The documentary Books: Alantansí’s Legacy, directed by the Aragonese filmmaker José Ángel Guimerá, restores the forgotten figure of Eliezer ben Abraham Alantansí, a pioneer of Hebrew printing in the Iberian Peninsula. Born in Huesca in the mid-15th century, he later moved to the town of Ixar (today Híjar, Teruel), where in 1482 he founded a printing workshop that became a milestone in the cultural history of Sepharad. There he produced foundational works of Sephardic Judaism, such as the Tur Orah Hayim and the Hebrew Bible with the Five Megillot—true incunabula now preserved in major libraries in Madrid, Jerusalem, Oxford, New York, and Turin.
The film traces the career of this erudite with entrepreneurial spirit, who worked under the protection of the first Duke of Híjar. His books, of exceptional typographic and aesthetic quality, attest to the refinement of a printer ahead of his time. The narrative blends docu-fiction scenes recreating his native Huesca, the synagogue, the workshop, and the Híjar printing press, with the research journey of historian Lucía Conte, who has tracked surviving copies in universities and archives worldwide. Filming locations include the old synagogue of Híjar—the only one in Spain that retains medieval painted decoration—the Four Sephardic Synagogues of Jerusalem, the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, and the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
On September 18, the documentary will be screened in Barcelona at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon, located in the historic Palau del Lloctinent. This singular Gothic building, dating from the 16th century and once the residence of the Viceroy, houses one of the most important archival collections in Europe. The event, organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Archive, will highlight the deep historical ties between Jewish heritage and the broader cultural legacy preserved in this emblematic institution.
The Barcelona screening is part of the special tour of Books: Alantansí’s Legacy during the European Week of Jewish Culture, which also includes Casa Sefarad (Madrid), the Synagogue of El Tránsito (Toledo), Cinema Truffaut (Girona), the Provincial Council of Huesca, and the Auditorium of the University of Zaragoza. A journey that invites audiences to rediscover, from Aragon to the world, the universal legacy of a Sephardic printer born in Huesca and established in Híjar.
After the screening, there will be a panel discussion with José Ángel Guimerá, the film’s director; Asunción Blasco, Professor at the University of Zaragoza and leading expert on the figure of the printer; and Dr. Javier Castaño, Senior Research Scientist in Jewish History at Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, whose work focuses on medieval Iberian Jewry and socio-religious studies.
The documentary Books: Alantansí’s Legacy, directed by the Aragonese filmmaker José Ángel Guimerá, restores the forgotten figure of Eliezer ben Abraham Alantansí, a pioneer of Hebrew printing in the Iberian Peninsula. Born in Huesca in the mid-15th century, he later moved to the town of Ixar (today Híjar, Teruel), where in 1482 he founded a printing workshop that became a milestone in the cultural history of Sepharad. There he produced foundational works of Sephardic Judaism, such as the Tur Orah Hayim and the Hebrew Bible with the Five Megillot—true incunabula now preserved in major libraries in Madrid, Jerusalem, Oxford, New York, and Turin.
The film traces the career of this erudite with entrepreneurial spirit, who worked under the protection of the first Duke of Híjar.
The documentary Books: Alantansí’s Legacy, directed by the Aragonese filmmaker José Ángel Guimerá, restores the forgotten figure of Eliezer ben Abraham Alantansí, a pioneer of Hebrew printing in the Iberian Peninsula. Born in Huesca in the mid-15th century, he later moved to the town of Ixar (today Híjar, Teruel), where in 1482 he founded a printing workshop that would become a milestone in the cultural history of Sepharad. There he printed foundational works of Sephardic Judaism, such as the Tur Orah Hayim and the Hebrew Bible with the Five Megillot—true incunabula now preserved in major libraries in cities like Madrid, Jerusalem, Oxford, New York, and Turin.
The film traces the career of this erudite with entrepreneurial spirit, who worked under the protection of the first Duke of Híjar.
📽️ Invitation / Invitación
English
The Centro Sefarad-Israel is pleased to invite you to the screening of this feature-length documentary.
