October 26, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000

                         lunger@oscars.org

Beverly Hills, CA - "Jews and Buddhism: Belief Amended, Faith Revealed," "Eyewitness: The Legacy of Death Camp Art" and "Tak for Alt: Survival of a Human Spirit" will all be screened for the November 14 installment of the Contemporary Documentary Series. Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Foundation and the UCLA Film and Television Archive, the screening will begin at 7:30 p.m. in UCLA's James Bridges Theater. All screenings in the series are free and open to the public.

"Jews and Buddhism: Belief Amended, Faith Revealed" was directed and produced by Bill Chayes and Isaac Solotaroff. The film unearths the links forged over the last century between Judaism and Buddhism, from David Ben Gurion speaking on meditation, to Allen Ginsberg's popularizing of Buddhism in America, to a meeting between the Dalai Lama and Jewish scholars.

Directed and produced by Bert Van Bork, "Eyewitness: The Legacy of Death Camp Art" received an Academy Award nomination in 1999. The film traces the life and work of three artists who were among the prisoners at Auschwitz: Jan Kondki, a Polish Catholic; Dina Gottliebova, who painted portraits of Gypsies at Mengele's request; and Felix Nussbaum, a German artist whose promising career was first interrupted by years of exile, internment and hiding, then cut short by his execution in the final days of the war.

"Tak for Alt: Survival of a Human Spirit" examines the life of Judy Meisel, who as a young woman in Eastern Europe during WWII was incarcerated in the Kovno ghetto and the Stutthof concentration camp. She managed to survive, and after the liberation of the camps, was repatriated to Denmark. She ultimately moved to the U.S. where, after witnessing race riots in 1963, she began to champion the cause of tolerance at schools across the country. The film was directed by Broderick B. Fox, Sarah Levy and Laura Bialis; Bialis also produced.

The James Bridges Theater is located in Westwood on the northeast corner of the UCLA campus, near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue. Parking is available for $6 in Lot 3, adjacent to the theater. For more information, call 310-206-FILM.