewish kid, was a cabinetmaker. And while he was being sheltered, he was building furniture and chairs and so on. And I remember him saying to me, he knew that Joseph got back to Israel and can you find him for us. I said, “Whatʼs his name?” He said, “I donʼt know, itʼs Joseph,” …and he started to cry.
129 NHG Photo of Drita Veseli Veseli, he was the first Albanian to be posing next to her late honored as a righteous person. When I husband Refikʼs picture. went into the home of the widow you saw that one wall with this huge picture of her husband, dominating the room, I mean, that in and of itself tells the story. This man is a hero, he is a hero in our family.
130 NHG Photo of Rexhep Hoxha. Here he is, really looking Hoxha. seriously, as if questioning, “What are these books and where are the people? Iʼm saving it, itʼs their heirloom.”
131 0:24:03 REXHEP INT: (Albanian) It is part of our culture when something is requested, it becomes an obligation.
132 Photo of Rifat and young Such a vow came to me this way. Itʼs Rexhep. something a father passes on to his son.
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133 Rexhep driving to REXHEP: (Albanian) When I was young, cemetery. my dad used to take me to the cemetery. The reason he took me to the cemetery was to instill in me a respect for ritual and that…would build character in me.
134 Rexhep walking through REXHEP INT: (Albanian) I believe my cemetery to his fatherʼs father was a man of deep principles. My grave. father was the son of an imam.
135 Rexhep rubs his fatherʼs A ʻhoxha” in Albanian. picture on the tombstone.
136 Close up shot of Rexhep REXHEP: (Albanian) May your spirit praying. ascend to paradise.
137 Close up of the tombstone. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) My father waited until he died, but he never had the chance to find Mr. Nissim.
138 Camera pans past Rexhep He said, “I have been carrying a heavy to cemetery. weight. Now you take these books and give them to some member of the family, or to Nissim himself, if possible.”
So, this was an obligation passed to me like a torch.
139 0:26:06 Pans of Tirane. There is a moral code demanding honor in word and deed.
140 Bektashi wedding. ʻBesaʼ is the promised oath.
141 Orhan Frasheri Interview. ORHAN INT: (Albanian) The Besa of an Albanian is heavier than a golden bar.
142 Bektashi wedding A gold bar is heavy, not like a coin. ceremony. Albanians have pledged the word, before gold. Besa, before gold.
143 BABA INT: (Albanian) Albanians have always had faith in God. During the war, the Prime Minister of Albania was Bektashi.
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144 Dedebaba Haxhi Reshat BABA INT: (Albanian) When the Jews Bardha Interview. were refugees, he asked Albanians to take their children in; Archival footage of children. to let their children sleep with their own; to share food with them.
145 Archival footage of The Jews were not only protected by the churches Bektashi, but by all Albanians, regardless of religion, race or ideology.
146 0:27:59 Edip Pilku Interview. EDIP INT: (Albanian) They became like members of the family.
Photo of Johanna and Edip Johanna, with black hair and a round face… she was like the sister I never had.
147 Johanna interview. JOHANNA INT: Then when people ask him, “Who are these people living with you?” he would say, “Oh, they are cousins of my mother from Germany.”
148 Jasa interview. JASA INT: Little children in the war knew everything whatʼs going on. Knew when to keep quiet, when to say, what to say…
149 0:28:29 Siblings Myzafer & Luleta MYZAFER INT: (Albanian) We gave them Kazazi interview. nicknames…so they wouldnʼt attract attention as Jewish. Thatʼs why we gave them names.
LULETA INT: (Albanian) On their passports…
150 MYZAFER INT: (Albanian) Davidʼs name on his passport was Daut.
Estherʼs name was Fatime. Solomoni was Photo of family. Muharrem or Memo.
151 Moni interview. MONI INT: Mimo, or Mino? Memo. Mimo. I don't remember.
(Hebrew) Was it in the village or the city?
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152 Kazazi interview. MYZAFER INT: (Albanian) When the Jewish family came to stay with us there was one very frightening time… Random searches were underway by the Germans. House by house lockdown.
LULETA INT: (Albanian) House by house.
153 MYZAFER INT: (Albanian) So father took David, Solomoni, Matilda through the back door to the neighborʼs house.
154 Moni interview. MONI INT: (Hebrew) Yes, yes, I remember being there. The Germans had some information about something and they came to search.
The woman of the house where I was hiding pushed me under the bed.
155 Bed against wall. MONI INT: (Hebrew) And I saw the boots of the combat soldiers.
Moni interview. Under the bed, a little boy, with those eyes.
156 Yeoshua interview. YEOSHUA INT: If the Germans discovered a Jew within a family, no matter which family it was, they would take grave reprisals. Burn their house or kill the owner.
157 Door Opens. ORHAN INT: (Albanian) Having them in Orhan interview. our house was like having a time bomb because they were always looking for them.
158 0:30:10 Rexhep at toy store, gives REXHEP INT: (Albanian) In Albanian change to a beggar. culture, if someone in need knocks at the door, you must open the door.
159 Exterior of Rexhepʼs Our house also sheltered other Albanians. house. I, myself, on one occasion, sheltered a family that escaped from Kosovo.
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160 CU Nissimʼs book. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) I believe that this world needs even more tolerance. And tolerance is better when you touch it by hand.
161 Photo of Rexhepʼs mother. My mother had a very big heart. Meaning, she would see what was needed and never tire.
162 Archival photo of Tirane During that time, my fatherʼs family faced mosque. many dangers. The Germans were searching, and they had to hide Nissim and his wife outside of Tirane.
163 Archival photo of Aron. Aron, the son, remained at my parentsʼ house, and was passed off as their soon.
164 Tirane mosque 0:31:27 165 Close up of Mufti praying. (Prayer)
166 High angle, men kneeling MUFTI INT: (Albanian) Jews were always and praying. welcomed here. As God says in the Qurʼan:
167 Shaban Salaij Mufti “He who kills for no reason, is considered interview. as sinful as if he had killed all humanity. And he who saves, who tries to save the life of another person, will be rewarded by High angle men leaving God as if he had saved all humanity.” mosque.
168 Brothers Hamid & Xhemal XHEMAL INT: And so the Muslim is 0:32:06 Veseli interview. obliged to help… the others.
HAMID INT: To help those in difficulty.
XHEMAL INT: In difficulty.
HAMID INT: In difficulty.
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169 Veseli Brothers interview. XHEMAL INT: (Albanian) Our brother, Refik, called me to Tirane…and said, “Can Photo of family of four & you take these Jews to Kruja because younger Veseli brothers. Germans are searching for them. And if they catch them – they will execute them.” And I was willing to do that even though I was very young.
170 Rina Mandil Nahum RINA INT: (Hebrew) I remember it like it interview. was today. Photo of Rina and her parents. My mother was blonde with blue eyes.
Archive film of women with They put a veil on her, like the Muslims veils. wear.
171 XHEMAL INT: (Albanian) The hardest part was passing the German checkpoint.
172 Rina interview. RINA INT: (Hebrew) Some guard or some German… I donʼt know… My mother looked suspicious to him. A blue-eyed Muslim woman? A blonde? And he told her to take off the veil.
173 Veseli Brothers interview. XHEMAL INT: (Albanian) In that moment… I really canʼt explain the fear that we felt.
174 Rina interview. RINA INT: So, she gave him a look. “How can I reveal my face to a strange man?”
175 Veseli Brothers interview. XHEMAL INT: (Albanian) It was a decisive moment – of life or death.
176 Rina interview. RINA INT: (Hebrew) She made a vague gesture. So, he said, “Okay, okay, okay. Go ahead.”
177 Veseli Brothers interview. XHEMAL INT: (Albanian) When we passed the German checkpoint…
HAMID INT: (Albanian) “Weʼre safe!”
XHEMAL INT: (Albanian) …we felt reborn.
HAMID INT: (Albanian) “Weʼre safe!”
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178 Veseli Brothers interview. XHEMAL INT: (Albanian) We started crying with joy.
