Advance screening of documentary on Hollywood and the Holocaust

By Dawn Setzer

The UCLA Library will present a special preview screening of the acclaimed 2007 documentary, "Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust" Monday, March 31, prior to its run in Los Angeles.

Described by The New York Times as "a devastating, impressively reflective documentary," it tells a provocative and mostly unknown story of the sixty-year relationship between Hollywood and the atrocities of Nazi Germany through scenes from films and newsreels and interviews with renowned filmmakers and actors including Sidney Lumet, Steven Spielberg, and Rod Steiger.

The documentary was directed by Daniel Anker, who earned an Academy Award nomination and an Emmy Award for "Scottsboro: An American Tragedy," and narrated by Gene Hackman.

Following the 7 P.M. screening at the James Bridges Theater., there will be a talk by Michael Berenbaum, a historical consultant and interview subject for the film. The event is scheduled in conjunction with the traveling exhibition "Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings," which is on view in the Charles E. Young Research Library through April 20.

Organized by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., this traveling exhibition provides a vivid look at the first steps the Nazis took to suppress freedom of expression, the strong response that occurred in the U.S. immediately following the book burnings and during the war, and the continued presence of this incendiary event in public discourse throughout the ensuing years.

The screening is open to UCLA students, faculty and staff. Admission is free, but reservations are required; RSVP by email or by calling (310) 825-0746.

For more information, see the film's Web site.