Survivors of Genocide

On June 15, Lost in Lebanon, a 3 Generations film directed by the Scott Sisters and produced by our own Jane Wells, had its North American premiere at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York City. Jane’s commitment to documenting genocide began with The Devil Came on Horseback in 2006, and the Scott Sisters made a documentary that exposed the horrors of the Bosnian genocide in 2014. We’re always conscious of the reality that human rights abuses may be shifting towards genocide on any given day, in real time, before our very eyes. The Syrian civil war is a prime example.

Lost in Lebanon follows the story of four Syrian refugees who fled to Lebanon, the country which shelters the highest number of refugees proportionate to its population. It highlights the heavy responsibility that Lebanon historically bares in supporting vulnerable populations as well as the incredibly limited options that Syrians have even after escaping their country. 3 Generations is continuing our work in bringing the heartbreak of the situation to light, using film and social media as platforms for education on the conflict and how people can support refugees.

At the same time, we are promoting educational screenings for German Concentration Camps Factual Survey, a documentation of the atrocities carried out by the Nazis. It was filmed by Jane’s father, Sidney Bernstein, in 1945. The Holocaust remains a topic of political contention in 72 years later with the defacement of Jewish cemeteries and threats aimed at Jewish community centers. Representatives of the current White House administration find themselves unable to broach the topic with true knowledge and sensitivity. For this, it is vital that the public has access to this monumental film.

The last time we wrote, we were excited to announce that our documentary, German Concentration Camps Factual Survey, was released for its first theatrical run in the United States. For the first time, Americans were able to witness Sidney Bernstein’s first hand, visual accounts of the Jewish genocide from inside the fences of Hitler’s concentration camps. We had also just received the non-theatrical screening rights to the film. Since then, we have been reaching out to organizations centered on Jewish culture to offer educational and community screenings. The Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio will be showing the film at the end of April.

The availability of German Concentration Camps Factual Survey comes at a time when vulnerable populations across the world continue to face collective social, cultural, and political strain. Civilians in Syria were assaulted with yet another chemical attack; famine is spreading from South Sudan to Yemen; and Jewish cemeteries in the United States were vandalized multiple times in the beginning months of this year.

At 3 Generations, we are working with urgency against growing prejudices and violence. We are using our resources to build platforms where victims can raise their voices and provide critical insight into historical and modern injustices.

Links:

• 3G Film page
• IWM film page
• GCCFS in The New York Times