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Saturday, June 13
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Regal Gallery Place

701 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

for all screenings

Landscapes of Memory

Film Languages

English, German, Arabic

Director

Leah Galant

Executive Producers

Daniel Chalfen, Matthew Lindenbaum, Bennett Lindenbaum

Consulting Producers

Sav Rodgers, Melanie Miller

Producers

Elijah Stevens, Leah Galant

Co-Producer

Guevara Namer

Archival Producers

Sabine Kues, Elijah Stevens

Editor

Jeffrey Sterrenberg

Cinematographers

Julian Moser, Arne Büttner

Composer

Andrew Orkin

Contact

Isabel Hoffman, Watermelon Pictures ihoffman@watermelonpictures.com

When director Leah Galant left the U.S. for Berlin in 2021, she believed she was embarking on a traditional “third-generation return” to uncover her family’s Holocaust history. But after being detained while filming a pro-Palestine demonstration and charged with antisemitism, she quickly realized that confronting inherited trauma meant grappling with the present, not just the past.

From brass “Stolpersteine” (stumbling stones) marking former Jewish homes to monumental concrete slabs, reminders of the Nazi regime’s atrocities are embedded in the German landscape. Yet cracks appear in these memorials. The rise of far-right extremism, both in the streets and at the ballot box, raises urgent questions about what lessons, if any, have truly been learned. Holocaust memory is often rigidly policed, Palestine activism is equated with antisemitism, and Arab and Muslim communities are increasingly surveilled and silenced.

Weaving personal essay, observational storytelling, and intimate character studies, the film explores the uses and abuses of Holocaust memory. Filmed in the years before and months after the seismic shift of October 7, it follows three central figures: Eli, a third-generation Holocaust survivor’s descendant; Johannes, a third-generation Nazi descendant; and Michael, a Palestinian artist—each grappling with what memory means in the present.

This journey through memorials past, present, and future is anchored in Galant’s own evolving understanding of history, memory, and trauma. As her father’s health—and his ability to speak and share family histories—deteriorates due to ALS, she assumes new responsibility for carrying forward her family’s story of Holocaust survival. Through voice notes, as he increasingly relies on text-to-speech, the film interweaves intimate yet universal reflections on the burden of history and what it means to learn from the past to shape the present.

Content Warning: This film contains scenes of police brutality. Viewer discretion is advised.
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Leah Galant

Director, Landscapes of Memory

Leah Galant is a director based in New York whose storytelling focuses on unexpected narratives that challenge perceptions. In 2022, she was recognized as one of DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40. Her directorial debut, ON THE DIVIDE, premiered at Tribeca in 2021 and was broadcast on POV in 2022. She was a Sundance Ignite and Jacob Burns Fellow, where she created DEATH METAL GRANDMA (SXSW 2018), about a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor, Inge Ginsberg, who sings death metal. The film won Best Documentary at the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival and is a New York Times Op-Doc. She is currently a member-owner at Meerkat Media, a cooperative production company. LANDSCAPES OF MEMORY is her second feature-length film.

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