179 Rina interview. RINA INT: (Hebrew) They took such a big risk.
180 Veseli Brothers interview. VESELI INT: To tell the truth, our knees were shaking from fear. (laughter)
181 Archival Photo of Veseli JOHANNA INT: Everybody knew that we 0:33:54 and Mandil families were Jews. And nobody, ever, made an transitions to Johanna issue of it, or denounced us. interview. 182 Sunset. The war for us was over early November of 1944. The Germans had set the old marketplace on fire…
183 Archive footage bombers, JASA INT: We would hear the distant roar cheering people in Tirane. of the flying armada, the heavy bombers that came to bomb the German cities.
184 Jasa interview. So for us it was a very good sign that the end is near.
185 Archive footage partisans MONI INT: (Hebrew) And the partisans marching in Tirane. there, the fighters, were the cruelest in Europe. They didnʼt let the Germans retreat. We knew that was the end of the Germans.
186 Pan of flag and statue. JOHANNA INT: This here has to be emphasized. The Albanian government Johanna interview. actively helped the individuals to save Jews. The government did not collaborate King Zog, Queen with the Germans. And King Zog who had Geraldine and Baby Leka helped us, and his Queen Geraldine, they were never able to come back to Albania.
187 0:35:15 Leka I Zoguʼs palace. Norman is greeted by dogs.
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188 Norman interviews Leka, NORMAN: King Zog, the only Muslim king son of King Zog. of Europe, your father, saved Jews. Thereʼs a word in Yiddish – itʼs called, itʼs a mitzvah. Itʼs a big mitzvah. Itʼs a good deed. And here is a king of a country, heʼs got primarily Muslims and heʼs got Christians, Why did your father…
189 LEKA: Why did he allow the Jews to come? Because he felt that it was not a human act that the Germans would carry out. He felt – give them a way out.
190 NORMAN: Do you have any ideas how many visas he gave to Jewish families?
191 LEKA: I donʼt know. Cause my father didnʼt talked about these things.
192 NORMAN: It was a courageous thing, it was…
193 LEKA: It was an act of kindness, if you want.
194 NORMAN: That Besa – our home, first is Godʼs home, secondly our guests, and third our children in that order.
LEKA: Unfortunately itʼs been a bit eroded. Theyʼve lost their culture and traditions.
195 Norman photographs Leka. NORMAN: I would like your permission, if I could take your picture.
LEKA: Sure.
NORMAN: Youʼve been back in Albania for how many years now?
LEKA: I came back in 2002.
NORMAN: Nice. One more… Your Highness, to me…
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196 NHG Photo of Leka. NORMAN INT: King Zog gave Besa… 0:36:42 and, it was this collective agreement NHG Photo of woman amongst the people, to save people. holding picture. 197 NHG Photo of Rezniki After the war, the country was torn apart Bros. by this vicious, paranoid, crazy fifty years of communism.
198 NHG Photo of Baba. The Baba, the head of the Bektashi Muslims, spent nineteen years in prison… for being a religious man.
199 NHG Photo of Edip Pilku EDIP INT: (Albanian) At the end of 1944, holding his fatherʼs my father was arrested by the righteous person communists. certificate. Edip Interview On January 9th, 1945, he was executed. On charges of propaganda and sabotage.
200 Archival Footage MUFTI INT: (Albanian) In 1967, all the 0:37:34 communist era Tirane. religious institutions were closed. Prohibited by law. Therefore, the religious Mufti interview. buildings, some of them were demolished. While those that remained, like this house of prayer here, were preserved by the state for the architectural values that they had.
201 Muslim woman seen REXHEP INT: (Albanian) I respect 0:38:19 praying through window. religious principles, but I do not a practice.
Rexhep walking around Those born under communism didnʼt have Tirane. strong ties to their religion, because of the enforced ban. Father did not pray openly, because it was dangerous if one did so and was heard by others.
202 Silhouette of men at He said God understands the plight and mosque. forgives him.
203 Photo of Rexhepʼs My grandfather was Sunni Muslim. My Grandfather and Great- great-uncle was Bektashi Muslim. And uncle. both brothers were Muslim clerics.
204 Rexhepʼs home, Rexhep at We had the Qurʼan in our house. The Holy bookcase. Book of Qurʼan. But kept it well hidden. It was hidden behind some other books.
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205 Rexhep puts books away. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) The same way we hid the books of Mr. Nissim.
206 Pan living room. This lasted a long time. You never knew, there on the bookcase they could catch the eye of a guest. If they suspected they were religious books, they might report it. This could have serious implications.
207 Johanna Interview. JOHANNA INT: You cannot practice your religion without having a proper prayer book.
208 Luleta Kazazi interview. LULETA INT: (Albanian) The government forbade it, but we always kept religion in our hearts.
209 0:39:57 Sunset
210 Mehmet interview. MEHMET INT: (Albanian) There was no more contact with the outside world, especially with Israel or places like that – ooooohhhh! It was difficult. Very difficult.
211 Jasa interview. JASA INT: We understood very well what was going on in the communist regime. We didnʼt dare to ask about them lest it be taken against them.
212 Tirane at night. RASHELA INT: (Hebrew) It really hurt me when they were cut off from the whole Rashela interview. world. Closed off from the world. They didnʼt have food. I suffered from that, but they are still suffering there. They are devastated.
213 Tirane at night.
0:40:50 Rexhep Hoxhaʼs store.
214 Rexhep in his workshop. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) In the period after communism, I was without a job. Archival photo of Rexhep at work. When I worked at state television, I designed products in the field of electronics.
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215 Rexhepʼs workshop. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) After the new system settled in, I started trying to invent things.
For example, a device for people who snore, that would cure them of snoring. Another machine that flashes light to create personal relaxation.
216 I was always very handy. In high school, my father wanted a box for the books. He told me the dimensions, because I could do it better than father. The books didn’t always hide in the box. Sometimes we took them out to give them air.
217 Bardha cooking in the My wife Bardha says Iʼm a dreamer, that I kitchen. have many ideas, but few of value. I am not mad at Bardha, though.
Rexhepʼs wedding picture I must complete the promise I made to my pan to picture of Rexhep father. The books were still in my house, and father. an unfulfilled mission, compelling my search.
218 CU book page. My curiosity was sparked by the book, in 0:42:34 fact.
219 CU book page. On the first page is the inscription of Mr. Nissim, giving the date of marriage, the 21st of October, 1928, in Vidin. Vidin, I learned, is in Bulgaria. And below, is the date of Aron N. Aladjem, his son, dated the 29th of April, 1931, in Sofia. The son was born in Sofia, the marriage in Vidin.
This was precisely the information that made me think I could find him.
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220 Tirane. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) Since the fall of Rexehp at computer. communism, it became possible, practically, for me to look for Mr. Nissim Aladjem.
I wasnʼt having any luck finding this person. And so, you say to yourself, “If I Picture of Rexhepʼs son donʼt find him, then who?” and father. I was thinking of my son. I thought, “My son, if I donʼt find him, it will be up to you.”
221 CU magnifying glass over RABBI MINTZ: These are the prayer 0:44:06 NHG photo of Rexhep. books used at the most important Jewish holidays.
222 Rabbi discuss books in The top line would say, it reads, (speaks photo with Norman. Hebrew) “This is the entrance to the Lord, may the righteous come on in.”
223 Tirane mosque, Norman, Stu and interpreter walk to Rexhepʼs house. 224 Rexhep and Norman greet REXHEP: (Albanian) at door. NORMAN: Mr. Hoxha! How are you? Nice to meet you again.
225 Bardha serves raki. NORMAN: Thank you very much.
BARDHA: (Albanian) Falemeroi.
NORMAN: (Albanian) Faleminderit.
226 Rexhep shows books to REXHEP INT: (Albanian) At the second Norman. meeting, Norman gave me the translation of the first page. I then learned these are prayer books.
I thought Nissim Aladjem was a cleric, because his name was written on the cover.
Turns out these books were for Mr. Nissim Aladjem, not written by him.
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227 NORMAN: Thatʼs when Aron was born, in ʼ31?
TRANSLATOR: (Albanian)
REXHEP: (Albanian) Yes.
228 REXHEP: (Albanian) So, I wanted to ask you a question, and I know you canʼt answer it 100%, of course. But since my father was never able to fulfill his promise, do you think I have a chance of finding this family? Or any descendents?
NORMAN: There is always a chance. Letʼs see what we can do.
