City of Joel (2018)

Directed by

Jesse Sweet

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States of America

Runtime

1h 30m

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A documentary about the Satmar Hasidic community in Kiryas Joel, New York. It examines the conflict between the Yiddish-speaking residents and their neighbors over a land annexation plan. The film shows both sides' arguments without taking sides.

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What happens

City of Joel is a 2018 documentary film exploring tensions in the town of Kiryas Joel, where over 20,000 Yiddish-speaking Satmar Hasidim live. Tensions center on the Hasidic residents' desire to annex the land adjacent to their community to allow for their community's future growth. In the film, the Hasidic stance toward the local opposition is one marked by suspicion of local antisemitism, insisting their case is one of constitutional rights to practice their religion. The documentary was directed by filmmaker Jesse Sweet. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• One of Us (2010)
• A Life Apart (1997)
• In Satmar Custody (2003)
• Kosher Love (2017)
• The Return: A Hasidic Experience
• Leaving the Fold (2000)
• The Rabbi Goes West (2019)