Yiddish

In this unexpected, original documentary, seven young people from around the world share their love for the Yiddish language and poetry. Each tells of their connection to a particular poet they admire, from the period between the two World Wars, a time which saw a great flowering of Yiddish culture and creativity, including modernist and avant-garde poetry. An expressive hybrid “jargon” with roots in Hebrew, German and Slavic languages, Yiddish has been shamed, banned, and nearly wiped out by the death of so many of its primary speakers during the Holocaust; yet, it is a vernacular with rich political, historical, religious, socio-economic, and literary import that deserves to be celebrated. Filmed in France, Germany, Israel, Lithuania and Poland, Yiddish brings this ancient language to life.