TRANSLATOR: (Albanian)
229 NORMAN: I can assure you, I can assure you the story is not going to stop here.
REXHEP: (Albanian)
TRANSLATOR: I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
230 0:46:03 Computer screen Sophia Synagogue
231 Rexhep looking at REXHEP INT: (Albanian) I finally computer. understood all the sacrifice of Mr. Nissim.
232 Rexhep looks at one of the He took these books from Bulgaria when Hebrew books, suitcase he could have taken something much packed. more necessary for survival.
But he brought these three books.
233 Travel montage to Sophia, Bulgaria.
234 Rexhep walking in Sophia. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) Because the books were so important to this family, my search has become more urgent.
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235 Rexhep & Ari Levy at ARI LEVY: (Macedonian) Thereʼs nothing. Sophia Synagogue. This book goes up to the 80ʼs. You may have to search for the names in Jewish cemeteries.
236 Rexhep & Ari Levy at REXHEP: (Macedonian) Cemeteries in Sophia Synagogue. Sophia?
ARI LEVY: (Macedonian) There are other Jewish cemeteries Plovdiv, Varna, Vidin… There are Jewish cemeteries in every city.
237 Traveling to Vidin montage.
CU of documents. VIDIN ARCHIVIST: (Macedonian) The first document I suggest you look at: “I, the Rexhep speaks with Vidin undersigned Nissim Aron Aladjem, declare Archivists. that I will enter into a legal union with Miss Sarah Gershon.”
238 Rexhep speaks with Vidin REXHEP: (Macedonian) I have a question Archivists. – was the marriage ceremony religious or civil?
VIDIN ARCHIVIST: (Macedonian) Since it has the signature of the Vidin Israel Rabbi, it means the marriage was performed in the Vidin Synagogue.
239 Vidin Synagogue ruins. 0:48:13 240 Rexhep walks around ruins REXHEP: (Albanian) At the archives, they of Vidin Synagogue. told me this was the place where they performed the marriage of Mr. Nissim to Miss Sarah.
This takes me back in time, back to a time long ago...
241 REXHEP: (Albanian) Being in this place, I can imagine the moment when…when the wedding was performed, when the event happened. But…viewing that moment, letʼs say, like from a camera. Widening the lens. Seeing more. Seeing the people. Widening more. Seeing the community.
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242 Even looking at the destruction I see, it seems to me, the history of a people whoʼve always been struggling for survival.
243 At first, I thought this would be a simple story. However, it seems like I have become part of this story, part of this family.
244 Jasa Interview. JASA INT: Itʼs a sense of gratitude, so to say, that I owe to these people. I wasnʼt able to find them. Neither I nor my parents. It was for so many years that we wanted to find them. And we couldnʼt.
245 Rashela interview. RASHELA INT: It was leaving people who love you for life. Sure, I cried, and they cried too.
246 Mehmet interview MEHMET INT: I canʼt forget them. I feel like I see Gershon right on my doorstep. I feel like I see Josef Gertel walking through the door. I still have them here in my head.
247 Luleta interview. LULETA INT: (Albanian) I was two when the Jewish immigrants came. According to my mother, “They kept you inside their room as a baby.” They fed me… Put me to sleep… Washed me… And I loved them.
248 Moni looks at picture of MONI INT: (Hebrew) At the time, as a Kazazis. small boy, I simply didnʼt appreciate them if they did such a good deed. I thank them. But I, my memory… doesnʼt work.
249 Aron interview. ARON INT: (Hebrew) I donʼt want to remember that history. Because it hurts me. It hurts me. And I canʼt sleep at night. And I sometimes cry.
250 Norman developing photo NORMAN INT: In the case with Mr. Hoxha, 0:51:31 of Rexhep and books. these books are in their familyʼs Besa. But they must be returned to their rightful owners…
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251 Norm in photo lab. Hangs NORMAN INT: The journey was almost a photo of Rexhep. year to find this Jewish family. Where are they? It was a blank. We had hints of the family, but nothing concrete. We persisted in finding this family.
252 Montage scene of With documents, with birth certificates, investigation to locate the with marriage certificates… Perhaps it was Aladjems. serendipitous, it was luck, whether it was mitzvah, whether it was meant to be… a young Jewish soldier who had connections found the family – even changed their names in 1948 – we found them… in Israel.
253 Rexhep, Romira, Bardha, ROMIRA: Hi, this is Romira Hoxha – do 0:52:25 speaking to Nava over the you hear me? From Albania. Iʼm the phone in the toy store. daughter of Rexhep. I have my father here with me, and he wanted to thank you very much because heʼs very happy for the news that you have had.
254 NAVA: Thank you very much. I have met Aron Aladjem. Now he has a different surname, his name is Etrogy, but he is the son of Nissim.
But I want to tell you that it wasnʼt very easy, because he never spoke about this period.
255 REXHEP: (Albanian) Shume kurios.
ROMIRA: My father is very curious about this.
256 NAVA: Yeah, in the beginning he said, no, no, no… The first time that he hear what I want, he just hang the phone. And said no, and bye. And the son spoke with the father, with Aron, and, and he agreed.
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257 On phone in toy store. ROMIRA: (speaking Albanian)
REXHEP: (Albanian)
ROMIRA: Okay, my father says that for the moment he doesnʼt have any questions. He just wants to satisfy the desire of Mr. Nissim Aladjem that these books to be returned to his family.
258 NAVA: Thank you very much. I am looking forward to meet you here in Israel.
REXHEP: (Albanian) Thank you very much.
ROMIRA: Okay, thank you Nava. Nice to hear you and have a good day. Bye bye bye.
259 Rexhep eats dinner with REXHEP: (Albanian) Israel will be 0:53:50 Romira and Bardha. interesting.
260 BARDHA: (Albanian) After the phone call with the Israeli researcher where she told you about that guy…
ROMIRA: (Albanian) Aron.
BARDHA: (Albanian) He didnʼt seem very willing, or very enthusiastic, to meet with an Albanian.
261 ROMIRA: (Albanian) Depending on what has happened, he might not know anything.
262 REXHEP: (Albanian) In fact, Iʼve asked myself many times why no one has ever come forward.
263 I imagine the person…Mr. Nissim, the old man himself…that he might have died worrying that the books were never returned. I believe this is worth it.
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264 Rexhep, Romira, Bardha BARDHA: (Albanian) Could he be thinking have dinner. weʼre looking for him because we want something back?
REXHEP: (Albanian) No, I donʼt think so. I donʼt think so. Because if that was the case, there is no point in this… this whole search. But I am convinced when he learns the truth, I believe…I believe heʼll become another person.
265 BARDHA: (Albanian) How will you contact and meet Ermal?
266 REXHEP: (Albanian) We will meet in Israel.
BARDHA: (Albanian) Take care of my boy.
ROMIRA: (Albanian) Heʼs going to take care of dad.
267 BARDHA: (Albanian) Because of the war
REXHEP: (Albanian) The war is far from there, not close by. The war has nothing to do with us, understand?
BARDHA: (Albanian) My husband! How can you leave us behind?
268 BARDHA: (Albanian) Bardha is wondering how sheʼll manage without her husband.
ROMIRA: (Albanian) Youʼll miss him, eh?
269 ROMIRA: (Albanian) Here we go, bon voyage!
BARDHA: (Albanian) Cheers, and have a good time! Be careful, donʼt forget us. Hopefully the Israelis wonʼt keep them.
270 Rexhep packs the prayer 0:55:36 books.
271 Lemon tree.
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272 Rexhep hugs the family goodbye. 273 Shots of Tirane in rain.
274 Rexhep in car. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) Regarding Mr. Aron Aladjem, I am incredibly excited to meet him.
275 Rexhep enters airport. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) Thereʼs no value having these books at home.
276 Rexhep in plane. They should be with the ones who sacrificed for them.
277 Shot of airplane. NORMAN INT: Jews are the people of the 0:56:37 book.
278 Norman in Tirane square. In Albania, Jewish refugees left for either their home country or most cases, Israel – the only safe place in the world, ultimately, for Jews.
