MERLIN AND POLINA SHEPHERD represent two nations although their families come from very close geographical locations. At the end of the 19th Century, Merlin’s great-grandparents emigrated from Ukraine and Romania to escape pogroms and seek a better world in the west. Polina’s grandparents escaped from the Sho’ah (Holocaust) by fleeing from Kiev/Odessa to Siberia. The different and yet vital sustenance of his western Jewish upbringing and her eastern one have brought them to a unique closeness in musical, creative and spiritual terms.

The Yuri Morozov archive (Kiev) contains some of the earliest cinematic representations of east European Jewish communities and more. Black and White silent films as early as 1910 depict the Jews of Ukraine and their daily lives in both narrative and documentary forms. The films cover many aspects of Jewish interest, from Biblical times to modern life at the beginning of the Soviet Era. Many of these films have never been seen outside of Ukraine and some have not been screened for over 80 years.

Performing as Jewish musicians would have done in the early days of cinema, Merlin and Polina play Jewish music to accompany these silent films. Their playing acts as the perfect foil for these amazing historic documents. With their deep training, musical experience and by using tradition musical pieces and stylistically accurate new compositions, these films are magically brought back to life almost a century after their first screenings.

By transportation backwards in time with this historically accurate visual and aural experience, these two world class musicians bring their audiences forward to a deeper understanding of former and present day Yiddishkeit

brief synopsis of some of the films

articles about Sara's Grief and L'chaim from Sine-fono 1910 and 1913

For dates and more information check us out @ the UK Jewish Film Festival

Tour dates 2004

20th August, Klezfest Kiev, Ukraine
17th November, Screen-on-the-Hill, London, UK
14th November, MAC, Birmingham, UK
18th November, The Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK
28th November, Broadway Cinema, Nottingham, UK
5th December, Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton, UK
23th December, Makor, New York, USA
26-31th December, KlezKamp USA

2005

2th January, The National Yiddish Book Centre, Amherst, MA, USA
16th January, FACT Centre, Liverpool UK
23th January, Arts Picture House, Cambridge UK
31st January, Forum Cinema, Northampton UK

about Polina Shepherd

to see a short demo of the films, click here Sound&Light demo