Kurt Weill

Documentary. German, English, French and Italian, English subtitles; 97 min.
The well-known Jewish composer Kurt Weill was born in Dessau in 1900. His father was a cantor and his mother had rabbinical roots. After establishing himself with several satirical and surrealistic operas, he became famous with playwright Bertold Brecht through such works as The Three-Penny Opera. With Hitler's rise to power, his works were classified as degenerate. In 1933, Weill left Germany for France, however after a short stay there he emigrated to the US together with actress Lotte Lenya. In the US he was influenced by popular music and jazz, he met several of the outstanding figures of the Broadway stage and began to write musicals that enjoyed tremendous popularity. All the while, he never stopped writing operas and classical music. In 1946, four years before his death, he composed the Jewish prayer 'Kiddush,' dedicated to his father.
100 years after Kurt Weill's birth, young Dessau-born filmmaker Sven Dufer cinematically reconstructs the biography of this outstanding composer, successfully utilizing archival footage, interviews with individuals who knew him and artists who preformed his compositions: Milva, Blixa Bargeld, Kathrin Angerer, Udo Lindenberg. Among the lesser known facts contained in this film is that Weill's parents emigrated in the 40s to Palestine and he himself visited them here. During his visit he was requested by President Chaim Weizmann to orchestrate 'Hatikva'.