279 Shot of Statue. They want to forget. They donʼt want to go back there. They just donʼt.
280 WS Tirane Museum. Through my photographs of people that Norman banner hangs. saved Jews, through the lectures, through Norm walks around exhibit the exhibitions, Iʼm thanking them on the inside. part of all the Jewish people.
281 Norman comments on NORMAN: I love that with the shoes. He photos in exhibit. referred to the Jews as Hebrews. And he said that all Hebrews are our brothers. I remember that.
They saved a whole bunch of Jews, 30, 40, I remember.
282 Norman, Stu, and NORMAN INT: Since we started this translator walk towards project, so many have already died. I have apartment buildings. an obligation to get their stories. To photograph, to honor them before they pass. Itʼs a race with history.
283 Rexhep walks through 0:57:45 airport.
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284 Rexhep meets Ermal at REXHEP INT: (Albanian) For this trip, airport terminal. going with my son, Ermal, is important so he can learn the history of others.
285 WS skyline. TEL AVIV, ISRAEL 286 Erman and Rexhep walk When we went down into the city, I was down sidewalk. very impressed.
287 Ermal and Rexhep check REXHEP: (Albanian) You canʼt even find a out a camel on the piece of paper on the ground. Look how sidewalk. clean.
288 Ermal and Rexhep spot a REXHEP: (Albanian) Smells like, smells camel on the sidewalk. like. Smells like …horse.
289 Ermal and Rexhep at the ERMAL: (Albanian) - Look at these. Apple store. These toys for kids.
290 Rexhep playing with iPod.
291 Ermal and Rexhep in cab. 292 WS Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock visible.
293 Street views from cab. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) I wanted to see 0:59:10 Jerusalem, to see what Jerusalem was like. Where religions were born and lived.
294 Views of people crossing Itʼs like a dream, more than I could have the street. imagined.
295 Ermal & Rexhep walk I donʼt have much information, though, on through Old Jerusalem. the war situation… why they fought. I never learned the reasons for these wars.
296 Ermal & Rexhep walk If Abraham is the father of all religions, amidst the crowds. thereʼs no point that religions fight each other.
297 Ermal and Rexhep “people watch” at Damascus Gate.
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298 A group of Hassidim go ERMAL: (Albanian) Check it out. Itʼs a past the vending tables completely different culture. In the Arab and through the gate. section, all you see is market. Itʼs surprising. Everyone seems to go through here. They go through a Muslim area. In a Muslim area.
299 Ermal and Rexhep “people REXHEP: (Albanian) I donʼt see anyone watch.” giving them any problem. They come and they go, in a way.
ERMAL: (Albanian) Thatʼs right.
300 Ermal and Rexhep spot REXHEP: (Albanian) Do you see the ones two Jewish men wearing with the hats? Iʼd say the Muslims dress big furry shtreimel. better.
ERMAL: (Albanian) Itʼs not that they dress better, itʼs just normal attire.
301 Luleta interview. LULETA INT: (Albanian) Thereʼs no set way of dressing in Islam. You saw my sister doesnʼt wear a scarf? I donʼt have to wear one either. There are a lot who donʼt accept Islam because of the headscarf.
302 Luleta interview. LULETA INT: (Albanian) Especially women. Theyʼre afraid of the headscarf. Itʼs up to you.
303 Dome of the Rock. These are the beautiful principals if Islam: Rexhep and Ermal enter, Belief in God; in His Prophet; follow the take off shoes. right way; honesty; hard work; cleanliness; prayer.
304 Ermal and Rexhep admire ERMAL: (Albanian) I like this mosque. 1:02:20 mosque. REXHEP: (Albanian) Itʼs very beautiful.
305 Ermal and Rexhep walk ERMAL: (Albanian) It is said that to around mosque. Muslims, this is the place where Mohammed rose to Heaven. Whereas to Jews, itʼs where Abraham was to sacrifice his son.
306 Rexhep prays silently. 307 Norman in church. NORMAN: (Arabic) praying
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308 NORMAN INT: Every time I go to Albania, I always seek out a church to say a prayer. Hereʼs a Jew, in a Christian chapel, praying in Arabic.
309 Norman praying in church. Itʼs a prayer of hope. We call it different names but there is only one God. Itʼs completing the circle. The circle of Christians and Jews and Muslims.
310 Myzafer interview. MYZAFER INT: (Albanian) The marvelous Allah wants us to love one another.
311 Rashela interview. RASHELA INT: Thatʼs a point Iʼd like to make, actually. Because the Muslim Qurʼan doesnʼt say to kill Jews.
312 1:04:09 Boxcar YAD VASHEM, JERUSALEM 313 Rexhep & Ermal look at REXHEP: (Albanian) How many people the boxcar displayed at did they put in there? Yad Vashem. ERMAL: Huh?
REXHEP: (Albanian) How many can it take?
ERMAL: (Albanian) I donʼt know.
314 Ermal & Rexhep walk the REXHEP: (Albanian) I read the testimony grounds at Yad Vashem. of a guy who had been inside this train, and he tells of their terror. He said there were more than 100 people inside.
315 ERMAL: (Albanian) More than 100 people?
REXHEP: (Albanian) Yes, more than 100 people inside. And they were suffocating because it was completely sealed. And he said he found a hole in the floor, and he put his nose in there, to get some air. Because the air inside was so stale and smelled of vomit.
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316 Train car. ARON INT: (Hebrew) There were tens of boxcars packed with Jews from Thessaloniki. And they were screaming.
317 Photo of family near train …I saw this, I asked my mother, “What is tracks this?”
318 Aron interview. and she grabbed me and turned me away.
319 Sign: Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations. 320 Rexhep & Ermal inspect ERMAL: (Albanian) These are the names the wall with lists of the of families who saved Jews. Why… are righteous. we not here?
REXHEP: (Albanian) They will continue, they continue to write the new names. There are others.
321 CU of wall. JOHANNA INT: It took two or three years Their names on the wall. to put all the documentation and everything together to have the Pilkus honored as Righteous Among the Nations.
322 Photo of Njazi and Liza Because I really wanted the family to know Pilku. that their grandparents and parents were wonderful people. Who self-sacrificed Johanna Interview. themselves for Jews.
323 1:06:08 Pan to Yad Vashem, YEOSHUA INT: (Spanish) Rexhep and Ermal pass This poem is called, “I Am A Survivor.” by. 324 Yeoshua interview. Time that slowly erases the years
325 Rexhep enters Yad Presses and crushes, withers memories Vashem Hall of Martyrs. Sad memories, bitter memories. Memories of terror, humiliation, and contempt.
326 Yeoshua interview. My insides rebel My weak chest will explode! It can no longer stand so much torture or pain.
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327 Rexhep inside Yad Tears of fire fall from my eyes Vashem Hall of Martyrs. Loss of loved ones Fathers, mothers, brothers, children…
328 Yeoshua interview. Six million innocents offered up
329 Rexhep in Yad Vashem God permitted you to live Hall of Martyrs. To remember, to not forget To tell and debate the dark past of the world and how the Jewish people have suffered.
330 Rexhep in Yad Vashem YEOSHUA INT: (Spanish) Hall of Martyrs. And without a rest In a loud voice Shouting and shouting, “Never! Never again!”
331 Yeoshua interview. I am a survivor.
332 Rexhep standing alone outside Hall of Martyrs. 333 1:07:37 WS at the Western Wall
334 Rexhep holding yarmulkes REXHEP INT: (Albanian) Regarding Mr. on his head. Aron Aladjem, I am more than emotional. I am impatient. Very impatient.
335 Jews praying And I have 100,000 questions to ask him.
Rexhep walks with Ermal Why didnʼt he ever come find me? I want to know why he made me work so hard.
336 CU of Rexhep writing It would be very good, if my father were notes. here. I believe he… had regrets. He regretted that the books did not end up where they were supposed to.
337 Rexhep stuffs note in wall, takes photo. 338 1:08:52 Exterior Hotel.
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339 Ermal & Rexhep in hotel ERMAL: (Albanian) You ready? room packing. CU of books. CU of Rexhep. REXHEP: (Albanian) I donʼt know.
ERMAL: (Albanian) How… How are you feeling now?
REXHEP: (Albanian) I feel okay.
