Yiddish Soul
Directed by Turi Finocchiaro and Nathalie Rossetti
This
charming film documents the revival and popularity of Yiddish music in
today's Europe. It is now considered "world music" and has become the
passion of a new generation of artists both Jewish and non-Jewish. The
films takes us on a musical tour of performances by artists from all over
Europe, highlighting singers Karsten Troyke from Germany and Shura Lipovsky
of the Netherlands. One of the features of the film is the subtitling
of Yiddish lyrics so that an American audience can fully appreciate the
songs.
The performers explain why they became attracted to this music. While some of the artists introduce lyrical innovations, most of them interpret the repertoire as faithfully as possible. The performances and the enthusisatic audiences confirm that although Hitler killed the "shtetl "life but he was not able to silence its music.
53 min.Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $85.
Chicago European Film Festival, 2006
Pamu International Documentary Film Festival, Estonia, 2006
Jewish Film Festivals, Melbourne and Sydney, 2006
Jewish Eye Film Festival, Israel, 2006
Concert Yiddish Soul
Directed by Turi Finocchiaro and Nathalie Rossetti
Lovers of Klezmer and Yiddish music are treated to performances by vocalists Chava Alberstein, Myriam Fuks, Shura Lipovsky, Karsten Troyke, the KlezRoym ensemble and a host of talented accompanists. Playing to a packed house in Brussels in 2005, their mournful and ecstatic tunes continue to evoke a rich tapestry of European Jewish life from the Middle Ages through the Second World War. Dance-happy rabbis, starry-eyed lovers and the longing for distant homelands are but a sampling of themes within the expansive canon. The jubilance and suffering of the songs attest to the history of the Yiddish language as the mouthpiece for European Jewry on topics as diverse as religion, politics and love. They move us with their celebrations of life in the face of unimaginable hardship.
43 min. Video/DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $85.
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, 2007
