Selected Screenings

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, UK (2008)
Center for Contemporary Arts, UK (2008)
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (2007)
Ashkenaz Festival, Toronto (1999)
Pacific Film Archive (1995)

Synopsis

Directed by Lodz native Aleksander Ford and financed by the Jewish Labor movement in Poland, Children Must Laugh is one of the few surviving documentaries about Jewish life in Poland before WWII. This institutional film was produced to raise funds for the Vladimir Medem Sanitarium which, noted for its modern and spacious facilities, stood as the embodiment of health and enlightenment, in striking contrast to the grim images of urban Polish-Jewish poverty.

The sanitarium's theme song, "Mir Kumen On (Here We Come)," punctuates the film with a sense of hope and accomplishment. The Bund's optimistic internationalism, exemplified by the children's endearing performances, permeates the film, creating powerful yet unintended ironies for post-Holocaust audiences.

Cast

A.L. Alexander (English Narration)
David Dubinsky (Introductory Speaker)
B. Charney Vladeck (Introductory Speaker)

Credits

Director Aleksander Ford
Writers Jacob Pat & Wanda Wasilewska

Purchase DVD

HOME USE ONLY $36.00 plus shipping Home Use Only DVD (Not for Classroom/Institutional Use) Does not include Public Performance Rights Home Use Policy (pdf)

INSTITUTIONAL USE $54.00 plus shipping Classroom/Institutional Use Only DVD Does not include Public Performance Rights Institutional Use Policy (pdf)

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Children Must Laugh
Mir Kumen On

Poland, 1935, 63 minutes, B&W, English and Yiddish with English subtitles
Directed by Aleksander Ford for the Jewish Labor Bund

PRESERVED
by The National Center for Jewish Film

$54 Institutional Use DVD
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$36 Home Use DVD
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Public Exhibition 16MM, Beta Rental also available