Screening: The Last Jew of Babylon with Inigo Gilmore

Screening Monday 28th April, 2008

Journalist and filmmaker Inigo Gilmore is renowned for reporting from the world’s trouble spots and getting into trouble along the way – his quirky and humorous approach to filmmaking has won him many accolades. This evening he presents his half hour documentary, The Last Jew of Babylon and talks about his most recent work in the field.

The Last Jew of Babylon is the story of Ezra Levy an elderly Iraqi Jew and his journey to Israel to find Daisy, a long lost lover…Once there, Ezra challenges the assumption that in an anti-Semitic world, Jews are better off in Israel than elsewhere. He is proud of his heritage, both Iraqi and Jewish, but struggles to overcome the cultural differences in his new homeland.

As a tolerant man in an intolerant society, he finds he no longer quite fits in Israel – an Arab-Jew in a land where even those who once lived in Iraq have lost touch with their Arabic roots and now no longer even speak the language. Yet he struggles on, determined to find his love, and keep a mischievous grin on his face while he does it.

In a very personal account, Inigo Gilmore befriends Ezra and follows him as he tracks Daisy down, bringing the old man’s journey to life.

But is Daisy alive and can anyone live up to a 50-year-old ideal?