The final 2019 Sandra and Mendel Rosenberg Sunday Afternoon Film Series screening will take on the controversial topic of “Is the Holocaust funny?”

The Last Laugh, directed by Ferne Pearlstein, looks at the taboo topic of humor, delving deep into pop-culture to find out where to draw the line, and whether that is a desirable – or even possible – goal. Much of the film is centered on Auschwitz survivor Renee Firestone, who discusses humor in the concentration camps and finding enjoyment in life after. Comics, including Mel Brooks and Sarah Silverman, also share their views.

Introductory remarks and post-screening discussion facilitated by Dr. Henry I. Schvey. a Professor of Drama and Comparative Literature at Washington University in St. Louis since 1987, and a director, playwright, and memoirist as well as a scholar of modern American drama. His play, Hannah’s Shawl, was originally commissioned by the St. Louis Holocaust Museum & Learning Center, and a coming-of-age memoir, The Poison Tree, was published in fall of 2016. He is currently completing a study of Tennessee Williams’s complicated relationship with St. Louis.

The screening will be at 1 pm on Dec. 29 in the Holocaust Museum & Learning Center Theater at 12 Millstone Campus Drive. The film is in English and some German with English subtitles. Films in this Sunday series are free and open to the public.

Learn more and RSVP at HMLC.org/Rosenberg-Film-Series. For further information, call 314-442-3711. The 2019 Sunday Afternoon Film Series is generously sponsored by Sandra and Mendel Rosenberg.

Sam March
Author: Sam March