Jewish Communities of Africa

Through film, photography, and writing, PGDI collaborates with Jewish communities across Africa, telling the stories of connected peoples with very different histories and making important contributions to Africanist and Jewish Diasporic studies alike. The Ethiopian Jewish community, for example, is featured in the Institute’s film Dreaming of Jerusalem, a Discovery+ original, and the forthcoming book, Endless Exodus.

Dreaming of Jerusalem (2020)

A film directed by Peter Decherney and Sosena Solomon currently streaming on Discovery+, supported by sound editing, research, and other contributions from Penn students.

Ethiopian Passover

An exhibit of select photographs by Peter Decherney capturing the preparation for Passover 2022 in Gondar, Ethiopia that will be featured in his forthcoming book, Endless Exodus.

I have been partnering with the Jewish community in Gondar for many years. I’ve also made a series of documentary and virtual reality films about migration in East Africa over the last decade. While I clearly bring my own vision to the images, I got to know the people in the pictures before I took out my camera. I showed them the photographs as they were being made, and I showed them the film during subsequent trips to Ethiopia. I aim to amplify their stories and help them reach a broader community, who won’t be able to travel to Gondar but want to connect with this community.

Peter Decherney

Penn Global Documentary Institute