The Presence of Their Absence

A Screening and Discussion with Filmmaker Donna Kanter

The Presence of Their Absence is the amazing story of a Los Angeles man seeing his roots in the ashes of the Holocaust.  We follow Fred Zaidman, the son of Holocaust survivors, on a journey to trace his inherited trauma.  Armed with determination and scant clues from his late parents, he ventures into the unknown.  With helpers in Poland, Israel, and Germany, and an unlikely source - a Baptist minister in Atlanta who guides him through a cemetery in Poland - Fred finds his roots in the ashes of the Shoah, unshackles his pain, and through the puzzle of his ancestral past reconstructs his future.

6:00 PM reception, movie and speaker to follow at 6:30 PM

Registration is REQUIRED as seating is limited.

Part of our collaboration with The Jewish Studies Program and The Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College and The Rhinebeck Reformed Church.