In Her Own Time

Director: Lynne Littman
Screenwriters: Barbara Myerhoff

Institute History

  • 1986 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Professor Barbara Myerhoff’s study of a community of elderly Jews in Southern California has resulted in her notional prominence as a cultural anthropologist and interpreter of the American Jewish experience. Starting in 1981, Dr. Myerhoff began studying the Fairfax neighborhood in Los Angeles, a rich sub-culture of orthodox Jews. She was fascinated by the way religion and the neighborhood worked together to make a community.

In 1983, while making a film on the Fairfax project, Dr. Myerhoff learned that she had cancer. Amidst this discovery the film takes on a more significant meaning than a study of urban or religious anthropology. In Her Own Time is a personal as well as social exploration that has meaning for all individuals, all families, all religious groups. The film encompasses a vivid philosophy of life and a challenging approach to illness and death. An extremely moving film about enduring values. Directed by Academy award-winner Lynne Littman.

Screening Details

Credits

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