Salisbury Film Society Presents 'Raise the Roof'

SALISBURY, MD---The Salisbury Film Society (SFS) presents the historical documentary, Raise the Roof, on Sunday, December 9, at 2:30 p.m. in Fulton Hall’s Film Center at Salisbury University.

Winner of Best Feature Documentary at both the 2015 Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival and 2016 Seattle Jewish Film Festival, Raise the Roof follows artists Rick and Laura Brown of Handsome Studio as they embark on a 10-year pursuit to reconstruct the elaborate roof and painted ceiling of the Gwozdziec synagogue. The recreated structure, built by hand using methods and materials of period, now serves as the centerpiece exhibit of the new POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.

Artists Rick and Laura Brown said, “creating this project brought together people of all ages, faiths, backgrounds and nationalities.” Over 300 students and professionals from 16 countries gathered in Sanok, Poland, to reconstruct the Gwozdziec roof which was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II.

“The more we learned about the history,” said writer and director Yari Wolinsky, “the more we came to understand the relationship between Jews and non-Jews in the period and appreciate the huge significance of the Polish wood synagogues to the communities they served.”

The SFS series is co-sponsored by the Salisbury Wicomico Arts Council (SWAC) and SU’s Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts.

Tickets are $9, $8 for SWAC members, and free for university and college students with ID. For more information call 410-543-ARTS (2787) or visit the SWAC website.