NESHOMA 
dir. Sandra Beerends, Netherlands, 2024, 87 min
A nostalgic look at Jewish Amsterdam before World War II. In the city called the Jerusalem of the West, wealthy Sephardic refugees from Spain and Portugal, along with Ashkenazim from Eastern Europe, had settled since the end of the 16th century. On the eve of the war, the community numbered about 80,000 and remained highly diverse - ranging from wealthy diamond cutting company owners to girls toiling in sewing workshops and itinerant rag traders. Scenes of their daily work, moments of leisure, and religious ceremonies were captured on film along with the most important moments from the life of Amsterdam. Optimism and expansion after World War I, queues of the unemployed during the Great Depression, political unrest, and finally, occupation by the Third Reich - all this makes up a film entirely compiled from original period footage and newsreels. Its narrative is formed by fictional letters, in which a Jewish girl recounts both seminal and mundane events in the history of the city and her family to her brother, who lives in the colonies. The correspondence abruptly ends with the last letter reporting a "resettlement" to the East ordered by the authorities.
Partner of the screening: Embassy of the Netherlands in Poland
IDFA, HOTdocs, Toronto Jewish FF
08-11-2025 16:00, Muzeum POLIN
Language: english, dutch Subtitles: polish, english
FREE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE MUSEUM TICKET OFFICE ON THE DAY OF THE SCREENING
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