In July 2017, POV asked Shalom Italia filmmaker Tamar Tal Anati what's happened since the cameras stopped rolling.
What have Emmanuel, Andrea and Bubi been up to since the film?
Emmanuel is now 87 years old, and every other week is in a different country giving lectures. Andrea is 85 years old, and just returned from a rock climbing trip to Provence, which he enjoyed a lot. And Bubi and his wife, Erela, are spending the summer in their Tuscany home. They run a bed and breakfast there during the summer time.
Have they been back to the cave or gone on any similar quests since the film?
Bubi returned to the cave this summer with a group of people who saw the film and wanted to see the place. We will have an August screening in Ville A Sesta, the village close to the forest, and the plan is for the entire audience, Bubi and myself to go as a group to visit the place in the forest after the screening.
What were their reactions upon seeing Shalom Italia?
Not surprisingly, Andrea loved it, and Emmanuel had a lot of criticism. He wished it was more of a Holocaust film, and was quite surprised in the beginning, but through watching it with audiences, he started to enjoy it. He likes to speak to the audience right after the screenings.
Do you know what has become of the cave the brother's once lived in since its rediscovery?
It remains the same, except for the sign that Bubi put there. When he'll return there next month (August 2017) with the village people, they plan to dig and arrange an easy path to reach it.
How has this film been received internationally?
We had an amazing international premiere in AFI DOCS in Washington, D.C., three full house screenings, not including one at the IDFA in Amsterdam, as well. People really relate to the brothers, and are touched by their relationship. Also, in Israel, the film was nominated for an Ophir Award!
In what ways have you seen or do you hope to see Shalom Italia add to the conversation around Jewish identity, the memory of the Holocaust or one's past and the importance of family and brotherhood?
As I see this film, it's not a Holocaust film, rather it is a film about childhood trauma and the effect of war zones on children. The war could be any war today in the world, and family refugees are all over the world. I think the fact that we are in beautiful Tuscany, and the brothers eat great food, drink wine and the Italian mentality which is relaxed and optimistic, adds to the film's relative lightness, which you don't expect when talking about the Holocaust, period. Through their search in the woods, we can see how we control our memories and how we allow the past to guide us through our present lives.
What are you working on now?
I just finished a documentary series on women pilots in the Israeli airfare course. It will air on Yes Docu, the "Israeli POV." In the film, I followed six eighteen-year-old girls who volunteer to go to the most secret and prestigious course in the Israeli army. It's only been twenty years since this pilot course opened up to women.