Klezmer Project

East Coast Premiere

A search for the practitioners of a vanishing musical style becomes a quest for home in The Klezmer Project (Adentro mío estoy bailando), the playful but poignant film that was five years in the making and the winner of the Best First Feature Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Touching, fascinating, and deeply poignant, the movie finds its filmmakers embarking on a fact-finding mission across Eastern Europe, chasing after a fading cultural heritage in regions that still resonate with the echoes of the traditional Yiddish folk music known as klezmer. Cleverly dovetailing a personal story into an exploration of Yiddish traditions, the filmmakers weave their own travels alongside footage of genuine performers, as their journey takes them from Buenos Aires to the frontiers of Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova. Beyond being a captivating history lesson, the film delves into the filmmakers' own heritage. As descendants of Jewish immigrants, they connect emotionally with their cultural origins throughout the journey. But the heart of the film lies in the road trip itself as the directors' travels, separations, and reunions are interwoven with a touching love story. The Klezmer Project serves as a tribute to the Jewish cultural heritage within the border triangle of Eastern European territories, where the community largely faded away after World War II. Although klezmer's prominence in global awareness is waning, this captivating film illustrates that it is a musical style whose history still strikes a chord.