Ruth Gruber, 97, was an ace journalist, photographer and author for more than 70 years. Hurtling herself out of Brooklyn and into global politics, she witnessed some of the most critical junctures in contemporary world history and specifically Jewish history. After studying in Cologne, Germany, she became at age 20 the world’s youngest Ph.D. and was drawn to journalism, undaunted by the dominance of men in the news industry. Gruber cultivated an enormous capacity for empathy that permeated all of her interviews. Her news coverage drew the eyes of the world to the Nuremberg trials, the plight of the ship Exodus ’47, United Nations committee meetings in Palestine and the formation of the state of Israel. She not only reported on history, however, she also participated in it: In 1944, the Roosevelt administration recruited Gruber to escort 1,000 Holocaust refugees from Naples to New York in a secret wartime mission. Gruber and her story are enthralling and insightful in this exquisitely crafted documentary, brimming with iconic archival footage. Screened at Toronto Film Festival.—Nancy K. Fishman

Executive Producer, Patti Kenner in person at Castro.

Ruth Gruber’s daughter, Celia Michaels in person at Palo Alto.

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