In 1896, Solomon Schechter, a Cambridge University Professor, came upon an extraordinary discovery inside a rundown Cairo synagogue: a vast room containing sacred ancient religious texts, manuscripts, and letters. Paymar’s documentary deftly details this amazing treasure trove, which includes handwritten documents by the influential physician and philosopher Moses Maimonides, as well as more commonplace correspondence and lists that reveal the ebb and flow of life in medieval Egypt during a period when Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities coexisted.
Presented in partnership with the Muslim American Leadership Alliance.
Followed by Q&A with Director Michelle Paymar and special guests
Michelle Paymar
Michelle Paymar is an award-winning filmmaker currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her independent work has screened at festivals around the world and she has extensive credits as a director and writer of documentary and non-fiction television programs for NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, CBC, MTV, CTV, Travel, Discovery, History, and other major broadcasters.
Her production company, D-Facto Filmstudio, makes independent documentaries and promotional films for nonprofits and NGOs. Clients include Amnesty International (Canada), Alzheimer’s Services of the East Bay (California), and the Ayubowan Women’s Project (Sri Lanka). Earlier films include her pioneering AIDS documentary, For Our Lives, and Sippie, a documentary about classic blues artist Sippie Wallace (co-directed with Roberta Grossman).
She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Directing from the American Film Institute and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Paymar is a member of the International Documentary Association and Women in Film.