340 CU of bag with books. Who could have imagined this? Who could have imagined this kind of journey?
341 Ermal & Rexhep in hotel REXHEP: (Albanian) …this way of room. handing over the materials?
342 REXHEP: (Albanian) Ermal, letʼs go.
ERMAL: (Albanian) We still have two hours.
343 Ermal & Rexhep waiting in REXHEP: (Albanian) These books have hotel room. waited for sixty-six years.
ERMAL: (Albanian) A long time.
344 REXHEP: (Albanian) More than…half a century is fifty years. This is sixty-six years. And maybe at last, their day has come. May it go well, (Arabic) God willing.
Ermal & Rexhep leave. ERMAL: (Arabic) God willing.
345 Group enters Aronʼs REXHEP INT: (Albanian) When you live building. with an idea for a long time,
Rexhep interview. and here we are closer, closer to the resolution. It is very beautiful.
346 1:10:35 Ermal, Rexhep, & Felicita Jacoel, translator, arrive at Aronʼs building. Group exits elevator. 347 EXT shots Rexhep ARON: The door is open. The door is knocking on door. open.
REXHEP: (Hebrew) Shalom. (Albanian) Introduces himself.
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348 Aron interview. ARON INT: When I saw Hoxha, I saw him as a European man. I simply stared. I didnʼt believe my eyes. I didnʼt believe Iʼd live to see Albania modern.
349 Rexhep and Aron in ARON: You are the son of Rifat. Welcome hallway. to Israel. Please…
REHXEP: (Albanian) asking if he is Aron.
ARON: Aron, Aron, Aron Aladjem. Please come in.
350 Group sits in Aronʼs living ARON: If you want to eat something, room. please. Or to drink.
Aron sits down. I want to see you historical document.
351 Aron shares his motherʼs ARON: (Hebrew) This is the diary my diary with the group. mother wrote.
REXHEP: (Albanian) His mother? Sarah?
ARON: Sarah Aladjem.
352 ARON: (Hebrew) I never read her diary until right now. I stayed up all night and read it.
353 ARON: (Hebrew) Itʼs dedicated to the new generation.
“Safeguard the country… for the sake of those who will come after you.”
We were headed towards Spain. España.
FELICITA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
354 Aron shares his story with ARON: (Hebrew) We took a train to the group. Albania, to Albania from the Adriatic… And the police said, “Stop!” They told us we had to return to Bulgaria.
FELICITA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
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355 ARON: (Hebrew) And this one policeman said, “Wait a minute. Wait a minute. He knew a man named Rifat, who had a pastry shop. At the time it was the holiday Bayram. And he had his hands full of work. He closed the store. Closed up the store full of customers. And helped us gather our belongings. He gave us something to eat, and to drink.
356 Aron shares his story with ARON: (Hebrew) The Germans ruled the group. there. And on every tree, every electrical pole we saw partisans hanging. Many of them. FELICITA TRANSLATES (Albanian) ARON: (Hebrew) This was to scare people into not hiding partisans and Jews. FELICITA TRANSLATES (Albanian) ARON: (Hebrew) My mother was…my mother was sick. And she fainted. FELICITA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
357 ARON: (Hebrew) He picked her up. He Aron begins to cry. picked her up.
358 REXHEP: (Albanian) No problem. No problem. Donʼt…
I donʼt know…my dad sheltered me. He didnʼt tell me any of these things.
359 ARON: (Hebrew) Your father was exceptional. One of a kind. Humane. He said we would sleep at his house that night. There was a room in the left corner where his mother and father slept. He gave us their room and they went to sleep elsewhere.
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360 Photo of Rexhepʼs REXHEP INT: My grandfather and grandfather and grandmother lived in the house. grandmother. Rexhep interview. My grandfather was a Muslim cleric. For a Muslim cleric to leave his house for this family… to make room for this Jewish family. I think there is no tolerance more beautiful than this.
361 1:15:05 Group in Aronʼs living REXHEP: (Albanian) I have a surprise for room. you.
FELICITA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
362 Rexhep gives Aron the ARON: (Hebrew) It is the Torah… Nissim books. Aladjem. My father received this when he married my mother.
363 REXHEP INT: (Albanian) It feels like a torch has been passed. Father, at last what you cared so much about is fulfilled.
364 Aron and Rexhep continue ARON: (Macedonian) Date du mariage… discussing books. Aron Nissim Aladjem. Aron Nissim… Thatʼs me.
REXHEP: (Albanian) Itʼs your date of birth. Itʼs the date of your birth, Mr. Aron.
365 My father waited for your father, Nissim, to come back for them as promised. But the communist regime didnʼt allow it. If such books were found they were burned, because having them was against the law.
366 ARON: (Hebrew) And they hid it in a certain place? It was a very humane thing.
I have no words. I have no words. I donʼt have words…I didnʼt expect this. I have no words.
367 Aron becomes emotional ARON INT: I donʼt love my father, you and leaves the room. know. I donʼt love my father. 368 Wedding photo of Nissim ARON INT: (Hebrew) He was a difficult and Sarah. man. It hurts me even today.
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369 Aron interview. ARON INT: And my mother is very, very cold.
370 Photo of Sarah and Aron in ARON INT: (Hebrew) I donʼt remember her snowy scene. ever giving me a kiss.
371 Aron interview. There was a great distance between us. It was as if… they werenʼt my parents.
372 1:18:00 Aron returns to group in ARON: (Hebrew) I just want you to know, I living room. never cry.
FELICITA TRANSLATES (Albanian)
Doorbell rings ARON: (Hebrew) The last time I cried was when my son was born.
373 Shai joins the group. ARON: This is my son.
SHAI: Hello, how are you?
ARON: (Hebrew) I cried a little bit.
SHAI: (Hebrew) Itʼs OK, dad, go slow.
374 Aron continues telling his ARON: (Hebrew) My parents decided to story to Rexhep. leave me at your house. And my father went to Rifat and said, “Look, I am giving you my son.” At that time they didnʼt have children. I slept next to his mother. She would hug me and kiss me.
375 REXHEP: (Albanian) Excuse me, I get emotional too.
376 ARON: (Hebrew) It was difficult. I havenʼt told my son anything. My wife doesnʼt even know. I hide it.
FELICITA: (Hebrew) Why?
377 ARON: (Hebrew) Why did my parents leave me? Because… they were afraid the Germans would kill them, and Rifat would adopt me as his son. And they Aron cries. would save me.
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378 REXHEP: (Albanian) I canʼt give him advice, but I saw the diary where his mother wrote, “dedicated to the next generation.” To me this is a wish to be respected, and is a starting point to face the facts. A hidden history is meaningless.
379 Group gets up to eat. ARON: Come, eat.
380 1:20:00 Aron and Shai talk. ARON: (Hebrew) Thank you very much for coming. Why did you come? For this.
He looks like an educated man. Aron looks toward Rexhep. Iʼm getting emotional… That he brought those books from my father… I will give them to you to keep one day. I will be gone, so you hold on to them.
381 Rexhep interview. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) I always felt these books belonged with this family, the Rexhep and Aron hug. destination intended by Mr. Aladjem.
382 Aron Interview. ARON INT: When we came to Israel, my father tell to my mother, Sarah, Sarina, Close-up of prayer books. from, from today I donʼt want to be Aladjem, I want to be like in the bible, etrog (lemon). And my father changed the name – Etrogy.
383 Rexhep interview. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) Mr. Aron said something… When my father came, he said, he had closed the store on the day of Bayram, usually a very busy day. And he went to meet them, his hands were covered in flour… because he was a pastry maker, and didnʼt stop to wash his hands. Rexhep wedding photo, featuring his father, Rifat. He understood the importance. This familyʼs situation could not wait. With that phrase, I understood my father.
384 Rexhep wedding photo, When I heard, “Your mother hugged me featuring his mother. and kissed me,” it made me very proud of my mother.
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385 Rexhep interview. REXHEP INT: (Albanian) I believe they will serve as an example in life for my son. And my daughter.
