MISS HOLOKOST SURVIVOR

THE PAGEANT (MISS HOLOKOST SURVIVOR), 2020
Turkey, France, Germany | HDD, Color, 83’ | Hebrew, English, Russian
Director: Eytan İpeker

Formerly a guest of Count Us In! with his 2015 İdil Biret documentary, the director’s new film is about a beauty pageant for women who have survived the Nazi Genocide. Taking place for the past nine years in Haifa, the pageant is being organized by an international institution that supports the policies of the right-wing government in Israel. The aim of the contestants, who are between the ages of 70-80, is to make the jury members appreciate the tragedy of their stories, as they saunter under spotlights, wearing elegant dresses. Meticulously and very sensibly, the documentary camera enters this pageant as a witness that portrays both how social memory is used in today's political arena and the intensity of the trauma that has been endured. The film had its world premiere at the Visions du Réel Film Festival.