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CUBA’S FORGOTTEN JEWELS A Heaven in Havana DVD Documentary
Code: DVD-Cuba'sJewels
$39.95
Product Description
•••••
Directors: Judy Kreith & Robin Truesdale
USA, 2017, 46 minutes, In English
Optional Subtitles: Spanish or Hebrew
USA, 2017, 46 minutes, In English
Optional Subtitles: Spanish or Hebrew
Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels explores the little known story of the Jewish refugees who escaped Nazi-occupied Europe and found a safe haven on the Caribbean island of Cuba.
After a wave of Jewish refugees to Cuba in the 1920’s and 30’s, the island shut its doors to immigrants, most notably to the Jews aboard the ship the St. Louis in 1939. In 1940, Cuba changed course and took in 6,000 Jewish refugees, including hundreds of Jewish diamond cutters and their families who, for a few years, turned the small tropical island into one of the world’s major diamond-polishing centers. In the factories, women work beside men, Jews beside Cubans.
The film was born of the tales that Marion Kreith told her daughter Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels co-director Judy Kreith about her escape from Nazi-occupied Belgium and her teenage years in 1940s Havana. Marion and other refugees interviewed in the film recall their lives in wartime Havana: the draw of Cuban food, music and dance, its language and people, and also the challenges they faced in this unfamiliar land.
Features an original soundtrack of Cuban and Jewish music.
After a wave of Jewish refugees to Cuba in the 1920’s and 30’s, the island shut its doors to immigrants, most notably to the Jews aboard the ship the St. Louis in 1939. In 1940, Cuba changed course and took in 6,000 Jewish refugees, including hundreds of Jewish diamond cutters and their families who, for a few years, turned the small tropical island into one of the world’s major diamond-polishing centers. In the factories, women work beside men, Jews beside Cubans.
The film was born of the tales that Marion Kreith told her daughter Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels co-director Judy Kreith about her escape from Nazi-occupied Belgium and her teenage years in 1940s Havana. Marion and other refugees interviewed in the film recall their lives in wartime Havana: the draw of Cuban food, music and dance, its language and people, and also the challenges they faced in this unfamiliar land.
Features an original soundtrack of Cuban and Jewish music.
Judy Kreith, Co-Director
Judy Kreith is a professional dance educator and choreographer. She received her MA from Stanford University. Her mother, Marion Finkels Kreith, is the key inspiration for this film. Judy’s study of Cuban dance brought her to Cuba where she began researching and working with local historians to document the history of Jews in Cuba and most particularly the experience of Jewish refugees and the diamond polishing industry that flourished in Havana during WWII. Judy lectured widely on the topic of Jewish refugees to Cuba, including most recently at a conference at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Robin Truesdale, Co-Director
Robin Truesdale is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and the founder of Two Hands Films. Her film A Beautiful Equation: Einstein, Bohr and Grandmothers won Best International Film at the Sunrise Film Festival and the Platinum Remi Award at Houston Worldfest. Her earlier film Conviction won the People’s Choice at the Frozen River Film Festival. Robin, who has an MS in journalism from the University of Colorado, began her career as a news editor for a Denver television station. Her work deals primarily with social justice, cultural, and humanitarian issues.
Judy Kreith is a professional dance educator and choreographer. She received her MA from Stanford University. Her mother, Marion Finkels Kreith, is the key inspiration for this film. Judy’s study of Cuban dance brought her to Cuba where she began researching and working with local historians to document the history of Jews in Cuba and most particularly the experience of Jewish refugees and the diamond polishing industry that flourished in Havana during WWII. Judy lectured widely on the topic of Jewish refugees to Cuba, including most recently at a conference at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Robin Truesdale, Co-Director
Robin Truesdale is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and the founder of Two Hands Films. Her film A Beautiful Equation: Einstein, Bohr and Grandmothers won Best International Film at the Sunrise Film Festival and the Platinum Remi Award at Houston Worldfest. Her earlier film Conviction won the People’s Choice at the Frozen River Film Festival. Robin, who has an MS in journalism from the University of Colorado, began her career as a news editor for a Denver television station. Her work deals primarily with social justice, cultural, and humanitarian issues.