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The Shoshani Riddle

He was one of the greatest geniuses that ever lived, a scholar - he had a brilliant mind, spoke thirty languages, knew physics and philosophy… and yet he slept on a park bench, had no real home, anonymously travelled the world and looked like a bum. He was the secret master of Nobel Prize Winner Elie Wiesel, of the great French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and of many other prominent thinkers. They only knew him by his nickname “Shoshani”.

In Israel, France, Switzerland, USA, North-Africa, Uruguay, he was teaching and sharing his fountain of knowledge to all. They were left wondering: Who was this man? What was his name? Where is he coming from? Was he an angel or maybe a devil? How is it possible to know by heart thousands of books? What and why was he hiding? Still, to this day, no one knows.

The film explores the enigmatic life and knowledge of Mr. Shoshani, "The Wanderer who Knew it all", leaving many questions unanswered, making him one of the most mysterious figures of all time.

  • Michael Grynszpan
    Director
  • Michael Grynszpan
    Producer
  • Elie Wiesel
    Key Cast
  • Serge Klarsfeld
    Key Cast
  • Adin Steinsaltz
    Key Cast
  • Roi Ben Ami
    Editor
  • Philippe Bellaiche
    Director of Photography
  • David Walz
    Animation
  • Daniel Markovich
    Original Music
  • Noa Haber
    Design
  • Michael Goorevich
    Sound design
  • Hector Berrebi
    Colorist
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Mystery, Kabala, Mystical, Detective
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 28 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 4, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    506,300 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Israel
  • Country of Filming:
    France, Israel, Italy, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay
  • Language:
    English, French, Hebrew, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Israel Film Center Festival in New York
    New York City
    United States
    June 8, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Haifa International Film Festival
    Haifa
    Israel
    October 1, 2023
    Official Selection
  • JIFF, Jewish International Film Festival, Australia
    Sydney
    Australia
    December 5, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Festival international du film juif de Genève
    Genève
    Switzerland
    March 27, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Best Documentary of the Year by Union of Films Critics
    Tel Aviv
    Israel
    Winner Best Documentary of the year
  • East Lansing Film Festival
    East Lansing, Michigan
    United States
    November 12, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Montreal Israeli Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    November 9, 2025
    Canada
    Award for Best Documentary
  • Montreal Israeli Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    November 9, 2025
    Canada's Premiere
    Audience Award for Best Documentary
  • New Jersey Film Festival - Spring
    New Brunswick, New Jersey
    February 1, 2026
  • Hollywood Independent Filmmaker Awards & Festival
    Hollywood, California
    United States
    December 27, 2025
    Bronze Award for Best Documentary
Director Biography - Michael Grynszpan

Michael Grynszpan is a French-Israeli filmmaker. Michael was born and raised in Paris and moved to Israel where he studied Film and Television at Tel Aviv University. He worked as a reporter and TV journalist for international television channels. In 2000, Michael founded with partners a film and TV production company. He has since directed several documentary movies, among them:

- “The Forgotten Refugees” an award-winning documentary about the history of Jews from Arab Countries. The 50min movie has been translated in to seven languages and screened all over the world. It has been broadcast twice on prime-time television on Israel's Channel 1 (Arutz1), as well as on PBS networks all over the USA, in South America and on the Russian Channel RTVi. Special screenings of “The Forgotten Refugees” also took place at the UN in Geneva and in NY and at the American Congress in Washington DC.

- "Descendants of Nazis: An Infernal Legacy", a 82 min documentary movie for France3, co-directed with Marie-Pierre Raimbault, about children of nazis who decided to convert to Judaism and sometimes to live in Israel. Also broadcasted in Belgium, Italy, China, Israel and other countries. Streamed on PRIME video.

- "Toulouse between rose and grey" a documentary for Arutz1 in Israel, about the situation of the Jewish community in Toulouse after the terror attack, how they cope with the situation.

- "Out of the Spectrum" a short documentary movie about autism - Israel Channel 10.

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Director Statement

When I set out to make The Shoshani Riddle, I thought I was telling the story of a mysterious historical figure—an eccentric genius who mentored Elie Wiesel and left behind a trail of riddles, myths, and half-glimpsed truths. What I didn’t expect was how personal the journey would become.

This film quickly moved beyond biography. It became a deeply personal, almost spiritual, search for meaning. Mr. Shoshani’s elusive identity mirrored my own questions about knowledge, belief, and the human need to understand what resists understanding. The more I uncovered, the more I realized that this wasn’t just a documentary—it was a philosophical investigation into the limits of memory and the nature of legacy.

That The Shoshani Riddle became a cult success in Israel was both humbling and unexpected. I believe audiences connected with the film not only because of the mystery it presents, but because of the universal longing at its core: the search for truth in an ambiguous world.

My hope is that The Shoshani Riddle resonates beyond its cultural context—as a story that invites viewers everywhere to reflect on the mysteries that shape us, and the questions that outlive answers.