The Pageant

Every year since 2011, a unique beauty contest has been taking place in Haifa. The contestants are female survivors of the Holocaust. In order to become “Miss Holocaust Survivor,” they train with an ex-beauty queen who teaches them how to walk on the red carpet. At the climactic moment of the night, the survivors have to impress a jury with their life stories and their traumatic memories. This surreal event is sponsored by a right-wing Evangelical organization. Focusing on the story of Sophie Leibowitz who participates to honor her recently deceased sister, The Pageant explores how memory, politics, and spectacle are all interconnected.