As part of the 2014 Reel Civil Rights Festival, the film BESA: The Promise is being shown tonight at 6pm at Riverdale Theater on Cantrell Road.

BESA: The Promise is the never-before-told story of Albania –a small European country which opened its borders to shelter Jewish refugees, even as it endured a brutal Nazi occupation. It’s witnessed through the prism of two men joined together in a remarkable and unexpected quest: Norman H. Gershman, a renowned Jewish-American photographer determined to record the bravery and compassion of the Albanians;and Rexhep Hoxha, a Muslim-Albanian toy shop owner who sets out to return three precious books to the last surviving member of the Jewish family his father sheltered sixty years before. When these two men meet, an extraordinary and utterly unexpected personal drama is set in motion –one that bridges generations and religions…uniting fathers and sons…Muslims and Jews.

The film will be followed by a moderated discussion with Skip Rutherford, Dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and film subject Johanna Neumann about her life in Albania during the Holocaust.

The film is being shown by the Clinton School Speaker Series in partnership with the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

Presenting Sponsor –Little Rock Film Festival

Premier Sponsor –Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

Supporting Sponsors: arfilm|Arkansas Production Alliance, Central High Museum, Inc., City of Little Rock, Conyers Institute of Public Policy, Jefferson National Parks Association, Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Little Rock School District, Marriott Little Rock, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Moses Tucker Real Estate, Riverdale 10 Movies, National Park Service, Sue Smith Vacations/Vacation Valet, North Point Toyota, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Philander Smith College, Whole Hog Cafe –North Little Rock, Arkansas Education Television Network, and Arkansas Motion Picture Institute