Film Screening

The Miami-Dade Public Library System presents Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story.  Screening will be followed by Q&A led by Robert Jacobvitz, Chair of the Advisory Council, Sousa Mendes Foundation.. This program is co-sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami and the Sousa Mendes Foundation.

 

The Portuguese Embassy in Washington, DC is hosting a free film screening at the historic Avalon Theatre of Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story.  Reception begins at 6:30, with the screening at 7:30.  After the film, stay for discussion and Q&A with Olivia Mattis, President of the Sousa Mendes Foundation.  The event is free, but pre-registration is required.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum, in partnership with the Portuguese Consulate of New Bedford, MA, presents the exhibition, “These are my people!” —  The Story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes.  This 20-panel exhibition tells the gripping true story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes and the refugees he saved.

Also on view will be original artifacts such as passports with Sousa Mendes visas, toys carried by child refugees, and other items on loan from the Sousa Mendes Foundation and individual visa recipient families.

The exhibition opening will include a screening of the short documentary film With God Against Man directed by Semyon Pinkhasov.  The event is free, but pre-registration is required.

Following the free June 13th opening, the exhibition will remain on view until mid-July.  Regular museum admission rates apply.

 

The University of Miami presents a screening of Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  A post-screening discussion will be led by Robert Jacobvitz, Chair of the Sousa Mendes Foundation’s Advisory Council.  Refreshments will be served.

The Community Church of Durham, NH presents the award-winning film, Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story.  Post-screening Q&A will be led by Dr. Douglas Wheeler, historian and expert on Portugal during World War II.  The event is free and open to the public.

SOLD OUT!

 

Passengers on board the Quanza, unable to disembark, 1940

 

The Sousa Mendes Foundation and the American Sephardi Federation present the New York premiere of the documentary film, Nobody Wants Us (2019, dir. Laura Seltzer-Duny) on Sunday, August 11, 2019, 2-4:30 p.m. at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York City.

 

Synopsis:

In 1940, a ship called the S.S. Quanza left the port of Lisbon carrying several hundred Jewish refugees —  most of whom held Sousa Mendes visas — to freedom.  But events went terribly wrong, and the passengers became trapped on the ship because no country would take them in.  Nobody Wants Us tells the gripping true story of how Eleanor Roosevelt herself stepped in to save the passengers on board because of her moral conviction that they were not “undesirables” (as the US State Department labeled them) but rather were “future patriotic Americans.”  This is an episode in American history that everyone needs to know.

 

Program:

The film, which is 35 minutes in length, will be introduced by the filmmaker Laura Seltzer-Duny and followed by a panel discussion moderated by Michael Dobbs of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, author of The Unwanted.  Other participants will include:

Blanche Wiesen Cook, the leading world expert on Eleanor Roosevelt and the author of her three-volume biography.

Annette Lachmann, who was a passenger on the Quanza in 1940.

Kathleen Rand, whose father Wolf Rand was the passenger who successfully filed suit against the shipping company, forcing the vessel to remain in port until the conflict was resolved.

Stephen Morewitz, the leading world expert on the Quanza story, whose grandparents’ Newport News, Virginia law firm of Morewitz & Morewitz was hired by Wolf Rand and successfully litigated the case.

 

Significance of the story:

According to Michael Dobbs, “The Quanza incident is a timely reminder that individuals make a difference.  Without visas supplied by the Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, many of the Jewish passengers on board the Quanza might well have been stranded in Nazi-occupied Europe.  Without the legal brilliance of a maritime lawyer named Jacob Morewitz, the ship would have been obliged to sail back to Europe. Without the intervention of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the passengers would not have been permitted to land.   It took three people, from entirely different backgrounds, to save dozens of lives that might otherwise have been lost.”

 

Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, the Sousa Mendes Foundation, and Hunter College Jewish Studies Center present a screening of the documentary film, Nobody Wants Us (2019, dir. Laura Seltzer-Duny) at the Roosevelt House at 47-49 East 65th Street, between Madison and Park Avenues, New York City.  The event will be held on International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2019.  The event will begin with a reception at 5:45 p.m., with the program to follow at 6:30 p.m.

 

Synopsis:  In 1940, a ship called the S.S. Quanza left the port of Lisbon carrying several hundred Jewish refugees to freedom.  Most of them held life-saving visas issued by the Holocaust rescuer Aristides de Sousa Mendes.  But events went terribly wrong, and the passengers became trapped on the ship because no country would take them in.  Nobody Wants Us tells the gripping true story of how Eleanor Roosevelt stepped in to save the passengers on board because of her moral conviction that they were not “undesirables” (as the US State Department labeled them) but rather, “future patriotic Americans.”  This is an episode in American history that everyone needs to know.  

