בוכרא פי(א)למישמיש - ("Many Faces"-Documentery film) Bukra fil Mish-Mish

Special museum tour in English followed by a screening of the documentary film “Bukra fil Mish-Mish”. In a basement near Paris, a treasure trove of Egyptian animated films was discovered. The films document the work of the Frenkel brothers, pioneers of animation in the Arab world and creators of Mish-Mish Effendi, the Mickey Mouse of the entire region. The character disappeared from Egyptian screens after the creation of the State of Israel. Through the animated images, the film explores the history of the Frenkel family, shaped by exile and by a trauma that continues to be repeated today. “Bukra fil Mish-Mish” is a common Arabic expression referring to something that will never happen—“if pigs could fly”. The discovery also reveals a forgotten Arab-Jewish golden age, when the two communities created together, an era that was not only lost but erased from the pages of history. Director: Tal Michael. Courtesy of Cassis Films, Tel Aviv, and the Oster Visual Documentation Center, ANU – Museum of the Jewish People. For subscribers only; no single-purchase option. Image credit: from the film, courtesy of the Frenkel family.