Based in Washington, D.C., the Ciesla Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public, tax-exempt educational organization. Ciesla (pronounced CHESH-lä) produces documentaries that investigate non-stereotypical images of Jews in history and celebrates the untold stories of Jewish heroes. Goldberg, which details the accomplishments of pioneer Gertrude Berg and her media empire, the Peabody award-winning The Life
and Times of Hank Greenberg, the story of a Jewish baseball slugger who faced anti-Semitism in the ’30s and ’40s, and Partisans of Vilna, a film about Jewish resistance against the N***s. The foundation recently released Rosenwald, a documentary on Sears head and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, who joined with Southern African American communities during the Jim Crow years to build 5,000 schools and supported major African American artists and intellectuals. Ciesla was founded in 1979 by filmmaker Aviva Kempner, who serves as the executive director. Ciesla's films have received numerous honors and awards including top honors from the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the CINE Golden Eagle Award.
