L’Chaim

Nineteen-year-old Semon Shabaev is part of a thriving Jewish community in Berlin, Germany. Despite his country’s dark history, Shabaev embraces his religious and cultural heritage.

As the last generation of Holocaust survivors fades, a new wave of Jews, including Shabaev’s family, has emigrated to the country that attempted to eradicate them. Shabaev interviews community leaders, friends, and rabbis, observes a remembrance service, and facilitates a cross-cultural workshop, as he examines German-Jewish identity.

Mentored by filmmaker Anja Baron, Shabaev shines a light on resurgent Jewish life in Germany at a time of rising worldwide antisemitism.