Swedishkayt: YidLife Crisis in Stockholm
SWEDISHKAYT follows self-proclaimed "international Yiddish-ish icons" YidLife Crisis, the Canadian performing/filmmaking duo of Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman, as they continue their journey to demystify the Jewish world, this time in a whirlwind trip to Stockholm.
YidLife provides the ‘(gefilte) fish out of water’ perspective on the little known story of the Swedish Jews, from the first Jewish immigrant 250 years ago to today's 'Jew's-Who,' and then somehow finds the time to reflect this all back onstage in a performance for this whole community. Tying the experience together is the common thread of Yiddish language and culture, the very thing which connects this Montreal-based duo to Sweden, where the language is, to the duo's great surprise - a protected minority language (!?!)
From meeting like-minded Yiddish speaking cousins from across the Atlantic to finding the comedy in the diary of community founder Aaron Isaac to straight talk with Stockholm’s Jewish youth over beer and bites, SWEDISHKAYT is a feel-good community portrait which depicts a diverse and thriving minority, demonstrates the ever-evolving interplay of language, culture and identity, and celebrates finding common ground and sweet surprises where you'd least expect them.
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Eli BatalionDirectorChewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis, Appiness
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Jamie ElmanDirectorChewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis
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Eli BatalionWriterChewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis, Appiness
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Jamie ElmanWriterChewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis
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Eli BatalionProducerChewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis, Appiness
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Jamie ElmanProducerChewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis
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Eli BatalionKey CastYidLife Crisis, Stage Fright, APPINESS
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Jamie ElmanKey CastChewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mad Men
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Charlotta TengrothDirector of PhotographyMischmasch
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Mark BenditEditorChewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, Mon Israel, APPINESS
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Samuel BrissonOnline Editor/ColouristExplaining to an Alien
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Joe BarruccoSoundCheap Thrills, YidLife Crisis, Stage Fright
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Ronen PestesAdditional Online Editing/ColourLove is Blind, 25 to Life
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Radu IonAdditional EditingLine of Fire, Ancient Empires
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Project Type:Documentary, Feature
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Genres:History, Comedy, Travelog, Performance, Portrait
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Runtime:1 hour 17 minutes 9 seconds
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Country of Origin:Canada, Sweden, United States
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Country of Filming:Sweden
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Language:English, Yiddish
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Shooting Format:HD
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
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Miami Jewish Film FestivalMiami
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Toronto Jewish Film FestivalToronto
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Hong Kong Jewish Film FestivalHong Kong
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Copenhagen Jewish Culture FestivalCopenhagen
Denmark -
Dallas Jewish Film FestivalDallas, TX
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KulturhusetStockholm
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DC Jewish Film and Music FestivalWashington, DC
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Boca Raton International Jewish Film FestivalBoca Raton
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Winnipeg Jewish FIlm FestivalWinnipeg
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Cleveland Jewish Film FestivalCleveland, OH
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Boulder Jewish Film FestivalBoulder, CO
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Baltimore JCCBaltimore, MD
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Syracuse Jewish Film FestivalSyracuse, NY
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Victoria Jewish Film FestivalVictoria
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Omaha Jewish Film FestivalOmaha, NE
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Atlantic Jewish Film FestivalHalifax, NS
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Santa Barbara Jewish Film FestivalSanta Barbara, CA
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Carmel Jewish Film FestivalCarmel, CA
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Vancouver Jewish Film FestivalVancouver
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Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media FestivalPhiladelphia, PA
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Calgary Jewish Film FestivalCalgary, AB
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Baton Rouge Jewish Film FestivalBaton Rouge, LA
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Triad Jewish Film FestivalGreensboro, NC
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Charlotte Jewish Film FestivalCharlotte, NC
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Tucson Jewish Film FestivalTucson, AZ
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Center for Jewish HistoryNew York, NY
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Santa Fe Jewish Film FestivalSanta Fe, NM
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Al Green Theatre PresentsToronto
Canada
Jamie Elman & Eli Batalion are entertainers (and closeted Jewish educators) hailing from Montreal with credits spanning 25 years of theater, music, television and film - from starring in Mad Men, House MD and Curb Your Enthusiasm to writing, directing and producing films shown at the Sundance, Toronto, Berlin and SXSW film festivals.
Their unique friendship spawned an irreverent tribute to the Yiddish language, culture and comedic tradition they were reared on. Calling it “YidLife Crisis,” they hatched the world’s first Yiddish sitcom, toasting, roasting and wrestling with the modern Jewish experience. Its popularity has led to various awards and nominations, frequent live performances across North America and Europe, and over 4 million online views.
When we started our 18-and-over-Yiddish web series passion project YidLIfe Crisis 10 years ago, we thought at best maybe our parents would somehow watch it on the “YouTubes.” Little could we expect it would start a whole Yiddish-ish phenomenon that would have us touring the world presenting our work and chronicling the Jewish world as we go. EVEN LITTLER could we expect that 10 years later, it would take us to the new Mecca of Yiddish in the 21st century, and that place would not be New York, not Warsaw, not even Jerusalem.
It would be…Stockholm, Sweden. What the fika? (that's coffee in Swedish).
We’re still shocked in the best possible way, and it was our pleasure to meet and interact with this community. Whether you’re Jewish, Jew-ish, or nowhere near either, we hope you find in Swedishkayt a redeeming story of a little community with a big impact, of finding connections in the least likely of places, and the right mix of humility (or Jante, as the Swedes say) and chutzpah (or brazenness, as the Jews say), to remind us of all the great things we are capable of and the joy we can have as communities within communities.
So - have some herring, break out a bagel, and, as we say in Swyiddish: skål’chaim!