Dvorit Shargal
When the photo-books for children “Elle Kari, the Girl from Lapland” and “Noriko-San: Girl of Japan” first became available in Israel in the 1950s, they changed our lives forever. Dreams of children in faraway lands and journeys to distant countries flooded the imaginations of those born in the fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties. Even today, these books are still highly demanded. They were the only window a small country surrounded by enemies had to the great big world.
More than half a century later, Dvorit Shargal set out to search for the children from the books. Were they real kids? Where are they now? And who, in fact, photographed them? It turned out that only one woman was responsible for this vast project: the Jewish photographer Anna Riwkin-Brick. Fascinated by the photographer’s story, Dvorit continued with her life project, creating four films chronicling her search for the “Children of the World” and writing a comprehensive non-fiction book about her titled “If She Has a Camera in Hand, She Is Not Afraid.”
How was the book conceived? How was the research conducted? What startling discoveries does it unfold?
In a nostalgic and enlightening meeting, Dvorit shares the story of her life’s journey and screen her film, “Where is Elle-Kari and What Happened to Noriko-San?”
*Prior to the lecture, a guided tour of the museum will be held in Hebrew 18:00.
