The Prince and the Dybbuk

by Elwira Niewiera, piotr rosolowski
  • WideHouse
  • Kundschafter Filmproduktion GmbH | WideHouse

    Synopsis

    The son of a poor Jewish blacksmith from Ukraine, died in Italy as Prince Michael Waszynski, Hollywood producer and exiled Polish aristocrat. he made more than 50 films including cinema hits with Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale. However only one film was his true obsession - "The Dybbuk" - based on an old Jewish legend, the most important and mystical Yiddish film ever made, directed by Waszynski shortly before the outbreak of the WWII.
    To the American magazine "Variety", Waszynski once claimed to be fascinated with the downfall of great nations. The related imagery of pogroms and migration are the sights and images that Waszynski had so often witnessed in his life. It seems he had achieved almost everything he could possibly have wished, but something seemed to be stalking him, leaving him in permanently restless. Waszynski kept searching for the lost print of his film "Dybbuk" which held his early memories of the Jewish shtetl and his first love. What secrets did he keep hidden in this old masterpiece of Yiddish cinema?

    Original language: English, Italian, Hebrew, Ukrainian, Yiddish, Polish, German, Spanish

    Festivals

    Venice International Film Festival - Best Documentary
    Viennale
    IDFA - Best of Fests
    20th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
    New York Jewish Film Festival
    25th hotDOCS Toronto
    DOCS Barcelona - What The Doc! Award
    15th Docs Against Gravity Festival - Chopin’s Nose Award for Best Music and Art Feature
    docAviv
    Jewish Motifs International Film Festival - Warsaw Feniks Award for Best Polish Film
    20th International Tel Aviv Documentary Filmfestival - doc aviv