Blog
Essays, interviews, listicles, podcasts, and much more, covering all aspects of Yiddish culture.
Interview
How to Shoot an Impossible Movie: An Interview with Menashe Lustig and Joshua Z Weinstein at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival
An interview with the director and lead actor of the new Yiddish film, Menashe.
Feb 27, 2017
Blog
Yiddish-language Feature Menashe Premieres at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival
Menashe offers an intimate glimpse inside Hasidic Borough Park.
Feb 27, 2017
Blog
"They Have Their Own Language, Literally": A Review of One of Us
Shayna Weiss reviews One of Us, a Netfix documentary directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady that follows the lives of three ex-Hasidim.
Jan 05, 2018
Blog
Not Just Talking Heads: Yiddish and Jewish Eastern Europe in Recent Documentary Films
The multilingual and international scope of this list of documentaries produced since 2015 is a testament to the contemporary vibrancy of Yiddish culture across the globe.
Nov 08, 2021
Blog
Samy Szlingerbaum’s Heymish Avant-Garde Kino der Mamen: Mysteries, Music, & Immigrant Life in “Brussels Transit”
Eve Sicular offers an exegesis of Samy Szlingerbaum’s recently restored autobiographical cinematic masterpiece, which depicts a Jewish family’s displacement in the aftermath of World War II.
Jul 08, 2022
Blog
Yiddish and the Jewish Voice in The Zone of Interest
Whether or not The Zone of Interest is a good film does not hinge on the usage of a minute-long melody. But I do believe its employment tells us the film was impeccably researched by a Jewish director with a clear vision for who ought to say what, and when.
Apr 16, 2024
Blog
Review of Burning Off The Page: The Life and Art of Celia Dropkin, an Erotic Yiddish Poet, directed by Eli Gorn
Jan 10, 2025
Blog
Heritage Tourism in Poland, A Critique in Comedy: A Review of A Real Pain
Though this film squarely fits into the growing genre of films about the return of Jews to Poland, its engine is character, not history.
Jan 13, 2025