 

“We are delighted to bring this important film, Nobody Wants Us, to Roosevelt House, and to share it with the rest of the Hunter community,” says Harold Holzer, the Jonathan F. Fanton Director of Roosevelt House.  “The film offers a fresh perspective not just on the issue of immigration, but the action taken by Eleanor Roosevelt to save the lives of immigrants in need of sanctuary,” he adds. 

 

Program:  The film, which is 37 minutes in length, will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Leah Garrett, Director of the Hunter College Jewish Studies Center.  Other participants will include:

Blanche Wiesen Cook, the leading authority on Eleanor Roosevelt and author of her three-volume biography.

Annette Lachmann, who was a passenger on the Quanza in 1940.

Laura Seltzer-Duny, the filmmaker.

 

Significance of the story:  According to Michael Dobbs of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “The Quanza incident is a timely reminder that individuals make a difference.  Without visas supplied by the Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, many of the Jewish passengers on board the Quanza might well have been stranded in Nazi-occupied Europe. Without the legal brilliance of a maritime lawyer named Jacob Morewitz, the ship would have been obliged to sail back to Europe. Without the intervention of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the passengers would not have been permitted to land.   It took three people, from entirely different backgrounds, to save dozens of lives that might otherwise have been lost.”

 

Roosevelt House, an integral part of Hunter College since 1943, re-opened in 2010 as a public policy institute honoring the distinguished legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Its mission is three-fold: to educate students in public policy and human rights, to support faculty research, and to foster creative dialogue. The institute provides opportunities for students to analyze public policy  and experience meaningful civic engagement; for faculty to research, teach, and write about important issues of the day; and for scholarly and public audiences to participate in high-profile lectures, seminars and conferences.

 

The Sousa Mendes Foundation, established in 2010, is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the memory of the Holocaust rescuer Aristides de Sousa Mendes and to teaching the importance of moral courage in a civilized world. Named “Organization of the Year” in 2012 by The Portuguese Tribune, the Foundation is engaged in a worldwide search for families who escaped the Holocaust through Portugal. Through concerts, lectures, films and other educational programming it promotes the important lesson, particularly to young people, that one person can make a difference.

 

Ticket information:  The event is free of charge, but seating is limited, and is by advance reservation. For more information and to reserve tickets, please click here.

The 2020 Tucson International Jewish Film Festival presents Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story.  Leading a post-screening discussion will be Peter Barrett, whose grandparents from Vienna received life-saving visas from Aristides de Sousa Mendes as they escaped from Nazi-occupied Europe in 1940.  The venue is accessible to patrons with disabilities, and parking is readily available.  Refreshments will be served.  For more information, contact Katie Spector, TIJFF Director, (502) 299-3000 or kspector@TucsonJCC.org

The Cinema Arts Centre presents a screening of the documentary film, Nobody Wants Us (2019, dir. Laura Seltzer-Duny). 

Synopsis:  In 1940, a ship called the S.S. Quanza left the port of Lisbon carrying several hundred Jewish refugees to freedom.  Most of them held life-saving visas issued by the Holocaust rescuer Aristides de Sousa Mendes.  But events went terribly wrong, and the passengers became trapped on the ship because no country would take them in. Nobody Wants Us tells the gripping true story of how Eleanor Roosevelt stepped in to save the passengers on board because of her moral conviction that they were not “undesirables” (as the US State Department labeled them) but rather, “future patriotic Americans.” This is an episode in American history that everyone needs to know.  

Program:  The event is part of the “Sunday Schmooze” film-and-discussion series at the Cinema Arts Centre hosted by Fred Craden.  Schedule:

10 a.m. Bagel brunch.

11 a.m. Screening followed by Q&A with filmmaker Laura Seltzer-Duny and Olivia Mattis, President of the Sousa Mendes Foundation.  Special guest:  Gerald Mendes, grandson of Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

Cost:  $15 for members; $20 for non-members.

Tickets:  For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.

The Vancouver Jewish Film Festival presents the award-winning docudrama Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story telling the dramatic true story of a daring and large-scale rescue action during World War II.  Leading a post-film discussion will be Holocaust educator Myra Bard Michaelson.