USA: Film & Exhibition Tell Story of North Carolina Jews

USA: Film & Exhibition Tell Story of North Carolina Jews

The Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina (JHFNC) premiered its new documentary film Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina with showing in Greensboro, NC on October 11^th and October 19^th. The film will next be screened in Charlotte on February 22, 2009. You can read about it here: Greensboro News & Record Article.

The Down Home Documentary film is the first component of larger project to document the Jewish history of North Carolina.

JHFNC was established in 1996 and is North Carolina’s only statewide Jewish historical organization. The Foundation seeks to promote understanding of the Jewish people by educating both Jews and the general public about the history, culture, and religion of the Jewish people and by encouraging appreciation of the beauty of Jewish ritual and practice. The JHFNC collects and preserves artifacts and records the history of Jewish settlement in North Carolina, as well as conducting programs that examine and portray the Jewish experience in North Carolina. The JHFNC also seeks to strengthen Jewish communal bonds among North Carolina’s diverse Jewish and non-Jewish communities by maintaining networks that connect collections and educational resources across the state and by creating bridges between the older established communities and our many newly arriving residents.

In September the Foundation announced the design team for the final design and installation of the Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina museum exhibit. The exhibit will chronicle the 400-year story of Jewish life in the state. In 2010 the exhibit will travel to North Carolina’s major history museums including those in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Wilmington and Asheville. The exhibit is a major component of the Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina multi-media project which also includes a TV-quality documentary film, educational DVDs and teaching curricula for the state’s public schools, and a richly illustrated book to be published by UNC Press.

North Carolina is also the home of many historic and well preserved synagogues. The Foundation is looking at ways to promote the history and architecture of the synagogues and to ensure their continued use and preservation.