Jacob the Liar - Virtual Screening and Panel Discussion

Jacob the Liar (Jakob der Lügner)

Director: Frank Beyer

Year: 1974

Origin: East Germany

Runtime: 101 minutes

Join us for a virtual panel discussion. All registrants will receive a link to watch the film a few days prior to the panel. 

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.

Join us for a virtual screening and panel discussion. Moderated by noted journalist/author Tom Teicholz, this 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. 

The Teicholz Holocaust Remembrance Film Series is made possible by the generous support of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Los Angeles, The Richenthal Foundation, The Rita and Leo Greenland Family Foundation, The Y&S Nazarian Family Foundation, and The Davidson-Hooker Fund.