Castellano
El Centro Sefarad-Israel tiene el placer de invitarle a la proyección de este largometraje documental.
🎬 Technical Sheet / Ficha Técnica
English
📅 Year: 2024
🕒 Running time: 71 min
🎬 Director: José Ángel Guimerá
✍️ Screenplay: José Ángel Guimerá
🎥 Production: JAGui
📖 Genre: Documentary
🎞️ Format: 16:9
🎵 Original Music: Chus Fernández
👪 Suitable for all audiences
Castellano
📅 Año: 2024
🕒 Duración: 71 min
🎬 Dirección: José Ángel Guimerá
✍️ Guion: José Ángel Guimerá
🎥 Producción: JAGui
📖 Género: Documental
🎞️ Formato: 16:9
🎵 Música original: Chus Fernández
👪 Apta para todos los públicos
📖 Synopsis / Sinopsis
English
In the Aragonese town of Híjar, at the end of the 15th century, a Hebrew printing press produced some of the most outstanding incunabula of the Iberian Peninsula.
Presentation of the book "History of Jews of Moldova" by Dr. E. Brik to the senior school children of two lyceums of Chișinău together with the author and General Director of the Agency of Interethnic Relations of Moldova Mr. Reabchischii.
The author's account of the nearly century-long history of the Strach family from Brno is based on the story of a holiday book, a machzor confiscated during World War II in Terezín. After 82 years, it was found and returned to the family of its original owners. The machzor was part of a collection of
12,000 prayer books confiscated from Jews in concentration camps in the Czech Republic.
As part of the Library of Stolen Hopes project, the Jewish Community of Brno is trying to archive the books, but
above all to locate the descendants of the original owners and return them to them. The theater performance and discussion with Angela Strach
will take place in the unique setting of the normally inaccessible Klausen Synagogue in Prague and will include a meeting
with Rabbi Štěpán Menaše Kliment.
Führung zum Antikriegstag
Mit dem Einmarsch der Alliierten am 11. April 1945 galt die Stadt Salzgitter als „befreit“, der Krieg war beendet. Bis dahin waren mehrere Tausend Zwangsarbeitende im Gebiet gestorben. Und auch nach der Befreiung starben viele weitere Menschen an den Folgen der zum Teil jahrelangen Haft.
Bis 1951 wurden ehemalige Zwangsarbeitende, sogenannte Displaced Persons, auf dem „Ausländerfriedhof“ Jammertal bestattet. Einige Schicksale werden im Rahmen dieser Führung vorgestellt.
Im Anschluss findet die DGB-Kundgebung zum Antikriegstag statt.
Führung: Maike Weth
Treffpunkt: Parkplatz Friedhof Jammertal, Peiner Straße/Kanalstraße, 38226 SZ-Lebenstedt
Nur eingeschränkte Parkmöglichkeiten vorhanden
Foto: Arbeitskreis Stadtgeschichte e.V.
Diese Veranstaltung ist Teil der Jüdischen Kulturtage zwischen Harz und Heide 2025.
Creative workshop for children with the book Herrmannovic holka Klára. Klára Dvořáková and Linda Marková will present their book Herrmannovic holka, which sensitively captures the story of a brave little girl experiencing the beautiful times of the First Republic and the dark period of World War II. During the creative workshop, children will make a cute bunny and a suitcase in which they can take their new friend home. Book and crafts for children aged 5 and up. / Admission CZK 150.
About the performance
Little Vampire Goes to School (1999) is the story of a little Vampire who lives with his big family in an old villa. Because he is very lonely, he wants to go to a human school. But there he is in for a surprise, as the human children sleep at night. The living dead therefore organise a school for Little Vampire and other ghosts. The teacher is the Captain of the monsters. He tells the pupils not to write in the notebooks left at school by the day pupils, but Little Vampire disobeys him: he does his maths homework in the notebook of the boy in whose desk he sits. And as the living boy Marcel finds out the next day – without any mistakes at all.
Presentation of Jewish books for kids to the children, participants of Smart J program at the community.