Broken Barriers (Khavah) with “Live” Film Score

Long-thought lost and newly restored by The National Center for Jewish Film, Broken Barriers (Khavah) is back on the screen after 100 years! Originally released as Khavah and later renamed Broken Barriers, this 1919 silent film is the first American screen adaptation of the work of Sholem Aleichem (Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof). Born in Russia in 1859, Yiddish author Sholem Rabinovich, who wrote under the pen name of Sholem Aleichem, was the most read and revered Jewish writer of his time. This film focuses not on Tevye the milkman, but on his daughter Khavah, who falls in love with the gentile boy Fedka, sending reverberations through her family and community. The film’s substantive depiction of Jewish life is a rarity even among the precious few surviving early American films with Jewish content. This special one-time-only online screening features a brand new commissioned score by renowned musician Sascha Jacobsen who, along with his fellow musicians, will perform live along with the film in this can’t miss one-of-a-kind event. Co-presented with the SF Silent Film Festival. Tickets are $15.

Part of the Jewish Film Institute’s inaugural Cinegogue Summer Days event, a 4-day showcase of new Jewish film and culture, virtually and at the drive-in.