The film Watermarks (2004) is Israeli film director Yaron Zilberman’s directorial debut. It tells the story of the champion women swimmers of the legendary Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna. Hakoah was founded in 1909 in response to the notorious Aryan Paragraph, which forbade Austrian sports clubs from accepting Jewish athletes. After the Anschluss in 1938, the Nazis shut down the club, but the swimmers managed to flee the country before the war broke out. Sixty-five years later, director Yaron Zilberman meets members of the women’s swim team in their homes and arranges for them to have a reunion in their old swimming pool.
In a recent Museum program, Zilberman was joined by Professor Raanan Rein of Tel Aviv University to discuss the film. Watch their conversation below.
This program was co-sponsored with the Office of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in New York. We thank Kino Lorber for their generous support in facilitating this event.