A documentary that explores the rich history of Jews living in Shanghai during the early 20th century was premiered at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles on July 29.
"Tracing the Jewish Legacy in Shanghai," produced jointly by the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and SMG Documentary Center.
The documentary tells the story of Jewish musicians and composers in Shanghai during the 1920s to 1940s, many of whom fled Europe during World War II.
During World War II, Shanghai accepted several waves of Jewish refugees from Europe, including over 400 musicians, who worked and taught Chinese students in Shanghai for many years.
Ti Gong
About 200 guests were invited to attend the premiere.
The documentary uses music to reflect the kindness and tolerance that never disappear in difficult times and to showcase the convergence and development of Eastern and Western cultures in Shanghai.
About 200 guests were invited to attend the premiere, including representatives from the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and both the local Jewish and Chinese communities.
The grandson of renowned Jewish composer Aaron Avshalomov, David Avshalomov, was also in attendance and shared captivating music examples that highlighted the close connection between his grandfather's music and Chinese music.
Ti Gong
David Avshalomov, the grandson of renowned Jewish composer Aaron Avshalomov, speaks at the premiere.
The documentary focuses mainly on the work of Avshalomov, who created Chinese-style works, including "Beiping Hutong" and the musical "Meng Jiang Nu," which are considered landmarks in Chinese music history.
Jewish violinist Otto Joachim and Chinese composer Chen Gexin cooperated to promote "Rose, Rose, I Love You," which became a music landmark of Shanghai to the world.
The documentary includes interviews with a variety of Chinese and Jewish musicians.
Although there have been numerous documentaries made about Shanghai's Jewish refugees in recent years, few focus mainly on the Jewish musicians who lived and worked in Shanghai.
After premiering in the US, the film will soon be broadcast on iCiTi TV, a US cable network, as well as ICS, the foreign language channel of SMG, the Shanghai Documentary and Humanities Channel, and Doculife, an international new media platform.
It was also invited to participate in the China-US Film Festival screening in November of this year.
