YIVO Hosts New York Premiere of Short Film Adapted from Yiddish Children’s Story

(New York, NY) – On Monday, November 6, 2023 at 7:00pm (ET), the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research will host the New York film premiere of Labzik: Tales of a Clever Pup. Adapted from a book of children’s stories by Yiddish author Chaver Paver, the short film follows the (mis)adventures of a clever mutt named Labzik and the working-class Jewish family that adopts him.

Balancing playful humor with gritty realism, the stories in the film find Labzik and the other residents of the Bronx up against social and political forces that are no less relevant today: unemployment, political protest, racism, police brutality, even an airborne disease. This trilingual Yiddish-English-Yinglish short film is produced in cinematic “miniature theater” style, employing lavishly illustrated paper puppets to evoke the ink illustrations of the 1935 original book.

The film features narration adapted from Miriam Udel's new English translation, and Yiddish dialogue from Chaver Paver's original text. A cast of both student and professional voice actors brings the characters and stories to life, including award-winning Yiddish actor Shane Baker. The film also features original music by Klezmer greats Michael Winograd and Jake Shulman-Ment and singing by Lisa Fishman and Mikhl Yashinsky of off-Broadway’s Fidler afn Dakh (Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof) and Lorin Sklamberg of the Grammy award-winning band The Klezmatics.

The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Jake Krakovsky and translator Miriam Udel.

What:            Labzik: Tales of a Clever Pup
When:           Monday, November 6, 2023 | 7:00pm (ET)
Where:          Taking Place in Person at YIVO  Located in the Center for Jewish History  (15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011)
Cost:              General Admission: $10/ YIVO & CJH members: $8
Reservations Available at:  yivo.org/Labzik-Screening

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish History and is held in conjunction with the Center for Jewish History’s JewCE convention.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. It is co-sponsored by Center for Jewish History, The Workers Circle, and Yugntruf.

For more information contact:
Alex Weiser
Director of Public Programs

YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story