A youth documentary portraying Orit and her Jewish and Muslim grandfathers, commissioned by Dutch public television. 13-year-old Orit Rodriquez Garcia lives in Amsterdam and has a Jewish grandpa (Grandpa Mokum) and a Muslim grandpa (Grandpa Mecca). She discovers that there are similarities between the Jewish customs and rituals and those of the Islam.
Orit Roderiquez Garcia has two very different grandfathers. One she calls grandpa Mokum, because he is Jewish and has lived in Amsterdam all his life. Mokum is now a nickname for Amsterdam but it is the Yiddish word for “place” or “safe haven.
Orit and her bother and sister were raised in the Jewish tradition, but their other grandfather comes from Indonesia and is a Moslem. Orit calls him grandpa Mecca, referring to the centre of Islam. When he prays he always kneels in the direction of Mecca. Together with grandpa Mecca, Orit pays a first visit to a mosque, where she talks with a couple of Turkish girls who wear headscarves and read the Koran.
Fortunately, the two grandpas are on very good terms. ‘The way we are getting along, that’s how the whole world should get along’, says grandpa Mokum wisely.
Location: Netherlands 2001
Themes: Cultural differences, Traditions, Role of religion through the generations.
Director and script: Alexandra Jansse
Camera: Jan van den Nieuwenhuyzen
Sound: Jane Snijders, Emil Busurca
Editor: Benny Brunner
Producer: Alexandra Jansse, Xela Films
• Broadcast by Z@PPELIN (Nederland 3) and screened at Cinekid & IDFA 2002
