Virtual Friday Night Films at the Wende: Jacob the Liar

Presented as part of the Teicholz Holocaust Remembrance Film Series:

In a Jewish ghetto in German-occupied Poland in 1944, Jacob Heym is summoned to the police station. While there, Jacob overhears on the radio that “the Russians are twenty kilometers from Bezanika.” The next day he tells this to a despondent friend who is about to commit suicide and the news renews his hope in salvation. As no one would believe the true story, Jacob pretends to have a radio; as no one in the ghetto is allowed to have a radio, however, all are eager to hear news from the outside world and constantly ask Jacob for updates on the advance of the Soviets. Jacob creates fictional reports to help alleviate the unbearable hopelessness of those around him, but his lies cannot stop the machinery that brings death to all the ghetto inhabitants. A bittersweet comedy loaded with human quirks and nuance based on the book by Jurek Becker. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1977, the story was remade in Hollywood starring Robin Williams in 1999.

The Holocaust Museum Los Angeles is presenting a virtual screening and panel discussion on Thursday, July 29, moderated by noted journalist and author Tom Teicholz. The panel will feature Holli Levitsky, Director of the Jewish Studies Program and Professor of English at Loyola Marymount University, Marina Ivanova, Associate Professor of German Film and Media & Academic Director of the DEFA Film Library, and Jon Kean, writer and director of Swimming in Auschwitz. This program is presented in partnership with the Wende Museum.

Click HERE to register and receive a link to the virtual screening room.

Available to stream for free on Kanopy.

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Virtual Film Picks are inspired by the in-person Friday Night Films at the Wende program series. This selection is part of a curated list of weekly movie suggestions that can be watched at home, in conjunction with #WendeOnline.