Vishniac
Sunday, July 14, 1pm; Dryden Theatre
THE WILLIAM AND SHEILA KONAR SPOTLIGHT FILM
Documentary | 2023 | 93 min. | English | USA
Director: Laura Bialis
He was flamboyant, outspoken, and a master of reinvention. He was also one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century – a brilliant artist whose body of work spans decades, and continents. Roman Vishniac documented Jewish life in Eastern Europe before and after WWII, providing the last visual records of an entire world. In a stunning shift, he turned almost exclusively to scientific photography where he made considerable contributions in the field of microscopy. Now, for the first time, Vishniac’s story is told. Mature content.
Vishniac’s late son Wolf, a distinguished microbiologist, spent his career at the University of Rochester. Wolf’s son Ethan, one of the film’s narrators, is an equally distinguished astronomer who grew up in Rochester and graduated from the University of Rochester.
Post-film Q&A with Jonathan Feldman, a close friend of the Vishniac family, and Bonnie Abrams, RJFF committee member and former director of Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester’s Center for Holocaust Awareness and Information.
Vishniac Photography Exhibit
On display at the George Eastman Museum before and after screening of Vishniac
The collection of eight photographs, The Vanished World, is a recent gift from the Konar Family to the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project at Monroe Community College. The photographs are on permanent display, and open to the public, at the MCC LeRoy V. Good Library. Thank you to Jodi Oriel.
Underwritten by
William and Sheila Konar Foundation
Community Partner:
