Sosua & Simply Human

Film Double-Feature:  two films complementing each other

Sosua: Make a Better World (documentary)

This documentary tells the story of a drama project developed for Jewish and Dominican teenagers in a New York City neighborhood.  Under the guidance of the legendary theater director Liz Swados, they put on a musical that told a little-known history that brought Jews and Dominicans together in the past. The Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo, gave Jews refuge in 1938 – at the same time that he was murdering tens of thousands of Haitians.  The film shows the power of dance, song, and theater to forge bonds between disparate people. 50 minutes.

 Followed immediately by

 Simply Human (documentary)

This film tells the story of Mrs. Hans Snoek, a 90 year old Dutch dancer who received national honors for creating theater and dancing opportunities for children.  Less known was her rescue of Jews during World War II.  This brief documentary shows her work in dance and her personal heroism, for which she was honored by Yad Vashem.  30 minutes, in English, Dutch, and Hebrew with subtitles. 

Film courtesy The National Center for Jewish Film.

80 minutes, followed by Q & A with CSUN faculty: Jody Myers (Religious Studies, Jewish Studies) and Doug Kaback (Theater Department, and Executive Director of CSUN’s Teenage Drama Workshop).  

Free.  Space limited - RSVP required.  Please call (818) 677-4724 or email jewish.studies@csun.edu to reserve a seat (maximum 2 seats per request – names for each seat are required). 

For your convenience, a map to the event has been included.