Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness

United States • 2011 • 93 mins.

Dorman’s engrossing film tells the tale of a rebellious genius who created an entirely new literature. Plumbing the depths of a Jewish world locked in crisis and on the cusp of profound change, Aleichem was not just a witness to the creation of a new modern Jewish identity, but one of the very men who shaped it. “A rich . . . modern history of East European Jewry. . . Conjures the look and vitality of shtetl life so vividly you can almost . . . smell the pungent aromas of the cooking.”—Stephen Holden, New York Times.

Genres: Documentary

Appears in: 23rd Portland Jewish Film Festival

Showtimes

No upcoming screenings of this film are currently scheduled.

Past Screenings

June 22, 2015

Whitsell Auditorium

Preceded by:

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholem Aleichem

US 2014
Director: John Lollos

Portraits of beloved icons Sholom Aleichem and Theodore Bikel are woven together to reveal two men with much in common: wit, wisdom, and talent—all shot through with deep humanity and Yiddishkeit. Theodore Bikel, the unstoppable performer whose career spans more than 150 screen roles and countless stage and musical productions, is also the foremost interpreter of Sholom Aleichem’s work, including the classic “Fiddler on the Roof.” (75 mins.)

The Northwest Film Center recognizes and honors the Indigenous peoples of this region on whose ancestral lands the museum now stands. These include the Willamette Tumwater, Clackamas, Kathlemet, Molalla, Multnomah and Watlala Chinook Peoples and the Tualatin Kalapuya who today are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and many other Native communities who made their homes along the Columbia River. We also want to recognize that Portland today is a community of many diverse Native peoples who continue to live and work here. We respectfully acknowledge and honor all Indigenous communities—past, present, future—and are grateful for their ongoing and vibrant presence.