Keeping the Faith: Films About Uganda’s Jewish Abayudaya Community

This evening features works by award-winning filmmaker Peter Decherney exploring the history and resilience of the Abayudaya, a Jewish community in eastern Uganda.

Following a garden reception, the program includes screenings of an Abyudaya music video and the short documentaries Days Between Rest (15 min) and The Cave Synagogue (8 min). These films document the community’s experience practicing Judaism under political repression and preserving religious life across generations, offering an intimate portrait of faith sustained through adversity and global connection.

A conversation will follow with filmmaker Peter Decherney, addressing the historical context of the Abayudaya, contemporary Jewish life in Uganda, and broader questions of identity, memory, and cultural survival. The evening concludes with audience Q&A.

Peter Decherney is the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the Penn Global Documentary Institute. An award-winning documentary filmmaker and photographer, his work focuses on global Jewish communities and artists working under political and social pressure.

Reception begins at 6 p.m. Welcome remarks start at 7 p.m., followed by the screenings and conversation.

Presented in part by the University of Pennsylvania.

As the museum will be closed during this program, please enter through the garden side gate, which will open 30 minutes before the start time. Theater doors open 15 minutes before the start time. Seating is first come, first served. An RSVP does not guarantee admission once capacity is reached. No late entry.

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Host or Publisher The Wende Museum