386 Shai leads Shabbat SHAI: (Prays in Hebrew) prayers. GROUP: La Chaim!
387 Aron kisses granddaughter.
388 Ermal plays patty-cake with granddaughter.
389 1:22:45 Night in Tirane. (Call to Prayer)
390 Rexhep and Bardha walk NORMAN: Hi, good to see you. Thanks into building and greet for coming. Norman.
391 Norman at Podium. WOMAN ANNOUNCER: Please join me in welcoming Mr. Gershman.
392 Norman at Podium. NORMAN: Thank you, Mr. Prime Ministers. And thank you for all coming. What I have learned about Albania and the Albanians is your greatest export is not fish, itʼs not metal… It is Besa. This message of Besa is so needed in the world. Thank you.
393 People with their photos. RINA INT: (Hebrew) They simply extended Rina Mandil Interview. their hearts, even if it cost them their lives.
394 People with their photos. FRITZI INT: Because we got permission Fritzi interview. to come to Albania, we were eleven people that saved ourselves from the Holocaust.
395 Scenes of people with their HOTI INT: (Albanian) No Jews were photos. betrayed in Albania. It wasnʼt just a tradition of my father and uncle. It was all Hoti interview. of Albania.
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396 Rexhep looks at his own REXHEP INT: (Albanian) Norman did me picture. a big favor, and I feel liberated. Thank you for all that was done to bring this hidden history to light.
397 TITLE CARD: MUSIC 1:24:40 Almost 2,000 Jews were saved by the Albanian people during WWII.
398 TITLE CARDS with FRAMES OF WITNESSES: With gratitude to
399 The family of Edip Pilku who gave BESA to the family of Johanna Neumann
400 The family of Myzafer & Luleta Kazazi who gave BESA to the family of Moni Amarilio
401 The family of Vehbi Hoti who gave BESA to the family of Rashela Lazar
402 The family of Hami & Xhemal Veseli who gave BESA to the family of Rina Nahum
403 The family of Leka I Zogu who gave BESA to the family of Fritzi Owens
404 Thanks to Jasa Altarac Yeoshua Baruchowic Orhan Frasheri Mehmet Frasheri Freskita & Drita Salillari Verushe Babani Hafiz Shaban Saliaj, Mufti of the Tirane District Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi, Head of the Bektashi Order 405 Norman Gershmanʼs photographs are now being exhibited around the world.
406 Rexhep Hoxha is building a recording studio in his workshop.
407 1:25:47 PRODUCTION CREDITS
1:28:00
END
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Status of Film and Work Plan
Status of Film
After seven years of research and three years of production, we have shot more than 300 hours of high-definition video, secured rights to hundreds of unpublished photographs, and uncovered and conserved a cache of never-before-seen archive footage.
We have filmed in Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, and the United States and conducted more than twenty in-depth interviews with survivors, rescuers and other witnesses. Principal photography is finished and, to date, almost thirty weeks of editing have been completed.
An advance cut of the full-length (88 minute) documentary is available. This edit-in- progress sets forth the main themes of the film, but it will be substantially refined - in terms of both storytelling and visual impact - by way of additional editing and animations. The simple cuts, dissolves and digitally manipulated stills presently used will be enhanced by 2.5D animations. Additionally, all stills will be printed and then shot on HD via motion control.
Archival 16mm and 35mm film elements have in part been transferred to HD; the clips that remain need to be licensed before transferring.
BESA – The Promise will be completely scored for final finishing, replacing the temp music in this cut. Two world-renowned composers, Philip Glass and Lev Ljova Zhurbin, have each expressed interest in scoring the film.
All subtitles – translations of Albanian, Hebrew, Spanish and Macedonian – will be professionally rechecked and then polished by a scriptwriter for clarity and impact.
The finished master will have a final mix to 5.1 surround sound and color correction, with subtitles placed below the frame.
“The film testifies to a historic affinity of Muslims and Jews which has been substantially forgotten against the backdrop of contemporary politics. This documentary can therefore be a significant tool in overcoming those contemporary misunderstandings and prejudices.” ~ Rabbi David Rosen
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT7-1240-status.pdf Plan of Work
Additional Editing 12 weeks Translation Verification 1 week – (concurrent to edit) Polish Writing 1 week – (concurrent to edit) Stills to HD 1 week – (concurrent to edit) 2.5D Animation 4 weeks – (concurrent to edit) Scoring 12 weeks – (partially concurrent to edit) Audio Prep and Mix 3 weeks Mastering & Layback 2 weeks – (partially concurrent to audio mix)
Fundraising Plans
To complete the production, we will continue applying for grants. Several requests are in process, including those to the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Kroll Fund for Jewish Documentary Filmmaking and the Righteous Persons Foundation. In addition, private fund-raising screenings will be held around the country. The Eye Contact Foundation will also continue to seek funds for the completion of the film.
Distribution Goals
Advance word of BESA – The Promise has already garnered invitations to several major film festivals including Doha Tribeca, the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and the Boulder International Film Festival. Once completed, we will offer the film to first tier US and International festivals such Sundance, Berlin and Toronto. Subsequently, the film will be offered to appropriate festivals worldwide. With its powerful message of courage and unity, and its profoundly emotional storytelling style, we are confident the finished film will play well to festival audiences, garner significant awards and secure a theatrical release.
Thanks to its relevant and timely subject matter, we believe it will also find a home on either HBO or PBS and that it will have a strong appeal in a number of international television markets. (The BBC and ZDF have already both expressed their interest.)
It is also a natural fit for widespread educational distribution, as well as for rental of the film/DVD for viewing in mosques, synagogues and churches worldwide.
Finally, in its off-broadcast window, and in addition to DVD distribution, we will aggressively pursue online distribution models, including streaming outlets (such as Hulu and YouTube’s Screening Room) as well as download-to-own.
All of these will be supported by a robust website which allows scholars, students and people of all faiths to come together and learn more about the people featured in our film. Via this website and through social networking sites already established, they will be able to participate in the debate that this film necessarily initiates.
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Work Samples
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TREASURE SEEKERS: The Silk Road Year Produced, 2000
In the West, stood a continent built on lofty ideals and grand ambition. In the East, towered an empire of unimaginable size and splendor. For thousands of years these two civilizations had thrived in seeming isolation. Two men stepped into the void. Marco Polo was lured by the promise of unprecedented wealth; Sven Hedin by a thirst for adventure and the trappings of world fame. Confronted by the most daunting terrain on earth, they went in search of a lasting connection between East and West, along the old Silk Road.
JWM Productions, LLC Executive Producers: Jason Williams and William Morgan Written and Produced and Cinematography by Neil Barrett Edited by Christine S. Romero
Running Time: 52 minutes
BESA – The Promise Work-In-Progress, 2010
This is the incredible story of the Albanian Muslims who saved nearly 2,000 Jews during the Holocaust. This forgotten history is woven through the journeys of two men: Norman H. Gershman, an American photographer who documents those who rescued Jews; and Rexhep Hoxha, an Albanian Muslim who seeks Norman's help to return a mysterious set of Hebrew books to the survivor that his family sheltered over 65 years ago.
