Esther's Book / Like a Butterfly / Museum Piece

The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates Queen Esther, who almost three thousand years ago saved the Persian Jews from genocide. Esaias Baitel has photographed the lively celebration of the otherwise temperate Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, during which they drink wine, eat sweets and exchange gifts. For the director the story of Esther reminds him of his childhood, and his father who told him about the legend. But he is also reminded of his sister, who he never knew and was named after the famous queen. She differed from her namesake in that she was not able to prevent genocide and herself became a victim of the Holocaust. / Przemek was born with a severe physical handicap. Until he was six he believed that he was the same as everyone else and that his mother understood the screeches which he considered to be his speech. Gradually he realized that nobody had any idea that he was mentally completely healthy. "No one saw me as a normal person. No one understood my winking. Everyone thought that I was an imbecile. I felt like I was buried alive," tells Przemek. After many years spent in an institute, a therapist discovered the signals which Przemek was sending. She taught him the special picture language Bliss, which allowed the handicapped boy at age sixteen to finally be able to begin to communicate with those around him for the first time. / The continuing conflict in Iraq, all-day strolls around monuments, and the surroundings of a German hotel evoke in director John Smith a stream of thoughts and reflections about problems both large and small. Hotel Philosophy is part of Smith's trilogy of journal documentaries - night reflections, filmed in the rooms of various hotels in various cities. Smith connects both his own experiences from his travels with reflections on current news in the world. The other parts of the trilogy along with Hotel Philosophy are the films Frozen War (2002) and Throwing Stones (2004).