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Miss Holocaust Survivor award announcement
Haifa Home for Holocaust Survivors / ICEJ Reports

“Miss Holocaust Survivor” Film Wins Prestigious Prize in Germany

By Marelinke van der Riet, ICEJ Publications Assistant

A documentary featuring several residents of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s special Home for Holocaust Survivors in Haifa recently won a prestigious prize for filmmaking in Germany. In late August, Yudit Setz of the ICEJ and Shimon Sabag of our partner organization, Yad Ezer L’Haver, were invited by the city of Berlin to join director Radek Wegrzyn to receive the Ernst Lubitsch Prize 2024 for his touching film entitled Miss Holocaust Survivor – A Beauty Contest that Celebrates Life.

Born in Poland and a long-time resident of Germany, Wegrzyn dedicated four years of work to the documentary project. His film captivates audiences with a heartfelt portrayal of Holocaust Survivors in Israel taking part in a unique beauty contest late in their lives.

Rita Kasimow Brown, Miss Holocaust Survivor's main character
Rita Kasimow Brown, Miss Holocaust Survivor's main character
Yudit Setz (L) with 90-year-old Rita Kasimow Brown (R), the film’s main character
Yudit Setz with Shimon Sabag on the red carpet in Berlin
Yudit Setz with Shimon Sabag on the red carpet in Berlin to receive the Ernst Lubitsch Prize 2024

The film’s main character is 90-year-old contestant Rita Kasimow Brown, a Haifa Home resident who hid as a young Jewish girl with her family in a Polish forest to evade the Nazi invaders. She recalls sleeping and dreaming of food because when she was awake, her life was a nightmare. But Rita survived the ordeal and later moved to Israel and raised a family of her own.

First held in 2012, the annual beauty pageant is open to elderly Jewish women in Israel who survived the Holocaust. Sponsored by Yad Ezer L’Haver in cooperation with the ICEJ, the contest gives these women a moment to recapture the beauty of their youth, particularly since certain rites of passage were robbed from them as youngsters during World War II.

Watch videos about the Miss Holocaust Survivor below—and support the work of the ICEJ Haifa Home for Holocaust Survivors.

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