«Likrat – the film»

Liora stays off her mobile phone for one day every week – namely, on Shabbat. And she is very happy to do so. The secondary school pupils shake their heads slightly in confusion. They can hardly imagine a day without their mobile phones. This is a scene from the documentary «Likrat – the film». Liora is Jewish, and visited a school class at Breite secondary school in Hinwil as one of two Likratinas taking part in the Likrat dialogue project. This is the very first time a film crew has accompanied such an encounter.

Unique footage of an encounter between Jewish youth and a school class

The film is unique, as it is the first time that footage has been taken of a Likrat encounter in a school class. The documentary filmmaker and Grimme Award winner Britta Wauer provides insights into the atmosphere of these visits and shows how the dynamic between the pupils and Likratinas plays out in their questions, answers and reactions. The film also illustrates how important this form of open and honest dialogue between young people is. Most of the pupils had never seen a Jewish person before the Likrat encounter and hardly knew anything about Jewish life. There are no Jewish communities in the Zurich Oberland, and people who are identifiable as Jewish are rarely seen on the streets.

The same worries and fears, the same hopes and dreams

Likratina Liora neatly summarises the recipe for success: “I think Likrat is the perfect project. It’s a win-win scenario. While many prejudices exist, when a person is standing in front of you, you can see things for yourself and it’s not hard to imagine that this person is actually perfectly normal.” These encounters reduce inhibitions and enable people to connect directly. Towards the end of the film and the encounter, the pupils realise that the differences between them and their Jewish peers are minimal. They share the same worries and fears, but also the same hopes and dreams. «Likrat – the film» celebrated its premiere at the filming location, Breite secondary school in Hinwil, on 22 June 2018.