JWM Productions, LLC Producers: Jason Williams and William Morgan Directed and Co-Produced by Rachel Goslins Cinematography by Neil Barrett Edited and Co-Produced by Christine S. Romero
Running Time: 88 minutes
J W M PRODUCTIONS 6930 CARROLL AVE. SUITE 600. TAKOMA PARK, MD 20912 301-891-1769 8. 1
GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT8-1241-worksamples.pdf NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
PROGRAM TITLE Besa he Promise ORIGINATION AND DELIVERY FORMATS: HD Origina ion HDCAM SR Delivery @ 1080/24psf wi h 5 1 mix PROGRAM PRODUCTION DATES: Produc ion Comple ed PROGRAM LENGTH: 90 Minu es GRANT PERIOD AUGUS 1 2010 - MAY 1 2011 APPLICANT: JWM PRODUC ONS PROJECT DIRECTOR: CHR S NE ROMERO PROGRAM COST SUMMARY: PRE-PRODUC ON $ 139,680 PRODUC ON $ 36,229 POS -PRODUC ON $ 517,330 GRAND TOTAL: $ 693,239
PROJECT FUNDING: REQUESTED FROM NEH: $ 598,839 MATCHING FUNDS: $ - TOTAL REQUESTED FROM NEH: $ 598,839
COST SHARING: APPLICANT'S CONTRIBUTIONS: $ 94,400
TOTAL PROJECT FUNDING: $ 693,239 PRE-PRODUCTION:
ABOVE HE L NE SALAR ES (Calcula ed hrough comple ion) (01) $ 36 000 BELOW HE L NE SALAR ES (02) $ 66 880 RANSPOR A ON (03) (2 R PS FOR ADV SORY BOARD O DC) $ 13 600 HO EL/PER D EM (04) $ 23 200 MA ER ALS (05) $ - MARKE NG/OU REACH (06) $ - TOTAL PRE-PRODUCTION: $ 139,680 PRODUCTION:
PRODUC ON MA ER ALS (07) $ 375 ABOVE HE L NE SALAR ES (Calcula ed in pre-produc ion) (08) $ - BELOW HE L NE SALAR ES (09) $ - RAVEL DAYS (10) $ - EQU PMEN REN AL (11) $ - RANSPOR A ON (12) $ - HO EL/MEALS (13) $ - M SCELLANEOUS (14) $ 7 354 OFF CE OVERHEAD (15) $ 28 500 TOTAL PRODUCTION: $ 36,229 POST PRODUCTION:
PROCESS NG/ RANSFER (16) $ - SOUND RANSFER & SYNC (17) $ 3 500 ED PERSONNEL (18) $ 117 480 ED EQU PMEN REN AL (19) $ 46 400 PERSONNEL LODG NG/MEALS/ RANSPOR A ON (20) $ 200 S OCK FOO AGE (22) $ 57 650 F NAL COLOR CORREC (23) $ 15 700 ON L NE ED (24) $ 35 900 MUS C/SOUND EFFEC S (25) $ 135 000 NARRA ON (26) $ 3 000 M X (27) $ 27 000 AR AND AN MA ON (28) $ 50 000 S OCK/DUBS/DEL VERY MA ER ALS (29) $ 25 500 TOTAL POST PRODUCTION: $ 517,330
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PRE-PRODUCTION SEGMENT AMOUNT COST TOTAL COMMENTS
ABOVE THE LINE SALARIES (Calculated through completion) (01): POL SH WR ER ALEN UNDE ERM NED 1 $ (b) (6) $ (b) (6) fla fee for projec WGA scale JWM EXECU VE PRODUCERS FEE William Morgan and Jason Williams 1 $ (b) (6) $ (b) (6) amoun for EP con ribu ion SUBTOTAL $ 36,000
BELOW THE LINE SALARIES (02): PRODUC ON MANAGER (1 person) 16 $ 2 100 $ 33 600 16 weeks for edi ing and finishing ASSOC A E PRODUCER (1 person) 16 $ 1 200 $ 19 200 16 weeks for edi ing and finishing ED OR AL ASS S AN (1 person) 16 $ 500 $ 8 000 16 weeks for edi ing and finishing FR NGE ON SER ES SALAR ES 10 00% $ 60 800 $ 6 080 payroll axes on personnel above ADV SORY BOARD COMPENSA ON 40 $ 500 $ 20 000 8 advisors * 5 days each SUBTOTAL: $ 66,880
TRANSPORTATION (03): (2 TRIPS FOR ADVISORY BOARD TO DC) ADV SORY BOARD RAVEL DR MORDECA PALDE L 2 $ 500 $ 1 000 R rain from F Lee NJ ADV SORY BOARD RAVEL DR PE ZORBA 2 $ 2 650 $ 5 300 R irane Albania o Washing on DC ADV SORY BOARD RAVEL DR EMAD El-D N SHAH N 2 $ 650 $ 1 300 R Sou h Bend N o Wash DC ADV SORY BOARD RAVEL DR NANCY LU KEHAUS 2 $ 800 $ 1 600 R Los Angeles o Wash DC ADV SORY BOARD GROUND RANSPOR A ON 8 $ 300 $ 2 400 8 members on advisory board ADV SORY BOARD AX S FOR A RPOR RUNS 8 $ 250 $ 2 000 calcula ed per person SUBTOTAL $ 13,600
HOTEL/PER DIEM (04): ADV SORY BOARD HO EL CHARGES 64 $ 300 $ 19 200 8 persons * 8 days ADV SORY BOARD MEALS 80 $ 50 $ 4 000 8 persons * 10 days SUBTOTAL $ 23,200
MATERIALS (05): RESEARCH MA ER ALS 0 $ - $ - none needed SUBTOTAL $ -
MARKETING/OUTREACH (06): PR AGENCY FEES 0 $ - $ - none needed PR EXPENSES (BOOK PURCHASES MA ER ALS) 0 $ - $ - none needed WEBS E CREA ON AND MA N ENANCE 0 $ - $ - none needed SUBTOTAL $ -
GRAND TOTAL PREPRODUCTION $ 139,680
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PRODUCTION SEGMENT AMOUNT COST TOTAL COMMENTS
PRODUCTION MATERIALS (07): HD APE S OCK 15 $ 25 $ 375 15 apes for shoo ing s ills SUBTOTAL $ 375
ABOVE THE LINE SALARIES (Calculated in pre-production) (08): JWM L NE PRODUCER 0 $ - $ - no produc ion EP SODE PRODUCER 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SUBTOTAL: $ -
BELOW THE LINE SALARIES (09): D REC OR OF PHO OGRAPHY 0 $ - $ - no produc ion ASS S AN CAMERA 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SOUND RECORD S 0 $ - $ - no produc ion LOCA ON RANSLA OR 0 $ - $ - no produc ion LOCA ON PRODUC ON ASS S AN S 0 $ - $ - no produc ion LOCA ON F XERS 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SUBTOTAL $ -
TRAVEL DAYS (10): CAMERA PERSON 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SOUND RECORD S 0 $ - $ - no produc ion CAMERA ASS S AN 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SUBTOTAL $ -
EQUIPMENT RENTAL (11): CAMERA PACKAGE REN AL 0 $ - $ - no produc ion RAD O M CS 0 $ - $ - no produc ion L GH NG REN AL 0 $ - $ - no produc ion CAMERA EXPENDABLES 0 $ - $ - no produc ion CAMEA CLEAN NG 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SUBTOTAL $ -
TRANSPORTATION (12): PRODUCER/D REC OR RANSPOR 0 $ - $ - no produc ion CAMERA RANSPOR 0 $ - $ - no produc ion ASS S AN CAMERA RANSPOR 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SOUND RANSPOR 0 $ - $ - no produc ion CAR AND DR VER REN AL 0 $ - $ - no produc ion AX S/GROUND RANSPOR 0 $ - $ - no produc ion M SC RAVEL EXPENSES 0 $ - $ - no produc ion EXCESS BAGGAGE 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SUBTOTAL $ -
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PRODUCTION SEGMENT AMOUNT COST TOTAL COMMENTS
HOTEL/MEALS (13): CREW HO EL CHARGES 0 $ - $ - no produc ion CREW MEAL CHARGES 0 $ - $ - no produc ion EN ER A NMEN 0 $ - $ - no produc ion SUBTOTAL $ -
MISCELLANEOUS (14): M SC LOCA ON FEES 0 $ - $ - no produc ion MED CAL 0 $ - $ - no produc ion LAUNDRY 0 $ - $ - no produc ion CARNE 0 $ - $ - no produc ion FORE GN GENERAL L AB L Y 0 $ - $ - no produc ion DOMES C GENERAL L AB L Y $ 1 35 $ 650 $ 878 $1 35 per $1000 00 WORKMAN S COMPENSA ON NS $ 0 53 $ 2 031 $ 1 076 53 per $100 00 of compensa ion PRODUC ON NSURANCE $ 0 90 $ 6 000 $ 5 400 90 per $100 00 on budge SUBTOTAL: $ 7,354
