Between Two Worlds: Jewish Mysticism in Classic European Cinema

THURSDAY June 11 7:30pm - 9:30pm

The Golem (Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam) – Germany, 1926. Silent w English subtitles. 85 minutes

One of the high-water marks of German Expressionist cinema – the tragic tale of a man made of clay, brought to life to protect the Prague ghetto from enemies high and low. Its success signified global sympathy for the survival of Jewish identity and culture, while also stigmatizing them as alien and archaic. A primary influence on James Whale’s classic Frankenstein and the American horror film.

SUNDAY June 21 7:30pm - 9:30pm

The Dybbuk (Der Dibuk) – Poland, 1937. Yiddish w English subtitles. 110 minutes.

 A sad and vengeful spirit returns to possess the body of his betrothed at the joyful moment of wedding to another man. The greatest critical success of Yiddish cinema before the Holocaust is an uncanny tale of Kabbalistic magic, holy and demonic ecstasy, and love beyond death—one of the most beautiful ghost stories ever filmed.  

Presented with a discussion by Prof. Bernard Welt of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University - author of Mythomania: Fantasies, Fables, and Sheer Lies in Contemporary American Popular Art.