A Film about Family and Identity by Ella Dreyfus
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The Goethe-Institut is proud to present
Dreyfus Drei, a short documentary film about family, identity and the return to Germany from Australia, created by Ella Dreyfus. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director.
Director's Statement:
“My German-born uncle George Dreyfus is 93 years old and lives in Melbourne. When he dies, the final door will close on our family’s history, and of how he and his brother Richard, were fortunate to escape Nazi Germany by
Kindertransport in 1939 and begin new lives in Australia. My father Richard turned his back on Germany, yet embraced Jewish communal life, whilst George, who retained his childhood passion for music, reclaimed and retained his German identity and culture.
As the daughter of someone who did not wear the label ‘Holocaust survivor’ or speak of his past, I was kept in the dark for decades, unsure of my relationship to Germany. My yearning to know more about the Dreyfus’s origins, combined with an artistic curiosity, lead me on a journey of remembrance, return and renewal of Jewish life. In Germany I experience the transformative power of art to shift perceptions, and my aim through this film is to open up a dialogue for subsequent generations to confront their inherited traumas and reclaim our Jewish lives in Germany.”
Director's Profile:
Dr Ella Dreyfus is an Australian multi-disciplinary visual artist and academic at the National Art School, Sydney, with a PhD in Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales. She is an award-winning artist with exhibitions in Germany, France, Canada and Australia, and her exhibition
Walking in Wiesbaden was held at the Aktives Museum Spiegelgasse für Deutsche Jüdisches Geschichte, Wiesbaden in 2017.
Dreyfus Drei is her first documentary film.
Project Partners:
Dreyfus Drei is a collaborative project between the Goethe-Institut, Sevenpeaks Production Company, and artist Ella Dreyfus. The film was commissioned by the jury of the Jewish Life in Germany Festival 2021 and funded by the Goethe-Institut and the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).
In Germany, the film will be shown as part of the celebratory year
1700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany.
In Australia, the film will have its premiere at the Goethe-Institut in Sydney, and will consequently tour to further locations.
Event Details:
- Date: Thursday 2nd of December 2021
- Time: 6.00pm-8.00pm
- Venue: Goethe-Institut in Sydney
- Address: 90 Ocean Street, Woollahra, NSW 2025, Australia
- Entry: Free with registration, limited capacity
- Registration: via Eventbrite
- Note: This is a Covid-safe event, it will be conducted in line with current NSW health regulations, which may include staff asking attendants for their vaccination status.
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