Andrea Simon

As a teenager in wartime Bulgaria, Wagenstein commanded a daredevil Jewish partisan brigade, surviving capture and torture by fascist police. At 94 years old, screenwriter, author and revolutionary Angel Wagenstein offers an account of his life in film and politics. Film clips contextualize historical moments and history contextualizes the films as Wagenstein provides witty and insightful commentary throughout.

This enigmatic short film presents fifty Egyptian funerary portraits from the region of Fayum. Painted during Roman rule between 100 and 300 A.D., these striking, psychological works were executed in encaustic while their subjects were alive and later used to cover their faces after mummification. Narration includes excerpts from late Hellenistic texts including religious works and first-hand accounts from the dwellers of Fayum themselves, along with commentary from the art historian Richard Brilliant.