The Day before Creation

The Day Before Creation starts with one 'small' question on the first line of Genesis, and opens door after door — from the origins of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet Letters to the birth of the entire Cosmos. Malkah is just a little kid when her father tries to teach her to read Torah. But they don't get very far. As Malkah reads aloud, her questions multiply. They take her on a lifelong journey deeper and deeper into Jewish mystical texts, far off places, encounters with ancient gods, and ultimately into the nature of existence itself. Malkah discovers an earlier, hidden creation story right inside the one offered on the surface of Genesis.

 

This animated short film takes us on a journey that explores sacred text, legends and mythology, science, and archaeology before being able to return to the question at hand.

Written, directed, and produced by Mira Amiras. Illustrations and calligraphy by Josh Baum. Animation by Sam Baum and Baum Studios with Mike Jennings as animation producer. Music by Yair Dalal and Dror Sinai. Sound Design by Jeremiah Moore.

Praise for The Day before Creation

"Mira Amiras as a young Jewish scholar went to Tunisia to study land reform, and embraced the lives of rural Muslim women. She went on to become a professor of comparative religious studies. Now, she has filmed a narrative that parallels not only her own search for purpose, but, more importantly, presents a compelling mystical metaphor through which those of us who seek meaning and purpose can see ourselves."

Thomas N. Layton | author of The Voyage of the Frolic, and Gifts from the Celestial Kingdom