What happens when an Israeli actor and creator returns to Poland following the trail of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s hero?

Director Howard Rypp embarks on a journey after Gimpel the Fool – the innocent and profound character from the stories of the renowned Yiddish writer and Nobel laureate. The result is a moving documentary combining rare archival materials with a personal perspective on culture, identity, and memory.

During special screening evenings of the documentary film “Gimpel the Fool Returns to Poland”, the Israeli audience will have the opportunity to see the film for the first time and participate in discussions on theater, cinema, and Jewish memory.

Following the screenings, there will be meetings with director Howard Rypp, moderated by journalist Shiri Lev-Ari, and featuring special guests:

• Dr. Meirav Chen – granddaughter of Isaac Bashevis Singer

• Witold Dąbrowski – lead actor and deputy director of the Brama Grodzka – Teatr NN centre in Lublin

Tuesday | 25.11 | 16:00

University of Haifa, Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library, Room 146 (small auditorium)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Address: 199 Aba Khoushy Blvd, Mount Carmel, Haifa

Free entry | Event will be held in English.

Thursday | 27.11 | 19:00

Addres: Beit Shalom Aleichem, 2 Berkowitz St., Tel Aviv

Free entry – for registration

The event will be held in Hebrew.

* The film is in English with Hebrew subtitles

The film was created by Howard Rypp – actor, director, and founder of Nefesh Theatre in Tel Aviv. In 2018, during the eighth edition of the festival, Rypp staged a theatrical adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s story Gimpel the Fool.

The documentary is a personal record of that event and of Rypp’s journey across Poland. It features rare, previously unpublished footage, including appearances by Singer himself. It serves both as a contemporary travel diary of the filmmaker and his literary character Gimpel the Fool in Poland, and as a story of Singer’s escape from his homeland and his search for refuge in America.

Credits:

• Screenplay: Howard Weisman, Howard Rypp

• Production & Direction: Howard Rypp

• Cinematography: Łukasz Kanopa, Rami Katzav, Adam Weingrod, Masza Khylnova

• Editing: Katia Shepeliavaya

• Music:  Idan Itzhayak

*The event is in collaboration with Brama Grodzka – Teatr NN Lublin, Beit Shalom Aleichem, and the Interdisciplinary Unit for Polish Studies (HIUPS) at the University of Haifa.