10th edition CIFF – 10-14 April 2024

FILMS 2024:  Caribbean Focus | Feature Films | Short Films | Yellow Robin Award Nominees
FILMS 2019: A – E | F – L | M – P | Q – S | T –  Z | Feature Film | Short Film
FILMS 2018: A – E | F – L | M – P | Q – S | T –  Z | Feature Film | Short Film
FILMS 2017: A – E | F – L | M – P | Q – S | T –  Z | Feature Film | Short Film
FILMS 2016: A – E | F – L | M – P | Q – S | T –  Z | Feature Film | Short Film
FILMS 2015: A – E | F – L | M – P | Q – S | T –  Z | Feature Film | Short Film

Shtetl in the Caribbean, A (2015 Feature Film)

Sherman De Jesus | Netherlands | 2014 | 99 min | English, Dutch, Papiamento, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Yiddish

Documentary in which two Jewish childhood friends from Curaçao travel to Ukraine and Belarus in search of their roots. Their families fled home during the Holocaust to secure safe futures for their children. How did these wartime refugees end up on the exotic Caribbean island?
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Though childhood friends on Curaçao, Tsale and Mark’s family roots lie in Ukraine and Belarus. During the Holocaust, their Jewish parents fled to an exotic island they didn’t know in the southern Caribbean to secure safe futures for their children. The two pensioners and old pals of director Sherman De Jesus decide to visit Eastern Europe together in search of their families’ histories.

The emotional road trip takes them to desolate-looking areas that – just like the exotic, colourful Curaçao – seem to be metaphors for their life histories and those of previous generations of their families. The duo speak openly about their emotions during their search. How did their courageous parents experience the wartime migration? And how did things go for the families on Curaçao, the island that offered them such a warm welcome? Besides personal experiences, A Shtetl in the Caribbean also contains intense conversations with witnesses who are still living, private photos and unique archival material.

Place: The Cinemas 6

Date: 26 March 2015

Time: 19:15

Duration: 2:00

Year in
Festival

2015

Director

Sherman De Jesus

Camera

Bernd Wouthuysen

Country

Netherlands

Editor

Sander Kuipers

Language

English
Dutch
Papiamento
Belarusian
Ukrainian
Hebrew
Yiddish

Length

99 min

Music

Randal Corsen
Matangi Quartet

Producer

Sherman De Jesus
Cécile van Eijk

Production Company

Memphis Film & Television

Scenario

Sherman De Jesus

Sound Design

Mark Glynne

Year of Production

2014

Website

www.facebook.com/sjtetl

Sherman DE JESUS (1947, Curaçao) verhuisde in 1970 naar Utrecht, waar hij rechten studeerde. Snel erna ging hij in de film- en televisiewereld aan de slag, onder meer als medeoprichter van de Nederlandse Filmdagen (nu Nederlands Film Festival). Momenteel is hij werkzaam als producent en regisseur van diverse speelfilms en documentaires.

 

Filmography

De geur van gras (1989, TV doc), Pearl (1990, short doc), De indiaan baarde een neger (1992, TV doc), Leve het bruine monster (1998, doc), All Is Light – Jan Henderikse (2001, doc), De tijd op je hielen (2003, doc), Omstreden vrijheid (2005, TV doc), Jan Schoonhoven – Beambte 18977 (2005, TV doc), Gods eigen parochie (2011, doc), Alles moet nieuw – Piet Zwart (2012, doc), A Shtetl in the Caribbean (2013, doc)