Documenting Otherness: Jewish Latin American Female Filmmakers

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, there has been a veritable increase in the number of Argentine and Brazilian documentaries that focus on Jewish topics, such as Daniel Burman’s 18-J (Argentina, 2004), David Blaustein’s Hacer patria (Making Motherland; Argentina, 2006), Herman Szwarcbart’s Un pogrom en Buenos Aires (A Pogrom in Buenos Aires; Argentina, 2007), and João Batista de Andrade’s Vlado, trinta anos depois (Vlado, Thirty Years Later; Brazil, 2005). This article looks at two such documentaries by female filmmakers—Um passaporte húngaro (A Hungarian Passport; 2001) by Jewish Brazilian director Sandra Kogut, and Judíos por elección (Jews by Choice; 2011) by Jewish Argentine director Matilde Michanié—in order to explore how they address such topics as diaspora, adaptation, faith, and Jewish mores. I argue that these Jewish Latin American female documentary filmmakers engage in a challenging examination of nationalism and Judaism, areas in which Jewish Latin American women have had, until recently, minor participation. In so doing, Kogut and Michanié represent part of a new generation of filmmakers who delve into the personal to contest long-standing traditions and idiosyncrasies