Private Project

When Tango Meets Klezmer

“When Tango meets Klezmer - The Life and Work of Ernesto and Rosa Hönigsberg” is a film of remembrance. Not of a memory of the past, but one that illuminates the paths of the future.
Maestro Ernesto Hönigsberg was born in 1908 in a small Jewish village in Romania, in a family of traditional jewish musicians. With the family moving to Bucharest, Ernesto comes into contact with the cosmopolitan music of the time, and soon becomes the leader of one of the most important tango orchestras in the country; composing melodies, arranging melodies, performing and recording constantly, accompanying famous singers, and doing all of this with tremendous success.
World War II forced him to take refuge in the Soviet Union, and the fact that he was a musician ensured his survival, by living on trains and playing for Soviet soldiers. It was on one of these trains that Ernesto met his wife, Rosa Porozowska, a Polish Esperanto teacher and singer. The war destroyed their cities, families and communities, and with so many losses, they migrated towards Latin America – first to Uruguay and then to Brazil, where the Hönigsberg Orchestra reformed itself, now with a repertoire focused on traditional Jewish music, which was on demand for the local jewish community parties and celebrations.
Perhaps because of the destruction of her past by the Nazis, Rosa became an almost compulsive hoarder, and it is in these various “memory boxes” that she bequeathed us the treasures that made this documentary possible: photographs, letters, diaries, documents and nine impressive compositions by Ernesto – in the styles of tangos and klezmer.
This documentary uses these compositions to give life and color to the couple's resilience, perseverance, hardships, love for each other, and more - elements that can be perceived in these delicate precious melodies. So beautiful, but so sad.
The film is a tribute to the couple and their story, a celebration of South American Jewish musicians (often overlooked in relation to those from that immigrated to North America rather than South), and an important piece for the reconstruction of the memory of these people who, due to the bad weather of the history, went through so many displacements and ended up finding refuge and a space to rebuild their lives in Brazil.

  • Ernesto Mifano Honigsberg
    Director
    Director
  • Alex Parke
    Musical Director
    Musical Director
  • Bruno Szlak
    Writer
    Screenplay
  • Nicole Borger
    Producer
    Conception and Support
  • Sonia Goussinsky
    Music (voice) and Interviews
    Singing in romanian, esperanto and portuguese
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Quando o Tango Encontra o Klezmer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Student, Other
  • Runtime:
    39 minutes 55 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 5, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Brazil
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Yiddish New York Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    December 30, 2021
    USA Premiere
  • Kleztival
    São Paulo
    Brazil
    October 5, 2021
    Brazilian Premiere
  • Miami Jewish Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
    January 13, 2023
    Florida Premiere
  • São Paulo International Jewish Film Festival
    São Paulo
    Brazil
    October 19, 2022
  • Klezmer Day
    São Paulo
    Brazil
    June 22, 2022
  • Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival
    Twin Cities
    United States
    October 26, 2023
    Minnesota Premiere
Director Biography - Ernesto Mifano Honigsberg

Ernesto Mifano Honigsberg (26), is a brazilian jew - his family comes from Egypt, Romania, Poland, and later Uruguay. He holds a degree in Social Sciences from the University of São Paulo (USP, 2021) and works as an educator and researcher.
This is the first, and so far only, film that he directed. The story of his grandparents, the subject of the documentary, is the main theme of a research he has been carrying out in the last years (but in some way, also throughout his whole life), and this film is one of its first milestones.

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