JEWISH FILM SHOWCASE: Raise The Roof

The JEWISH FILM SHOWCASE offers an exciting slate of new feature documentary films telling vibrant stories from around the world.

Curated and presented as a mini film festival, by The National Center for Jewish Film, the showcase presents three award-winning films, each exploring a dynamic story rich in history, art, and culture.

Paraphrasing one of this year's protagonists, "these films reach deep into history and bring something back."

Rivaling the greatest wooden architecture in history, the synagogues of 18th-century Poland — the last of which were destroyed by the Nazis — inspired artists Rick and Laura Brown to embark on a 10-year pursuit to reconstruct the elaborate roof and painted ceiling of the GwoŸdziec synagogue.

Aided by a team of 300 artisans and students, the show-stopping building was realized and installed as the centerpiece of the new Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.

This beautifully photographed film, "Raise The Roof," chronicles this ambitious project against the backdrop of the 1000-year history of Jews in Poland.

By the end of the project, they had done more than reconstruct a lost synagogue; they recovered a lost world.

“How often do you get a chance to reach deep into history and bring something back?”—Rick Brown.

"[The reconstruction] is a majestic jewel box of a sanctuary, a reminder that the world of the shtetl was not simply a domain of poverty and despair but also a thing of beauty.” —The New Republic

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Rick and Laura Brown review details on photographs of the Polish synagogues that no longer exist in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Rick Brown holds the photo of Gwozdziec synagogue that inspired them to reconstruct it in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Barbara Kishenblatt-Gimblatt takes the filmmakers on a tour of the old Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, Poland in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Rick Brown puts fininshing touches on the Gwozdziec roof model in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Nick Farnham using a pit saw to cut beams for the bimah in the studio at Handshouse in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Emily White and Krista Lima paint the interior of the lantern with gesso in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Judith Hanson carves a post for the Gwozdziec bimah in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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The Gwozdziec roof structure is hoisted into place using X chain falls in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Rick Brown and Jason Loik take measurements of the completed bimah in the studio at Handshouse in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Jason Loik explains the direction of the brush strokes on flowers in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Painting leaders and students working together to complete flowers on the north dome panel in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Evelyn Tauben and Jason Bashaw paint the borders of the backward facing deer in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Emily White paints the lion for the east dome panel in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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In the style of a medieval workshop, students and painting leaders work side-by-side painting a cove panel in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Ariel Rosenblum painting the Hebrew text on a Gwozdziec ceiling panel in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Trim boards are attached on top of the seams between the dome and pendentive panels in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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Jason Loik and Rick Brown steady the top of the bimah in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

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The Gwozdziec synagogue roof structure installed in the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in "Raise The Roof."

Courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film

AWARDS:

"Raise the Roof" has enjoyed a wildly successful film festival run, screening at more than 150 film festivals and winning six Best Documentary Awards.

• Best Documentary, Audience Choice Award, New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival
• Best Documentary Seattle Jewish Film Festival
• Best Documentary Washington Jewish Film Festival
• Best Documentary Audience Choice, Rutgers Jewish Film Festival
• Audience Choice Award Jewish Arts Festival, Salt Lake City
• Best Film Audience Award, Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival

UP NEXT:

"Ahead Of Time: The Extraordinary Journey of Ruth Gruber" will air Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV.

The first film of the series, “Carvalho's Journey," aired December 5.

CREDITS:

A production of Trillium Studios. Executive Producer: John Rubin. Producer: Cary Wolinsky. Director and Editor: Yari Wolinsky. Written by Yari Wolinsky and Cary Wolinsky. Production Designer: Barbara Wolinsky. Associate Producer: Wiktoria Michałkiewicz. Associate Producer: Rian Brown.