Holocaust survivor film to be shown at CLC
"Refuge," a film that provides eyewitness testimonies and explores the strength, character, perseverance and resiliency of the last generation of victims of Nazi persecution, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. April 25 at the College of Lake County.
It is presented by CLC and Honorable Keith S. Brin, Lake County Circuit Clerk, in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
A panel discussion featuring filmmaker Ethan Bensinger and other experts will follow the free showing in Room C005 (C Wing Auditorium) at the Grayslake Campus, 19351 W. Washington St.
Shaped by the trauma of his family's experience of being uprooted from Germany in the years preceding the Holocaust, Bensinger created a film that tells the stories of Selfhelp Home residents who share a history of separation from family, place and of loss, and their rebirth in America. It was recently shown on WTTW, Channel 11, Chicago.
Bensinger's family members were refugees in pre-state Palestine and the U.S. He was managing director of the Chicago office of a global immigration law firm and was a frequent guest on a Chicago radio show, answering callers' immigration questions.
He is a board member of the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema and writes the blog "Sightseeing in Israel. Off the Beaten Track with Ethan Bensinger." He created an archive of filmed interviews with 30 remaining victims of Nazi persecution at Selfhelp Home.
Aside from Bensinger, panelists will include Honorable Keith S. Brin, Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court, a joint presenter of the film and grandchild of two Holocaust survivors; Polly Levinson, a social worker at Selfhelp Home, a not-for-profit senior living community for elderly Jewish residents in the Chicago area; Larry Leck, CLC adjunct humanities instructor; and an Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center staff member.
For more information, contact the CLC Communication Arts, Humanities and Fine Arts division at (847) 543-2040 or email com624@clcillinois.edu. Or contact Jeanne Polydoris, chief deputy, Office of Clerk of the Circuit Court Keith S. Brin, at (847) 377.3252 or jpolydoris@lakecountyil.gov.