Underplayed Gems

When Jews Were Funny (2013)

When Jews Were Funny poster
Directed by
Alan Zweig
Genre
documentary film
Country
Canada
Runtime
1h 29m
Rated
18A
Rating
6.5 of 10 from 11 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A filmmaker interviews Jewish comedians about humor and cultural identity. He questions if past generations of Jews were funnier than today and reflects on his own connection to a changing culture.

thoughtfulnostalgicconversationalreflectivepersonallightheartedearnestprobing

What happens

When Jews Were Funny is a 2013 Canadian documentary comedy film, directed by Alan Zweig. It was produced by Jesse Ikeman and Jeff Glickman for Sudden Storm Entertainment. The film features two dozen interviews with a variety of Jewish comedy professionals in North America and explores the role of Jewish humour in the context of North American comedy. The filmmaker asks whether earlier generations of Jews were funnier than the present generation and, if so, why. The film becomes more personal as its focus shifts to the filmmaker's desire to reconnect with a culture that has changed. The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on 10 September. It won TIFF's award for the best Canadian feature film and was named on TIFF's year-end Canada's Top Ten list. The film had a limited theatrical release on 15 November 2013. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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