Description

In the 1930's, filmmaker and author Sadia Shepard's Indian Jewish grandmother eloped with her Muslim grandfather and migrated from India to Pakistan and later, to the United States. Seventy-five years later, Shepard embarked on a journey to research and reconnect with the way of life her grandmother left behind. In her acclaimed memoir The Girl from Foreign, Shepard tells the story of her journey to document the Bene Israel, a shrinking community of Jews which believes that it was shipwrecked in India 2000 years ago. In Search of the Bene Israel is a documentary film in which she seeks to understand her grandmother’s history and the future of the 3500 Bene Israel who remain in India. This moving portrait of a community in transition introduces us to individuals and families struggling with the difficult decision of whether to stay in India or move to Israel. Interweaving impressionistic 16mm and Super 8mm footage with intimate video interviews and observational material, we come to know a father and son who take care of a rural synagogue, a Jewish Indian filmmaker working in Bollywood, and a young couple on the eve of their marriage and departure for Israel.

Festivals

New York Jewish Film Festival
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Production Credits & Notes

Produced and Directed by: Sadia Shepard
Camera: Gautam Bose, Shammi Nanda, Cassim Shepard, Sadia Shepard
Editor: Purcell Carson
Additional Editor: Andreas Burgess
Audio Post Production: Paul Bercovitch
Original Score: Marla Hansen