My Jewish Death

In 2004 Sheldon Oberman, a Jewish storyteller from Winnipeg, passed away. At his funeral the presiding Rabbi said that Sheldon’s spirit was with the congregants in the sanctuary.

For filmmaker Saul Henteleff this was a revelation that began a personal and spiritual journey into the meaning of Jewish death. My Jewish Death is the result of this journey.

Creative team

Writer/director/producer: Saul Henteleff

Filmmaker’s statement

I made this film to explore and understand the practice of Taharah – the ancient Jewish ritual of preparing a body for burial – and through that, my connection to Judaism.

About Saul Henteleff

Saul Henteleff is a filmmaker and teacher living in Winnipeg, Canada. He received his masters in media studies at Concordia University in Montreal and has numerous credits as a sound designer with the National Film Board of Canada and in the independent film industry.

He received a Blizzard Award for best overall sound for the Oscar-nominated film Strange Invaders by Cordelll Barker. My Jewish Death is Saul’s second documentary film.

Saul currently teachers film, history, English and sound production at Maples Collegiate in Winnipeg and is researching his next film about Kashrut.