Join Amherst Glebe Arts Response, Inc. as they present Beyond the Russian Pale: Jewish Films, Live Klezmer Music, and Eyewitness Accounts on Sunday, March 27, 2022, in the Historic Academy Theatre. Events are from 1:00 PM-9:00 PM with tickets available for all events, for afternoon events only (1:00 PM to 4:35 PM), or evening events only (6:15 PM-9:00 PM.)
Featured is the 1923 classic German Jewish silent film “The Ancient Law” digitally restored, shown with a score performed live by composer/musicians GRAMMY-winning Klezmer Fiddler Alicia Svigals and pianist Donald Sosin. Documentary Film “Summer in Ivye” shares the story of Director/Choreographer Tamar Rogoff and a group of international performing artists and survivors creating a performance in a forest outside the small town of Ivye, Belarus. The film memorializes this shtetl with warmth, humor, and respect, as it was in 1935, before almost all of its Jewish residents, including Rogoff’s relatives, were shot by Nazis in 1942. Also on the program will be survivors telling of their World War II lives as “hidden children,” Rogoff speaking about Ivye, Svigals delivering a klezmer workshop, and Paul Dobryden of UVA speaking about Weimar German-Jewish Films.
Schedule of Events:
Afternoon Events –
-
Workshop – The afternoon will open at 1:00 PM with a workshop about Klezmer music led by world-renowned fiddler Alicia Svigals, violinist/composer, and a founder of the GRAMMY-winning Klezmatics. Alicia almost singlehandedly revived the tradition of klezmer fiddling, which had been on the brink of extinction until she recorded her debut album Fidl in the 1990s. Alicia and the Klezmatics recorded two best-selling albums for EMI with violinist Itzhak Perlman.
-
Summer in Ivye – Next will be the film Summer in Ivye. American director/choreographer Tamar Rogoff staged a large-scale international theater production in a forest outside the rural town of Ivye, Belarus. The production was inspired by Rogoff’s father’s diaries from 1935, describing Jewish life in Ivye with warmth, humor, fondness, and respect. Tamar Rogoff visited in 1991 and was shown the forest where her family, among 2,524 Ivye Jews, had been shot by Nazis in 1942. Rogoff conceived a performance to pay homage to the lives lost. Featuring performing artists and survivors from the Baltics, USA, and Belarus, she created a performance surrealistically reflecting her father’s stories of Ivye before world War II. The film shows the group overcoming differences in language, religion, and culture to tell a moving story of love and loss.
-
Interactive Zoom session – After “Summer in Ivye,” Tamar Rogoff will reflect on Ivye, interacting with our audience on ZOOM. Then, also on ZOOM, we will hear first-person stories from two World War II “Hidden Children.” Evi Blaikie hid in Hungary, while Manfred Marko lived under the protection of Father Joseph Andre in Belgium. The audience can participate in live question and answer sessions on ZOOM until 4:45 PM.
BREAK FOR DINNER
(4:45PM – 6:15PM)
Evening Events –
-
Speaker – Evening events will begin at 6:15 PM with Paul Dobryden, Assistant Professor of Germanic Languages and Literature at the University of Virginia, speaking about the Weimar Republic German Jewish film to the audience.
-
Featured Presentation – The Ancient Law (Das alte Gesetz) will be Ewald André Dupont’s 1923 silent film The Ancient Law (Das alte Gesetz), digitally restored by the Deutsche Kinemathek with generous support from the Sunrise Foundation for Education and the Arts. Playing live their own composed score for the film at the Academy Historic Theatre will be GRAMMY-winning Klezmer Fiddler Alicia Svigals and silent film pianist Donald Sosin. The Ancient Law is an important piece of German-Jewish cinematic history, contrasting the closed world of an Eastern European shtetl with the liberal mores of 1860s Vienna. Historically authentic set design, and an ensemble of prominent actors, were all captured magnificently by cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl.
Tickets:
Afternoon Events 1:00 PM to 4:35 PM:
Base price: $13.95 plus taxes and fees (Total price per ticket for the Afternoon events $20)
Evening Events 6:15 PM to 9:00 PM:
Base price: $18.69 plus taxes and fees (Total price per ticket for the Evening events $25)
Full-Day of Events 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM:
Base price: $23.30 plus taxes and fees (Total price per ticket for full-day events $30)
Group Sales:
- 10% discount with the purchase of 20 – 49 tickets
- 20% discount with the purchase of 50 tickets or more
To learn more about Group Sales discounts visit, academycenter.org/group-sales/ or call the Box Office Monday-Friday 12:00 PM-5:00 PM.
Note that the event producer and Artist may change dates, times, and/or venues depending on the current COVID-19 environment. Ticket buyers will be updated by the Academy Center of the Arts staff, should any change to schedule or venue occurs.
Sponsored By:
Supported by the BWXT Access Program
Know Before You Go:
