ID

FBW001655      Documentary

Country / Year

Israel / Netherlands / Germany (FR), 1989

Original Title

Soll sein - Jiddische Kultur im jüdischen Staat

Other Title(s)

Let It Be

Directed by

Henryk M. Broder, Frans van der Meulen

Produced by

Van der Meulen-Film, Köln / Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Köln

Staff

Script: Henryk M. Broder, Frans van der Meulen; Camera: Dani Barnea, Frans van der Meulen, Esra Shmueli, Eberhard Tschepe; Editing: Ijf Ijland, Hanna R. Bekka; Sound: Moritz Ölbaum, Imanuel Gatzwill; Music: [Frau/Herr] Broder-Kapelye, Max Perlmann, Benzion Witler; Narration: Shmuel Atzmon

Statement(s) by

Shmuel Rodensky; Zwi Rubczenko; Jossel Birstein; Jakov Bodo; Menachem Porush; Jossi Papiernikoff

Length

114'

Format

16mm/farbe/1:1,37

Dates

- 23 Jul 1989: Premiere, San Francisco, CA (Jewish Film Festival)
- 19 Feb 1992: First run, GFR, Berlin (42. Internationale Filmfestspiele, Delphi, 22. Internationales Forum des Jungen Films)

Abstract

SOLL SEIN is a documentary about yiddish culture within the Jewish State, about the phenomenon 'yiddish' in Israel, where it is continously revived. Voicing their opinions are, among others, memebers of the society of yiddish authors, journalists of the yiddish programm of israeli radio, singers and actors of the yiddish theater, actor Shmuel Rodensky, cobbler Zwi Rubczenko, story-teller Jossel Birstein, comedian Jacov Bodo, politician Menachem Porush, and poet Jossi Papiernikoff. Yiddish means much more than the sum of its public presentation. The strange language shunned by the european Jewish intelligensia for many years and only recently recognaized and appreciated in ist archaic beauty, reflects much more than utopian hopes, wit and the joy of quarreling. Yiddish cannot be described in one sentence. It is a language, a culture, a way of life and a way of asking questions and getting answers.

Subject Terms

Israel; Yiddish language; East European JewsJews from Eastern Europe; Jewish culture; Culture; Palestine; Zionism