Saturday Short

Film Poster

Today's short is the trailer for the documentary Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt (Zeitgeist Films), winner of the Documentary Film Award at the 2016 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Most recently, it was screened at the Film Forum in New York City. (Other screenings are listed in Playdates at Zeitgeist Films).

The documentary, in English, Hebrew, German, and French with English subtitles, examines the spiritual life, writings, relationships, and influence of the famous Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) through photos, personal correspondence, home movies, interviews with friends and scholars, and rare archival footage. The director and co-producer, Ada Ushpiz, makes extensive use of Arendt's own words to explore her philosophical inquiries, insights, and intellectual achievements.

Arendt was the author of numerous books, including The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, Men in Dark Times, Eichmann in Jerusalem, On Violence, and The Life of the Mind.

Vita Activa on FaceBook

Read Eric A. Goldman's review "'Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt'" in the Jewish Standard, April 7, 2016; and A.O. Scott's review "In 'Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt', a Thinker More Relevant Than Ever" in The New York Times, April 5, 2016.

Hannah Arendt Papers at The Library of Congress