Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt

Synopsis

A documentary about one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century.

WINNER – BEST DOCUMENTARY – SANTA BARBARA FILM FESTIVAL

The German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt caused an uproar in the 1960s by coining the subversive concept of the “Banality of Evil” when referring to the trial of Adolph Eichmann, which she covered for the New Yorker magazine. Her private life was no less controversial thanks to her early love affair with the renowned German philosopher and Nazi supporter Martin Heidegger. This thought provoking and spirited documentary, with its abundance of archival materials, offers an intimate portrait of the whole of Arendt’s life, traveling to places where she lived, worked, loved, and was betrayed, as she wrote about the open wounds of modern times. Through her books, which are still widely read and the recent release of Margarethe von Trotta’s biopic Hannah Arendt (also a Zeitgeist Films release) there is renewed interest in Arendt throughout the world, especially among young people who find her insights into the nature of evil, totalitarianism, ideologies, and the perils faced by refugees, more relevant than ever.

Reviews

“CRITIC’S PICK. A vigorous and thoughtful new documentary… a broad and rich portrait of an intellectual… VITA ACTIVA, while it will surely satisfy and provoke students of 20th century intellectual history, feels more urgent than most documentaries of its kind… (and) includes some especially chilling implications for the current state of American politics.”– A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Impressively researched. Succeeds in putting the most PROVOCATIVE, SALIENT, and DAMNING aspects of Arendt’s work into a lucid context.”– Michelle Orange, THE VILLAGE VOICE

“OUTSTANDING. Wonderfully well done. Fluid and rich. This is heady stuff.”– Isa Freeling, HUFFINGTON POST

“An EXCEPTIONALLY RICH, PROVOCATIVE, AND CLARIFYING documentary. FASCINATING AND COMPLEX. Filmmaker Ada Ushpiz does a WONDROUS job.”– Doris Toumarkine, FILM JOURNAL

“A MASTERPIECE of documentary filmmaking that delves deep.”– , HA’ARETZ