Many of the Jews who were expelled from Spain towards the end of the Middle Ages settled in the Ottoman Empire. They brought their language with them – Judeo-Spanish or "Ladino" became the most important Jewish language in the Eastern Mediterranean. For 500 years, Judeo-Spanish was the everyday and literary language of the Sephardic Jews, but now the language is in decline.
Past event
Where
W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)
For her documentary Las ultimas palavras, filmmaker Rita Ender embarked on a journey in search of Judeo-Spanish in Turkey. The dissapearance of the language becomes a symbol for the growing sense of uprooting among the younger generation. Ender's reflections on language and memory, on identity, integration, belonging, and cultural independence play an important role not only for the situation of Sephardic Jews in Turkey.
| Original title | Las Ultimas Palavras/Son Sözcükler (The Last Words) |
|---|---|
| Film genre | Documentary film |
| Directed by | Rita Ender |
| Country | Turkey |
| Language | Turkish/Ladino |
| Release date | 2015 |
| Running time | 36 minutes |
After the film there will be a discussion with the film director.
Moderated by Dr. Corry Guttstadt, author of the monograph Die Türkei, die Juden und der Holocaust (Turkey, the Jews, and the Holocaust).
The event is part of the Film and Reading Series Between Marrakesh and Mashhad.
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If you reserve a ticket for a for a free event, please remember that your ticket will be forfeited if you do not pick it up 15 minutes before the event begins. If you have not collected the ticket by then, it may be given to a visitor who is waiting for a ticket.
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Film and Reading Series: Between Marrakesh and Mashhad: Jews in Islamic Countries (3)
Between Marrakesh and Mashhad: Jews in Islamic Countries
This film and reading series, hosted by the Academy program’s Jewish-Islamic Forum from July 2016 to September 2017, explored the past and present of Jewish lives in different countries of North Africa and the Middle East.
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Las ultimas palavras
14 September 2017
Documentary, Turkish/Ladino with English subtitles -
Yousef Abad
Video art by the Israeli-Iranian artist Elham Rokni; Persian/Hebrew with English and Hebrew subtitles (audio recording of the talk available)
6 Jul 2017 -
My Father’s Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq
11 May 2017
Reading and discussion in English with the author Ariel Sabar
11 May 2017
