We Will Be Strong In Our Weakness

Summary

"We direct our appeal not only to Jews. We accept into our ranks
all those for whom there is no place in their homelands – the
expelled and the persecuted. There will be no discrimination in
our movement. We shall not ask about your life stories, check
your residence cards or question your refugee status. We shall be
strong in our weakness." (JRMiP manifesto)



In 2007 Yael Bartana initiated the Jewish Renaissance Movement
in Poland (JRMiP), a political movement that calls for the return
of 3,300,000 Jews to the land of their forefathers: "We want to return!
Not to Uganda, not to Argentina or to Madagascar, not even
to Palestine. It is for Poland that we long, the land of our fathers
and forefathers." (JRMiP manifesto). The JRMiP can be read however
in a broader context, apart from the complex Polish-Jewish
relationship, as an experimental form of collective psychotherapy,
through which national demons are stirred and dragged out
into daylight. Bartana has made films with and about the movement,
such as "Mary Koszmary" ("Nightmares") (2007), "Mur i Wieża"
("Wall and Tower") (2009) and the performance "We Will Be Strong In
Our Weakness" (2010), in which Susanne Sachsse, as Rivka, publicly
called forth the spirit of the movement. Since its foundation, the
JRMiP has spread widely and found many followers.



In a next step the JRMiP invites selected festival guests – filmmakers,
artists, and critics – to get involved in this collective
process and to contribute their thoughts and proposals for the
movement. The resulting video interviews will be presented at
the cinema.

Source: 61. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)