OFFICE OVERHEAD (15): PRODUC ON OFF CE REN 4 $ 3 000 $ 12 000 4 mon hs PRODUC ON OFF CE LOCAL PHONE 4 $ 200 $ 800 4 mon hs PRODUC ON OFF CE LONG D S ANCE 4 $ 850 $ 3 400 4 mon hs PRODUC ON OFF CE CONFERENCE CALL CHARGES 4 $ 250 $ 1 000 4 mon hs PRODUC ON OFF CE OVERHEAD 4 $ 350 $ 1 400 4 mon hs OFF CE SUPPL ES 4 $ 250 $ 1 000 4 mon hs FEDERAL EXPRESS 4 $ 500 $ 2 000 4 mon hs MESSENGERS 4 $ 125 $ 500 4 mon hs PE Y CASH 4 $ 200 $ 800 4 mon hs ACCOUN NG 4 $ 650 $ 2 600 4 mon hs LEGAL 1 $ 3 000 $ 3 000 program allowance SUBTOTAL $ 28,500
GRAND TOTAL PRODUCTION $ 36,229
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POST PRODUCTION SEGMENT AMOUNT COST TOTAL COMMENTS
PROCESSING/TRANSFER (16): HDCAM S OCK 0 $ 25 $ - none needed SUBTOTAL $ -
SOUND TRANSFER & SYNC (17): RANSLA OR SERV CES FOR RANSCR P ON 10 $ 350 $ 3 500 10 days for ransla ors SUBTOTAL $ 3,500
EDIT PERSONNEL (18): (b) (6) for edi prep and wri ing and PRODUCER/ED OR CHR S NE ROMERO (b) ( $ (b) (6) $ (b) (6) offine edi ing and final finishing ASS S AN ED OR (1 person) (b) ( $ (b) (6) $ (b) (6) (b) (6) for edi ing and finishing PAYROLL AXES ON AE (b) (6) $ (b) (6) $ (b) (6) (b) (6) of AE salaries SUBTOTAL: $ 117,480
EDIT EQUIPMENT RENTAL (19): NON L NEAR REN ALS 18 $ 1 500 $ 27 000 18 weeks for all work NON-L NEAR PREP WEEKS 6 $ 1 500 $ 9 000 6 weeks for prep SHARED S ORAGE FEES 18 $ 300 $ 5 400 18 weeks HD DECK REN ALS FOR LOAD NG 10 $ 500 $ 5 000 10 weeks SUBTOTAL: $ 46,400
PERSONNEL LODGING/MEALS/TRANSPORTATION (20): PRODUCER LODG NG 0 $ - $ - local producer and edi or PRODUCER MEALS 0 $ - $ - local meals PRODUCER A RFARE 0 $ - $ - local producer PARK NG 1 $ 200 $ 200 working sessions SUBTOTAL $ 200
STOCK FOOTAGE (22): FOO AGE & S LLS L CENS NG 1 $ 27 500 $ 27 500 projec allowance MO ON CON ROL FOR S LLS 7 $ 2 500 $ 17 500 7 days for mo ion con rol FOO AGE RESEARCHER (1 person) 3 $ 1 300 $ 3 900 3 weeks for archive researcher MAS ER MA ER ALS PREP 1 $ 8 000 $ 8 000 allowance for foo age ransfer PREV EW MA ER ALS 1 $ 500 $ 500 projec allowance VHS USAGE VER F CA ON DUBS 1 $ 250 $ 250 projec allowance SUBTOTAL $ 57,650
FINAL COLOR CORRECT (23): HD CAM O HDCAM SR 40 $ 375 $ 15 000 40 hours o al for session MAS ER S OCK FOR LAYBACK 2 $ 350 $ 700 2 pieces of s ock SUBTOTAL $ 15,700
ON LINE EDIT (24): NON-L NEAR ONL NE 80 $ 350 $ 28 000 80 hours for online session ONL NE OPERA OR (1 person) 10 $ 650 $ 6 500 10 days for opera or MAS ER S OCK FOR ONL NE 2 $ 350 $ 700 2 pieces of s ock MAS ER S OCK FOR LES 2 $ 350 $ 700 2 pieces of s ock SUBTOTAL $ 35,900
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT9-1242-budget.pdf NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
POST PRODUCTION SEGMENT AMOUNT COST TOTAL COMMENTS
MUSIC/SOUND EFFECTS (25): MUS C SCOR NG (COMPOSER BD) 1 $ 100 000 $ 100 000 covers composer musicians recording MUS C ED OR (1 person) 4 $ 2 500 $ 10 000 4 weeks for music edi ing on score 200 hours for dialogue cleanup and 5 1 SOUND EFFEC S AND D ALOGUE ED NG 200 $ 125 $ 25 000 prep SUBTOTAL $ 135,000
NARRATION (26): s udio ime for Norman o re-read S UD O FOR ADR FOR NORMAN 10 $ 300 $ 3 000 specific ma erial NARRA ON AND VO CE FEES 0 $ - $ - no narra ion SDN CHARGES 0 $ - $ - no narra ion SUBTOTAL $ 3,000
MIX (27): MX 80 $ 300 $ 24 000 80 hours for surround sound mix LAYBACK O MAS ER 10 $ 300 $ 3 000 10 hours for laybacks SUBTOTAL $ 27,000
ART AND ANIMATION (28): Five (2) minu e amina ion sequences + Five 2 minu e 2-D sequences + i le COMP AN MA ON (FLA FEE) 1 $ 50 000 $ 50 000 design (includes ar direc ion SUBTOTAL $ 50,000
STOCK/DUBS/DELIVERY MATERIALS (29): DEL VERABLES 1 $ 5 000 $ 5 000 projec allowance CREA ON OF BLUE RAY MAS ER F LE 1 $ 10 000 $ 10 000 amoun o crea e Blue Ray mas er file HDCAM SR D S R BU ON COP ES 10 $ 400 $ 4 000 10 apes for delivery M SC DUBS/ RANSFERS 1 $ 6 500 $ 6 500 projec allowance SUBTOTAL $ 25,500
GRAND TOTAL (POST PRODUCTION): $ 517,330
TOTAL (PRE-PRODUCTION): $ 139,680 TOTAL (PRODUCTION): $ 36,229 GRAND TOTAL: (ENTIRE BUDGET): $ 693,239
TOTAL DIRECT COSTS: $ 693,239 TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS: $ - TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $ 693,239
PROJECT FUNDING: REQUESTED FROM NEH: $ 598,839 MATCHING FUNDS: $ - TOTAL REQUESTED FROM NEH: $ 598,839
COST SHARING: APPLICANT'S CONTRIBUTIONS: $ 94,400
TOTAL PROJECT FUNDING: $ 693,239
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GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT9-1242-budget.pdf BESA The Promise CFDA Number: 45.164 Opportunity Number: 20100728-TW
Letters of Endorsement
SCSU Ethnic Heritage Center 10.2
American Jewish Committee 10.3
Janusz Bugajski NEDP, CSIS 10.4
Graham Townsley 10.5
Deborah Peterson-Perlman, Chair, Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee, University of Minnesota, Duluth 10.6
J W M PRODUCTIONS 6930 CARROLL AVE. SUITE 600. TAKOMA PARK, MD 20912 301-891-1769 10. 1
GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT10-1243-endorsements.pdf J W M PRODUCTIONS 6930 CARROLL AVE. SUITE 600. TAKOMA PARK, MD 20912 301-891-1769 10. 2
GRANT10660300 -- Attachments-ATT10-1243-endorsements.pdf From the desk of Rabbi David Rosen Director of International Interreligious Affairs and Director of the Heilbrunn Institute for International Interreligious Understanding
June 27, 2010
It is my privilege and pleasure to lend my sincere support to JWM Productions' documentary Besa - The Promise.
The importance of this film first of all lies in the obligation to honor the memory of those heroic Muslims both as individuals and as a community who saved so many Jewish lives and whose heroism has overwhelmingly lacked acknowledgement and gratitude until now.
Beyond that however the film testifies not only to the most noble moral values of Islam but also to a historic affinity of Muslims and Jews (and their respective religious ways of life) which have been substantially forgotten against the backdrop of contemporary politics. This documentary can therefore be a significant tool in overcoming those contemporary misunderstandings and prejudices.
Rabbi David Rosen,CBE, KCSG International Director of Interreligious Affairs, AJC
______Israel/Middle East Office: Beit Moses, 11 Mesilat Yesharim St., P.O. Box 37068 Jerusalem 91370 Tel: 972 2 625 5281; Fax: 972 2 625 6527; email: [email protected] Head Office: The Jacob Blaustein Building, 165 E.56 St., NY, NY 10022-2746; Tel: 212-751-4000; Fax: 212-891-4555
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