Village of Idiots
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Village of Idiots | |
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Directed by | |
Written by | John Lazarus |
Produced by | National Film Board of Canada |
Narrated by | Nicholas Rice |
Release date |
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Running time | 13 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Village of Idiots is a short animated comedy based on the classic humorous Jewish folk tales of Chełm, directed and animated by and , written by John Lazarus, and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).[1] Fedorenko is the Academy Award-winning animator of the 1979 NFB short Every Child.
Summary[]
“Outsiders call Chelm the village of idiots," Shmendrick explains, "but our rabbi said we were a city of natural geniuses, with our own way of figuring things out.”
With muted, mesmerizing illustrations and heavy accordion-based music, the film follows Shmendrick as he sets out on a journey away from home for the first time. But along his journey from Chełm to Warsaw, He decides to have a rest. He then eats some food that he brought with him and then has a sleep. Afterwards, Shmendrick awakens and continues his journey. But as he travels, he comes upon a city that is eerily similar to the one he left behind. The rest of us might think Shmendrik just took a wrong turn and ended up back home, but for Shmendrik, this discovery sheds light on holy teachings: “the Talmud tells us that the world is everywhere the same," he recalls.
Awards[]
Village of Idiots has won eight awards:
- Best Animated Short film at the Genie Awards
- Two directing awards at the Montreal World Film Festival
- Won Animation at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival
- Centaur Award at the St. Petersburg Message to Man Film Festival
- Best Animated Film at the Vancouver International Film Festival
- Won an award from the Writers Guild of Canada
- Second prize at the Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films
It was also included in the Animation show of shows.
See also[]
- The Witch from Melchet Street
- A Story about a Bad Dream
- Alan and Naomi
References[]
- ^ "Village of Idiots". National Film Board of Canada Web site. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
External links[]
- Village of Idiots at IMDb
- Watch Village of Idiots at the National Film Board of Canada
- 1999 films
- English-language films
- 1999 animated films
- 1999 short films
- 1990s animated short films
- Films about Jews and Judaism
- Films based on folklore
- Canadian animated short films
- Best Animated Short Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
- Jewish comedy and humor
- National Film Board of Canada animated short films
- Canadian films
- Quebec films
- Short animated film stubs