Full Description
An exhilarating celebration of the idealistic Americans who joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade to fight against Franco's fascist revolt in Spain. Director Montell travels with the Brigade veterans who returned to Spain for the 50th Anniversary of the Spanish Civil War. She interviews a sparkling and irresistible contingent of veterans, a surprising and disproportionate number of whom are Jewish, who saw the Brigade as a chance to fight back against Hitler and the rising tide of European fascism. Moving stories and wonderful anecdotes are shared, including a little known fact that, since the Brigadistas came from so many countries, their lingua-franca had to be Yiddish! These courageous men and women, now in their '70s and '80s, were called subversives upon their return to the U.S., but they continue to stay active in progressive causes to this day. 1991 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary.
Filmmaker Bio(s)
Director Judy Montell was the producer, director, and co-writer of the Academy Award nominated documentary "Forever Activists: Stories from the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade." Other projects include: "Pasporto al la Tuta Mondo," a series of twelve half-hour videos teaching the language of Esperanto; also in production (with Bonnie Burt) are"The Radical Jewish Chicken Farmers of Petaluma," which traces the history of the founders and their descendants of this special California community; "The Political is Personal: the Story of Saul Wellman," a study of the interaction between the "old left" and the "new left;" and "The Key from Spain: Bosnian Sephardim," which looks at the Sephardic culture and 20th century history of Bosnian Jews through the story and music of Flory Jagoda, a singer and composer of Ladino songs.
