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Back to Berlin
Riding on their steel steeds, eleven bikers expose their family pasts, as they power through eight countries from Tel Aviv to the infamous 1936 Berlin Olympic stadium, in this compelling and cathartic documentary.
Director: Catherine Lurie
Overview
In the summer of 2015, the European Maccabi Games (also known as the Jewish Olympics) were held in Germany for the first time since the Second World War at the Waldbühne Stadium, site of Hitler’s infamous 1936 Berlin Olympics, where Adolf Hitler banned Jewish athletes and spread Nazi propaganda. Catherine Lurie's documentary follows eleven modern-day motorbikers on a mission to carry the Maccabiah torch, and fly the Israeli flag from Tel Aviv to Berlin.
These riders follow in the tracks of the early 1930’s bikers, who in one of the most innovative PR exercises of all time, set out from the British Mandate of Palestine to all corners of Europe to search for athletes for the first Maccabi Games in 1932. As the journey progresses they try to free themselves from the shackles of the past only finding solace on their powerful motorbikes. As their smiles turn to tears and anger, their relationships within the group shift and are challenged. It is only their determination and humour that propels them to deliver their torch for the Opening Ceremony for the European Games.
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