Movies About Jews in Music, Dance and Theater

The battle to keep Yiddish Theater alive into the 21st century continues.

Dance is an art that combines beauty, music and creativity- and at the same time can be a personal and social way to express pain and protest, or demand justice. The films in this project present the complexity of life in Israel through different aspects of dance. Each film brings its creator's point of view on Israeli life, and together they create a mosaic reflecting a multi-layered society that shares a common means of expression: Dance. I chose this subject for the deep connection and similarity between the arts of dance and cinema, two languages that derive both from the souls of their creators and the society in which they exist. Yael Perlov

Half a mile from the Gaza border, rockets rain down on Sderot. But underground, musicians in this besieged Israeli town continue to create a sound all their own.

The amazing story of a group of Jewish songwriters who wrote the soundtrack to Christmas.

Chazz'n, A Cantor's Story is a documentary film about chazzanut past, present and future through the prism of Chazzan Jack Mendelson's career. In addition to stellar singing, the film visits a bar-mitzvah at the legendary Beth El Synagogue in Borough Park, Brooklyn and interviews are seen with luminaries such as ben-Zion Miller, Mati lazar, Alberto Mizrahi, Alan Dershowitz, Neil Shicoff and Dr. Larry Hoffman.

A 50 year old cantor suffers from a terrible case of stage fright, when a small community in a sleepy beach town invite him for the New Year prayer, a glimmer of hope enters his heart.

The Hora 79 dance troupe was the face of Israeli folk dancing. Following a traumatic event. An accident? A murder? A suicide? The group ceased its activity and the members went their own ways. Now, 33 years later, the Karmiel Dance Festival initiates a reunion for a tribute to Hebrew dance. The encounter brims with nostalgia, tension, and guilt. Will they be able to overcome the dark ghosts of the past, the old conflicts, the betrayal of the body and of the memory?

When a famous American film director, Rudolph Grichenberg, comes to Paris to cast a Yiddish version of 'The Merchant of Venice,' Maurice Kurtz and his friends try out for the role of Shylock. Thinking he has finally been cast in an important film role after years of obscurity, Maurice rushes home to tell his beloved wife, Perla. Later, Maurice discovers the part has gone to a famous American star, but he must play the role of his life to be sure Perla, who has become very ill with cancer, doesn't find out.

With his sharp gaze, full of generosity and humor, David Perlov documents an intensive month in the life of the Israeli theatre, following numerous troupes performing throughout the country. We see The Dybbuk (still with the legendary Hanna Rovina) and plays by Ionesco, Becket, Brecht, and Edward Albee; musicals and works of Israeli playwrights - Moshe Shamir, Nissim Aloni and others.

S. Ansky's The Dibuk, one of the most famous Jewish plays ever written, has been adapted countless times for the stage and screen. This film follows the process of the latest and most daring stage adaptation, written by Roee Chen and directed by Yevgeny Arye at the Gesher Theater in Jaffa. Dibukim follows the stormy rehearsals, the joy of discovery and the growing tensions as the premiere approaches. It follows the mysterious way by which a work of art emerges out of chaos.

An intimate conversation with famous musicians - Victoria Hanna, Maureen Nehedar, Lea Avraham and Alma Zohar about their personal challenges of singing/composing ancient Jewish texts which for generations have been associated only to men.

Rita Jahan Foruz, world famous singer, immigrated to Israel from Iran with her family as a young child. 40 years later, with enormous tension between Tehran and Jerusalem looming in the background, she records her first album in Farsi.

Five elderly women create a dance performance, sharing their thoughts and feelings.

Roza Eskenazi sang the way she lived, with passion, fire and love. This is the story of three young musicians who embark on an exciting musical journey, to tell the story of Greece's best-loved rebetiko singer.

Shoshana Damari was the first Israeli diva. She graced local and international stages, stirring millions with her beguiling voice and spectacular performance. Yet behind the larger-than-life persona and her memorable songs was a woman about whom we know little. She didn't like to be interviewed and never volunteered details about herself and her family. Hers was the life of a Hollywood legend and she paid the price for it. This is a story about fame and loneliness, acclaim and loss, daring and compromise. For the first time, the woman behind the crown, the cloak and the palace will come to light.

This Merchant of Venice production was done in a Sephardi style featuring some Jewish Ladinos songs. French Actor and Baritone David Serero gives a stunning performance as Shylock and signs the staging and the adaptation of this William Shakespeare play. This is the Live recording at the Center for Jewish History in New York on the sold out opening night of June 14th 2015.

Acclaimed Sephardic folksinger, Flory Jagoda, tells the story of her life. She sings the songs of her ancestors and contributes melodies and lyrics of her own. She celebrates life itself, delighting with her songs and personal story.

Neta Elkayam and Amit Haï Cohen live in Jerusalem. Together, they created a band where they revisit and reshape their common judeo-moroccan musical heritage. In life as on stage, they grapple with this identity duality; an attempt to heal the wounds of exile carried by their parents. In Your Eyes, I See my Country portrays their journey to Morocco. From one musical encounter to another, they reshape their perception of who they are and want to become, along with aspirations to consolidate bridges with the homeland of their ancestors.

Listen to and experience the beautiful Moroccan-Jewish songs of Shabbat with Moroccan Rabbi Chaim Louk and his cantors at the Buffault Synagogue in Paris.

The matrux is a unique form of Moroccan-Jewish music, fusing Hebrew and Arabic texts. The music and lyrics are derived from Andalusian traditions of music and poetry, reflecting the centuries-old link between Jewish and Muslim societies.

Nino Bitton is a known Master of Andalusian music among musicians. While most Maghreb and Jewish-Arab musicians in Israel were unfortunately forgotten, Nino managed, against all odds, to be an off-grid active musician and even pass on his legacy.

Director Iris Zaki embarks on an intimate journey with her father, exploring the extraordinary story of her legendary, Egyptian singer grandmother: Souad Zaki, in a hybrid cinematic project that crosses nations, cultures and religions