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HEPHZIBAH
Year: 1998
Classification: Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G
Runtime: 75 min
Produced In: Australia
Directed By: Curtis Levy
Produced By: Curtis Levy
Language: English
A biography of the acclaimed concert pianist and human rights worker, Hephzibah Menuhin (1920–1981), using home movies, still photographs, extracts from Hephzibah's letters, film of concert performances and interviews with family and friends.
The story of Hephzibah Menuhin is as rich as a novel by Henry James. A child prodigy like her violinist brother, Yehudi, she toured the world giving piano concerts from an early age.
In 1938 Hephzibah, aged 18, married Lindsay Nicholas, Australian heir to the Aspro fortune, and moved from California and the concert hall to live on Lindsay's remote sheep station in Australia.
After World War 2 Hephzibah toured Europe and was shattered by the concentration camps she visited. Having always been an avid champion of causes, she became increasingly alienated from her privileged life in Australia.
The subsequent disintegration of her marriage and her affair with a Viennese sociologist scandalised Australia. Hephzibah and Richard Hauser moved to London where they established their Centre for Human Rights.
A film by Curtis Levy
- WINNER! Best Documentary, 1999 AFI Awards