Nesjomme

Nesjomme follows the fictional character Rusha, a young Jewish woman in Amsterdam during the period between the two world wars.

Her story, based on real testimonies and historical facts, is told through letters to her brother Max, who emigrated to the Dutch East Indies. In these letters, she describes her life in the Jewish quarter, her family and the changes in the city. The film interweaves archive footage with Rusha's stories, narrated by Rifka Lodeizen, and thus sketches a colourful and moving portrait of the Jewish community in the interbellum.

From proud diamond workers, haggling traders and popular comedians to social reformers such as alderman De Miranda to the entrepreneurs behind icons such as the Bijenkorf and Tuschinski, Nesjomme shows the rich contribution of the Jewish community to Amsterdam. The optimism after the First World War is tested by economic depression, the rise of fascism and the Second World War. Against this background, Rusha grows from a young girl into an independent woman who must make her own choices.

Nesjomme is not only a reminder of the lost past, but also a tribute to the Jewish soul of Mokum Allef: the nesjomme. And perhaps the film also gives an image of what Mokum Reisj, Rotterdam, might have looked like before the Second World War.