Shkheynim (Neighbors)
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Workshop
Co-sponsored by the International Association of Yiddish Clubs Admission: Free Registration is required. |
Join YIVO and the International Association of Yiddish Clubs for a discussion about the Polish comedy film Shkheynim (Neighbors), dubbed in Yiddish with English subtitles. Originally premiering in 1937 as Piętro wyżej (One Floor Up), the film was released in New York as a fully dubbed Yiddish version, retitled Shkheynim. While the Polish-language version of the film struggled to gain an audience in New York, the Yiddish-language release became a financial success.
Note that the film will not be shown during the program. Participants can watch the film online here. Each participant must register in advance and will receive a link to join the Zoom meeting on May 18.
The film follows two neighbors who are unrelated but share the same last name and live in the same apartment building. The two men are complete opposites; from their wide age gap, to their different tastes in music, the neighbors struggle to live in harmony together. Directed by Leon Trystan, co-director of the well-known Yiddish film A brivele der mamen (A Letter to Mother, 1938), Neighbors is notable for featuring the first on-screen appearance of a drag queen in Polish cinema.
Originally believed to be lost, the Yiddish-language dubbed version of Neighbors was discovered several years ago. In this program, Dr. Iosif Vaisman will lead a discussion in English about the film, highlighting key scenes and motifs.
Read more about Neighbors through the Museum of the Yiddish Theatre.
