EXCEPTIONAL MERIT - Documentaries without Borders Festival | FINALIST, BEST DOCUMENTARY AND BEST DIRECTING - FilmHaus Festival | BEST DOCUMENTARY - Punta Del Estes Jewish Film Festival | OFFICIAL SELECTION - Nashville Jewish Film Festival | OFFICIAL SELECTION - Winnipeg Jewish Film Festival
Antisemitism • Holocaust • Yiddish Culture • Jewish Theatre
Date of Completion: 2023 | Run Time: 51 minutes | Language: English & Polish with Spanish subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director & Producer: Howard Rypp | Co-Writers: Howard Wiseman & Howard Rypp | Featuring: B Singer & Witold Dabrowski
GIMPEL THE FOOL RETURNS TO POLAND chronicles the tour of the mono-drama based on Singer’s classic story which has inspired audiences throughout the world. It chronicles the journey to different towns that Singer wrote about, while tracing the escape Singer made before the Holocaust until finally finding refuge in America. It also attempts to reconcile the past with the present by confronting the incongruities inherent in modern day Poland.
"A fascinating, artistic and effective combination blending four mediums - literature and history, theater and cinema. Howard Rypp plays both fictional and realistic roles in the film, from the past and and present, brilliantly presents a dialogue between the Jewish world before the Holocaust and the physical evidence left after from the Holocaust - but more importantly, he brings the viewers together with the manifestations of anti-Semitism alive in Poland today, as well as with their attempts at denial. The film has added value, as it allows young audiences to get to know the great writer Yitzhak Bashevis Singer, and to become familiar with basic concepts in Jewish and general culture. A poetic work, yet poignant and contemporary, and undoubtedly provoking discussion".
AWARDS
Best Documentary | Punta Del Estes Jewish Film Festival
Exceptional Merit | Documentaries without Borders Festival
FILM FESTIVALS
Nashville Jewish Film Festival
TesFest
Winnipeg Jewish Film Festival
SCREENINGS
FilmHaus