February 28, 2005

Documentary Hiding and Seeking Illustrates Dangers of Religious Intolerance

(North Adams, Mass.)-- On Thursday, March 31, at 8pm in Club B-10, MASS MoCA will screen the second documentary of an anticipated trilogy by Oren Rudavsky and Menachem Daum, on the subject of understanding their Jewish faith, Hiding and Seeking: Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust. The film tells the story of a father (Daum) trying to teach his adult Orthodox Jewish sons the dangers of defending their faith and preaching about intolerance by traveling with them to Poland to meet the family that hid their grandfather for over two years during the Holocaust. This very personal film shows the journey of a man who tries to change the direction of his sons' thinking. His goal is to reform their narrow-minded religious ideals that seem to promote hatred, by opening their eyes to the kind of compassion that is blind to religion, ethnicity, and sex.

TV Guide said of Hiding and Seeking, "The film unfolds like an adventure that's part road trip, part scavenger hunt and part philosophical inquiry into the true meaning of faith, tolerance, and gratitude that carries an important and timely warning: "Every religion is in danger of being hijacked by extremists."

Following September 11th when the effect of religious intolerance was made frighteningly clear, Menachem Daum found it imperative to discuss the biased beliefs of the Orthodox Jewish community to which he belonged. After unsuccessful attempts to discuss these issues with his community leaders, Daum tried to reach out to his sons living in Israel. The film documents Daum's discussions with multiple generations of Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem, Brooklyn, and Poland.

MASS MoCA's Cinema Lounge series is funded in part by Holly Angell Hardman.

Held in Club B-10, MASS MoCA's Cinema Lounge series focuses on timely documentaries about social change in conjunction with MASS MoCA's exhibition The Interventionists: Art in the Social Sphere. Doors open at 7 pm for food and drink from Lickety Split before the screening. Club B-10 features comfortable couches and café tables as well as a full bar.

Tickets for Hiding and Seeking are $6. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available in advance through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 am until 5 pm (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111. The Cinema Lounge series is supported by Holly Angell Hardman.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org