SCREENINGS

International Jewish Festival, Amersterdam (1996)

RESTORED PRINT WITH COMPLETE NEW SUBTITLES

Mirele Efros, "the Jewish Queen Lear," was the masterpiece of Ukrainian-born Jacob Gordin, an enormously influential Yiddish playwright whose works sought to describe and promulgate the ethos of mentshlekhkeyt: the practice of honesty, decency, and devotion toward family and community. This sophisticated version of his stage classic faithfully recreates Jewish life in turn-of-the-century Grodno, Poland.

Berta Gersten gives a memorable performance as Mirele, a wealthy and pious widow whose devotion to her children extends to hand-picking a wife for her eldest son, gravely mistaking the young woman's character as giving and devout. The resulting conflict between the noble Jewish matriarch and her ungrateful, self-serving daughter-in-law provides both a cautionary tale and a lesson in the value of filial piety.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

"Mirele Efros is likely the single most widely played piece in the Yiddish theatrical canon."
J. Hoberman, Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds

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

$72.00 plus shipping
Classroom/Institutional Use Only DVD

Does not include Public Performance Rights
Institutional Use Policy (pdf)

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The National Center For Jewish Film
Brandeis University, Lown 102, MS053, Waltham MA 02454
P: (781) 899 7044, F: (781) 736 2070

Mirele Efros

USA, 1939, 80 minutes
B&W, Yiddish with English subtitles
Directed by Josef Berne
Based on a play by Jacob Gordin

$72 Institutional Use DVD
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$36 Home Use DVD
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Public Exhibition 16MM, Beta Rental also available




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