Nashville Film Fest Selects BESA: The Promise

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - April 8, 2014 - PRLog -- On Easter Sunday, Nashville Film Festival fans will have the opportunity to see the inspiring and uplifting documentary, BESA: The Promise. The award-winning film makes its Tennessee premiere at the 45th annual festival.

BESA: The Promise brings to life an almost forgotten history -- that even while under brutal Nazi occupation, majority-Muslim Albania welcomed and protected thousands of Jewish refugees. The title of the film comes from the Albanian code of honor, besa, which in part requires giving protection to anyone in need. Armed with this code, Albanians united and refused to turn over any Jews to the Nazis. The film's story takes place in the present day, following a Muslim Albanian shopkeeper who must fulfill a promise to return a set of Hebrew books to the Jewish family his father rescued. Enter American photographer Norman H. Gershman, who seeks to tell the little-known story of Albania's heroism during WWII. When the two men meet, an unexpected personal drama is set in motion, uniting fathers and sons, Muslims and Jews.

Producer/Editor Christine S. Romero will be on hand for discussion after each of the two festival screenings. Describing what drew her to the production, she says, "A persecuted family on the run... Sacred texts hidden for their protection... a 60 year-old promise, unfulfilled but never forgotten... These seem like elements of an action film, but they comprise an inspiring, real-life story of heroism and compassion."

Set in modern-day Albania, the documentary features in-depth interviews with survivors and rescuers, never-before-seen archival footage, an exquisite series of animations, and a powerful and moving original score by one of America's foremost living composers, Philip Glass. Underwritten by a National Endowment for the Humanities Bridging Cultures through Film grant, the film has garnered numerous Best Documentary awards at festivals around the world.

BESA: The Promise will screen at the Nashville Film Festival on Sunday, April 20th, 4 PM, at the Green Hills Regal Cinemas. There will be an encore screening on Monday, April 21st, 12:15 PM.