Celebrating Soviet Yiddish Creativity
Each year, we remember the Yiddish artists and writers who were murdered by the Soviet regime or suffered from repressions and cultural purges in the Soviet Union.
This year, the Congress for Jewish Culture joins with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the Jewish Labor Committee to present Boris Sandler’s new film, a one-on-one interview with his old mentor and friend, Chaim Beider (1920-2003). The film is in Yiddish with English subtitles.
It is a fascinating glimpse into Soviet Jewish life between the two world wars, as well as the Cold War years. Chaim Beider was not only a poet, librettist, essayist, and children’s author, but he also literally wrote the book on Soviet Yiddish literature, with his posthumously published Biographical Dictionary of Soviet Yiddish writers. He was a living link between the golden era of Soviet Yiddish literature, having worked with, known or met many of the greats whom we remember even today; but he also helped to train the current generation of writers from the former Soviet Union, including Boris Sandler, former editor of the Yiddish Forward and maker of this documentary.
Also in the program, Yiddish singer Hy Wolfe will sing songs by Soviet Yiddish poets, accompanied by Steve Sterner at the piano.
The screening is free and open to the public with a reservation.
Co-presented by the Congress for Jewish Culture — ייִדישער קולטור־קאָנגרעס and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research