Closing Gala of 22nd WJFF: "Among Neighbors" World Premiere

Animacja "Wśród sąsiadów". Kobieta leci na skrzydłach nad kamieniami.

Chłopiec ma złączone dłonie jak do modlitwy,

Kadr z filmu "Wśród sąsiadów". Starszy mężczyzna jedzie samochodem jako pasażer.

Combining evocative hand-drawn animation with revelatory interviews and verité footage, "Among Neighbors" examines Jewish-Polish relations through the story of Gniewoszów, a small, rural town where Jews and Polish Catholics lived side by side for centuries.

Sunday, 10 November, 2024 at 7PM, BUY A TICKET →
POLIN Museum`s Auditorium
Trailer →

"Among Neighbors", dir. Yoav Potash, USA / Poland, 2024, 99’, documentary feature film, WORLD PREMIERE, COMPETITION

Today, all signs of Jewish life in the small town of Gniewoszów have vanished — even the Jewish tombstones disappeared, having been stolen from the destroyed cemetery. Now, a lifetime after the Holocaust, award-winning American filmmaker Yoav Potash ("Crime After Crime," Sundance Film Festival) unearths the deepest mysteries of this town, revealing both the love and the hatred that local Poles felt for their Jewish neighbors. The town's oldest residents, in the twilight of their days, divulge secrets held their entire lives, and their stories come to life in stunning animated scenes, accented by artful touches of magical realism.

Ultimately, their collective, heartfelt account lays bare the manner in which ordinary Polish townsfolk made life and death choices about their Jewish neighbors, with decisions that reflect both the very best and the very worst of human nature. At its core, the film zeroes in on the last living Holocaust survivor from the town, and an aging eyewitness who saw Jews murdered there — not by Nazis, but by her own Polish neighbors.

As this history is now questioned and whitewashed in favor of a more "patriotic" and politically popular narrative, "Among Neighbors" shows how true patriotism means embracing the truth, no matter how painful it may be.

WINNER — Jewish Film Institute Envision Award

After the screening of the film we invite you to a meeting with special guests, including the film's director Yoav Potash, producer Anita Friedman, and its protagonists.

Full information on the filmmakers →

Yoav Potash is an award-winning writer, director, and producer. He produced and directed the Sundance premiere documentary "Crime After Crime," a New York Times Critics' Pick and winner of 25 honors, including a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the National Board of Review Freedom of Expression Award, and six audience awards. The documentary had a national primetime broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network, then streamed on Netflix for two years and is now available on Amazon Prime. The film and its engagement campaign helped change domestic violence law in multiple US states, including New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California. Yoav also directed the San Francisco IndieFest Jury Prize-winning documentary "Food Stamped," which was nationally broadcast on Pivot, Participant Media's cable/satellite network. Yoav is an alumnus of UC Berkeley, where he received the university's top prize in creative writing. With the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Yoav is also producing and directing "Diary from the Ashes," a documentary about the diary of Rywka Lipszyc, an imaginative teenage girl whose handwritten notebook was written in the Łódź ghetto and found in the ruins of Auschwitz.

Dr Anita Friedman Dr. Anita Friedman serves as a Chairwoman of the Koret Foundation. Professionally, Dr. Friedman heads Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the largest and oldest family service institutions in the United States. As a speaker, lecturer, and author, Dr. Friedman’s expertise includes social policy and programming for diverse populations, from children and youth to families and the aged; the financing of health and human services; and the development of innovative business and social enterprise models. Dr. Friedman is also an expert on Holocaust.

Dr. Friedman also serves as a trustee on the boards of the American Friends of POLIN Museum, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the University of Southern California’s Shoah Foundation, and the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture.

Additional information:

Language: English, Polish
Subtitles: Polish, English
Rating: 16+
Festivals and awards:
- Santa Barbara International Film Festival
- Toronto Jewish Film Festival
- San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
- Docaviv, Berlin Jewish Film Festival – The Best Documentary

Closing Gala of 22nd WJFF: "Among Neighbors" World Premiere

22nd Warsaw Jewish Film Festival

22nd WJFF: "A Real Pain" – film premiere

22nd WJFF: "Treasure" – film show

22nd WJFF: "My Father’s Castle" – film show

22nd WJFF: "Post-Jewish" – a discussion

22nd WJFF: "Seven Blessings" – film show

22nd WJFF: "Shoshana" – film show

22nd WJFF: "All About the Levkoviches” – film show

22nd WJFF: "Vishniac" – film show