From Cairo to the Cloud

FROM CAIRO TO THE CLOUD:
The World of the Cairo Geniza

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

Q&A with Filmmaker Michelle Paymar & introduction by Simona Di Nepi, Curator of Judaica, Museum of Fine Arts (May 16)

Q&A with David Starr, Executive Director of Tzion (May 18)

In 1896, when Solomon Schechter entered the geniza (sacred storeroom) of an ancient synagogue in Cairo, he was confronted by the most extraordinary discovery: a vast treasure trove of manuscripts that revolutionized our understanding of 1000 years of vibrant Jewish life in the heart of the Islamic world. The Cairo Geniza contained more than half-a-million documents of unprecedented diversity, including religious texts, medical prescriptions, love letters, marriage contracts, and children’s school lessons—a veritable Facebook of the Middle Ages. These documents from the 10th-13th century testify to a period of relative religious tolerance nearly unimaginable today, a complex society that traded goods and ideas from India to Spain, advancing every aspect of culture, science, philosophy, medicine, and theology. After their discovery, the documents were dispersed among seventy collections worldwide. Today, many of these documents have been digitally reunited.

Dir: Michelle Paymar | Canada | 2018 | 92m | English

PARTNER: Department of Near Eastern & Judaic Studies at Brandeis University

Thursday, May 16, 5:00 pm
Museum of Fine Arts (Remis)

SCREENING COMPLETED

Saturday, May 18, 4:00 pm
Museum of Fine Arts (Remis)

SCREENING COMPLETED