Private Project

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.

  • Eli Batalion
    Director
    Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis, Appiness
  • Jamie Elman
    Director
    Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis
  • Eli Batalion
    Writer
    Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis, Appiness
  • Jamie Elman
    Writer
    Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis
  • Eli Batalion
    Producer
    Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis, Appiness
  • Jamie Elman
    Producer
    Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis
  • Eli Batalion
    Key Cast
    YidLife Crisis, Stage Fright, APPINESS
  • Jamie Elman
    Key Cast
    Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, YidLife Crisis, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mad Men
  • Charlotta Tengroth
    Director of Photography
    Mischmasch
  • Mark Bendit
    Editor
    Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, Mon Israel, APPINESS
  • Samuel Brisson
    Online Editor/Colourist
    Explaining to an Alien
  • Joe Barrucco
    Sound
    Cheap Thrills, YidLife Crisis, Stage Fright
  • Ronen Pestes
    Additional Online Editing/Colour
    Love is Blind, 25 to Life
  • Radu Ion
    Additional Editing
    Line of Fire, Ancient Empires
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    History, Comedy, Travelog, Performance, Portrait
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 17 minutes 9 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada, Sweden, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Sweden
  • Language:
    English, Yiddish
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Miami Jewish Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
  • Toronto Jewish Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
  • Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival
    Hong Kong
  • Copenhagen Jewish Culture Festival
    Copenhagen
    Denmark
  • Dallas Jewish Film Festival
    Dallas, TX
    United States
  • Kulturhuset
    Stockholm
    Sweden
  • DC Jewish Film and Music Festival
    Washington, DC
    United States
  • Boca Raton International Jewish Film Festival
    Boca Raton
    United States
  • Winnipeg Jewish FIlm Festival
    Winnipeg
    Canada
  • Cleveland Jewish Film Festival
    Cleveland, OH
    United States
  • Boulder Jewish Film Festival
    Boulder, CO
    United States
  • Baltimore JCC
    Baltimore, MD
    United States
  • Syracuse Jewish Film Festival
    Syracuse, NY
    United States
  • Victoria Jewish Film Festival
    Victoria
    Canada
  • Omaha Jewish Film Festival
    Omaha, NE
    United States
  • Atlantic Jewish Film Festival
    Halifax, NS
    Canada
  • Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival
    Santa Barbara, CA
    United States
  • Carmel Jewish Film Festival
    Carmel, CA
    United States
  • Vancouver Jewish Film Festival
    Vancouver
    Canada
  • Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media Festival
    Philadelphia, PA
    United States
  • Calgary Jewish Film Festival
    Calgary, AB
    Canada
  • Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival
    Baton Rouge, LA
    United States
  • Triad Jewish Film Festival
    Greensboro, NC
    United States
  • Charlotte Jewish Film Festival
    Charlotte, NC
    United States
  • Tucson Jewish Film Festival
    Tucson, AZ
    United States
  • Center for Jewish History
    New York, NY
    United States
  • Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival
    Santa Fe, NM
    United States
  • Al Green Theatre Presents
    Toronto
    Canada
Director Biography - Eli Batalion, Jamie Elman

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.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

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!