SCREENINGS

Ashkenaz Festival, Toronto (1999)

Directed by Lodz native Aleksander Ford and financed by the Jewish Labor movement in Poland, Children Must Laugh is one of the few surviving documentaries about Jewish life in Poland before WWII. This institutional film was produced to raise funds for the Vladimir Medem Sanitarium which, noted for its modern and spacious facilities, stood as the embodiment of health and enlightenment, in striking contrast to the grim images of urban Polish-Jewish poverty.

The sanitarium's theme song, "Mir Kumen On (Here We Come)," punctuates the film with a sense of hope and accomplishment. The Bund's optimistic internationalism, exemplified by the children's endearing performances, permeates the film, creating powerful yet unintended ironies for post-Holocaust audiences.

PURCHASE DVD

HOME USE ONLY $36.00 plus shipping Home Use Only DVD (Not for Classroom/Institutional Use) Does not include Public Performance Rights Home Use Policy (pdf)

INSTITUTIONAL USE $54.00 plus shipping Classroom/Institutional Use Only DVD Does not include Public Performance Rights Institutional Use Policy (pdf)

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The National Center For Jewish Film Brandeis University, Lown 102, MS053, Waltham MA 02454 P: (781) 899 7044, F: (781) 736 2070

Children Must Laugh
Mir Kumen On

Poland, 1935, 63 minutes, B&W, English and Yiddish with English subtitles
Directed by Aleksander Ford for the Jewish Labor Bund

$54 Institutional Use DVD
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$36 Home Use DVD
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Public Exhibition 16MM, Beta Rental also available