The Dybbuk (New Restoration)
Dir. Michael Waszyński | 123 min
Narrative Poland 1937 Yiddish with English subtitles Mid-Atlantic Premiere
Sunday, May 1312:30 PM AFI Silver Theatre
In this tale of star-crossed lovers, ill-fated vows, and supernatural possession, two friends tempt fate by betrothing their unborn children. Years later when the pledge is broken and the couple’s love is thwarted, Channon (Leon Liebgold, Tevye) turns to the mystical Kabbalah to win back his love (Lili Liliana, Kol Nidre). Made in Poland on the eve of WWII in a stylized, expressionistic manner dubbed “Hasidic Gothic,” The Dybbuk, which is based on S. Ansky’s play, is considered one of the most important and influential Jewish films of all time.
Digital Restoration and new English subtitles by The National Center for Jewish Film.
WJFF screening supported by the Max and Esther Ticktin fund, which honors the Ticktin’s contributions to DC Jewish cultural life.
Co-presented by The Kosciuszko Foundation Polish American Arts Association
Co-sponsored by the Embassy of Poland
Series
Press
- "One of the most solemn attestations to the mystic powers of the spirit the imagination has ever purveyed to the film reel." ― Parker Tyler, Classics of the Foreign Film
- The Dybbuk is haunting and atmospheric, a chilling supernatural romance that functions as a privileged glimpse into the past, to a time when rabbis regularly performed prodigious miracles, when spirits of the dead wandered the Earth, and when tampering with the supernatural inevitably led to the most dire results. ― Kenneth Turan (LA Times and National Public Radio film critic), Not Coming To Theater Near You
Genre/Topic
Print Source
National Center for Jewish Film
Lisa Rivo
lisarivo@brandeis.edu
This event finished on May 14, 2018.