Dear Galician Researchers:

If you are attending the IAJGS conference in Paris coming up in a few
weeks, but haven't bought your Gesher Galicia luncheon tickets --
now is the time to do so.

Our luncheon takes place on Tuesday, July 17, at 12:30 PM and the
presentation is entitled: "Revisiting the Holocaust through Film: In
Darkness and In Light."

Our special speaker will be the accomplished film and television
director, Agnieszka Holland. Her most recent film, "In Darkness,"
was the official 2012 Foreign Language Academy Award nominee for
Poland this year and is based on a true story by Robert Marshall in
the book, "In the Sewers of Lwow." The action is set in
German-occupied Poland during World War II, where a Polish thief
hides a group of Jewish refugees, ultimately saving their lives while
risking his own. The film will screen at the conference on Monday
evening.

Ms. Holland will describe the challenges of portraying the Lvov
ghetto in 1943 -- and its social-political context -- contrasted with
the lives of the story's protagonists. She will also talk about the
universal dimension of Holocaust stories: how to achieve accuracy
and authenticity -- and avoid sentimentality -- while still making an
emotional impact on the audience.

Ms. Holland will also discuss her earlier films -- "Europa, Europa,"
based on the true story of a young German Jew, Solomon Perel, who
survived the Holocaust, just after Kristallnacht, by falling in with the
Nazis, and her 1985 film (also nominated for Best Foreign Language
Film) "Angry Harvest," a German production about a Jewish woman on
the run in World War II, and the changes in artistic interpretations of
the Holocaust during the 27-year span between her works.

Ms. Holland, who was born in Warsaw to a Catholic mother and a
Jewish father, both politically active, will also discuss her personal
ties to the subject matter. There will be ample time for Q & A.

One cannot attend the luncheon talk without buying a ticket for the
luncheon. The cost is 29 Euros. No exceptions! To add the luncheon
to your existing conference registration, log into the website:

http://www.paris2012.eu - and click on "Registration"

OR go directly to this page: http://www.paris2012.eu/products

And under SIG/BOF heading click on Galicia or scroll down until you
reach the Gesher Galicia Luncheon tab.

Click on the blue "add to cart" button, then check out, and pay. You
will have to log in as an "Existing Customer," at that point, to make
sure the luncheon ticket shows up in your bag when you arrive to
register, so have your conference registration log-in information
handy.

This luncheon presentation is not just for Galician, Polish, Ukrainian
and Holocaust researchers, but for those curious about the artistic
challenges of portraying the true stories of the Shoah on the screen.

We look forward to welcoming you to our luncheon.

Pamela Weisberger
President, Gesher Galicia
pweisberger@gmail.com

(Note: I do not yet know if this luncheon talk will be recorded. It very
well may be. Please check the conference website after the
conference for that information.)