Between WWI and WWII, one in ten residents of Amsterdam was Jewish. Based on numerous testimonies and archival footage from this era, director Sandra Beerends brings to life the neshoma (soul) of the city through a series of letters written by seventeen-year-old Rusha to her brother Max who has emigrated to the Dutch East Indies. Early letters convey a sense of post-WWI optimism and prosperity when Jews played a prominent role in the economic and cultural fabric of the city. As she reaches adulthood, economic depression and rising fascism become the focus of the correspondence and the outbreak of WWII presents Rusha with an impossible choice.
Reviews
“Sandra Beerends has crafted a massive archive of film and photographs into Neshoma, a brilliant look at a Jewish culture and society that was rapidly disappearing.” – POV Magazine
“Neshoma is in equal parts joyous, tragic, informative and cinematic.” – Business Doc Europr
“Neshoma is about the lives of many who are no longer here, as well as what they have left behind: the Jewish soul of Amsterdam—the neshoma.” – Now Toronto