The Weitzman
A Shabbat On the Other Side of The River
Documentary Feature
Northeast US Premiere
Directed by Diego Lajst
Documentary |Brazil| 2025 | 70 min | Portuguese with English Subtitles
Post-film Discussion with Dr. Adriana Brodsky, Professor of
Latin American and Jewish History, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Moderated by Cindy Hoffman
At the confluence of the many rivers that cross the Brazilian Amazon live families whose names and rituals are rooted in Moroccan Jewish tradition. Present in the region for more than two centuries, the Jews of the Amazon keep alive the practices and traditions of their ancestors, even far from the main centers of Judaism. From an old synagogue in Belém to Jewish cemeteries overgrown by the forest, the film follows the history and daily life of a group whose identity—shaped on both sides of the Atlantic—has endured despite the challenges imposed by the world’s largest tropical rainforest.
