Israeli director Ari Folman will visit Washington University Nov. 11–12 to screen his new film Where is Anne Frank? and discuss his work. Sayed Kashua, a doctoral student in comparative literature and celebrated Palestinian novelist and television writer, will host a discussion with Folman Nov. 11 from 1–2 p.m. in Busch Hall Room 018. The next evening, Folman will join members of the WashU and St. Louis community for a screening of his newest film at 7:30 p.m. in Brown Hall 100, followed by a Q&A about his work. WashU faculty and students are invited to RSVP for reserved seating at the screening.
The film screening is part of the 2022 St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) and co-sponsored by the Adam Cherrick Lecture Fund and the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies.
Folman received international acclaim for his 2008 film Waltz with Bashir, an animated documentary that depicts Bashir’s search for his lost experiences during the 1982 Lebanon War.
“Waltz with Bashir is about the memory of the Sabra and Shatila massacre and the question of the role of the Israeli military,” said Nancy E. Berg, professor of Hebrew language and literature and one of the organizers of Folman’s visit. “How do the Israeli soldiers remember it? What do you remember about what happened? It's really about exploring trauma and memory through the unexpected medium of animation.”
In his latest film, Folman uses animation to again explore trauma and memory, now through the story of Anne Frank. The film explores the West’s continuing interest in Frank’s story and asks, “where is Anne Frank in today’s political landscape?”
“Anne Frank is much larger than life. Think of all the books that have been written about this barely adolescent girl that by all logic should have been lost to history,” Berg said. “Folman is asking us to consider why we are so interested in visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and not in helping refugees unsettled by conflict.”
The St. Louis International Film Festival runs Nov. 3–15 and includes 256 films. Other SLIFF films or film series supported by Washington University include the Divided City spotlight, sponsored by the Center for the Humanities, and Underneath: Children of the Sun, sponsored by the Department of African and African-American Studies.
