Israeli documentary maker discussed ‘The Woman From Sarajevo’ at Library of Congress 11/9

November 4, 5:05 PMDC Art Travel ExaminerMarsha Dubrow

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Zineba Hardaga, who saved a Jewish family from the Nazis in Sarajevo.

Courtesy Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum

“The Woman From Sarajevo” is a vivid documentary about a Muslim family who saved a Jewish family in World War Two, and 50 years later was rescued by the Jewish family during the Bosnian war.

Zineba Hardaga became the first of only two Muslims to be honored by Israel as "Righteous Among the Nations," recognizing non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews. She is the only Muslim to be buried in an Israeli Jewish cemetery.

During the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, the Jewish family helped the Hardaga family escape to Israel.

The Hardaga’s daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter converted to Judaism. The daughter, Sara, now works at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust History Museum.

Sara has said, "It is only natural that I should want to become Jewish. It is an honor for me to belong to these people" Her daughter Stella served as an officer in the Israeli Air Force.

Israeli filmmaker Ella Alterman discussed her documentary following its screening at the Library of Congress' Mary Pickford Theater on November 9. The 65-minute film is in Serbian, English and Hebrew, with English subtitles.

Alterman said that Sara had sworn she'd never return to Sarajevo, but the filmmaker convinced her.

Alterman, professor of dramatic writing and directing at Haifa University and at the School of Playwrights in Tel Aviv, is a writer and director for the theater, musicals, television programs and documentary films. Her films include "A Fence in the Middle of the Sitting Room," the story of a Syrian village divided between two nations, and "With Strong Hand," about orthodox Jews who are also masters of Asian martial arts.

She is especially interested in exploring the lives of women who demonstrate the courage to forge their own paths, as in "Photo Birr," the story of ten women traveling to the south of Ethiopia, and "When Caca Met Sugra," about career women traversing the Mongolian wilderness.

"The Woman from Sarajevo" program is sponsored by the Library’s European Division and the Hebrew Language Table in cooperation with the Israeli Embassy. For more than a decade, the Embassy of Israel has been presenting the Library of Congress with films to complement some 100 items in the Library’s Embassy of Israel collection.

Representatives of the embassies of Israel and Bosnia and Herzegovina were in the audience.

The film "proves the victory of the spirit of humanity," Alterman said. "Never in life do we know when we will be saviors, and when we will be survivors."

For more info: Library of Congress, www.loc.gov, James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC. "The Woman from Sarajevo" and other Ella Alterman films are available through Ruth Diskin Marketing & Distribution, www.ruthfilms.com.