Scandal in Ivansk

Synopsis

In the small Polish town of Ivansk, one word ignites a nationwide controversy. Most of Ivansk’s Jews were killed by the Nazis, and the headstones in the Jewish cemetery were plundered for by locals for building materials. 70 years later, a group of descendants of Ivansk’s Jews came to restore the town’s cemetery, retrieving what headstones they could find. When they commission a plaque that includes the word “collaborator,” a national scandal is unleashed. In light of the recent showdown between Israel and Poland, this eye-opening documentary is offers an initiation into a discussion about Polish-Jewish relations, opposing narratives of history, the politics of “memory” and the importance of building bridges in today’s climate.

About the Director

David Blumenfeld is an American/Canadian/Israeli director and cinematographer living in Jerusalem since 2000. He directs and produces a monthly TV show for The Armstrong Williams Show, an American program that reaches 80 million households. In addition, other documentary films include: Circumcise ME: The Comedy of Yisrael Campbell and Streetball Hafla, and he has been a cinematographer on numerous programs from Vice, BBC, Discovery, 60 Minutes, New York Times Website, Wall Street Journal. He is available to travel with the film screenings and Q&A’s.

Artist’s Statement

The recent controversies in newspaper headlines between Israel and Poland is nothing new. If anything, the opposing narratives over the complex and sensitive issue of Polish-Jewish relations have pushed the two sides of this issue farther apart than ever.

My personal journey into the subject began by following a group of descendants from Ivansk, as they traveled back to Poland to restore the Jewish cemetery in the town that my grandfather came from, Ivansk. When I came across a dramatic testimony by the sole survivor from the town describing the day before the Nazis arrived, I knew I had to make this film. Aware of their impending fate, the Rabbi gathered the Jews to bury their holy Torah scrolls in the Jewish cemetery and remember what went on there. Little did I know that words etched onto a stone monument 70 years later would cause a front-page, nationwide scandal across Poland, and set me onto an odyssey exploring the subject of memory through the lens of Polish and Jewish relations.

I believe what happened in Ivansk is a microcosm of a much larger story of how people and nations sculpt memory in order to fit their identity as victim or hero. As decades of neglect were cut away in the overgrown cemetery, a barren field of missing tombstones was exposed, creating a cinematic metaphor for the revelation of long-hidden secrets on both sides of this story. As I spoke with both academics and local residents I discovered a complexity with many layers. Some preferred to leave their memories hidden underneath the brush, while others realized the need to reconcile with the past. As the witnesses to these times disappear on a daily basis, this is the time to open a discussion, and build bridges. Recent news headlines have brought this battle over collective memory in Poland into the forefront and Scandal in Ivansk offers an entry into discourse over an explosive topic confronting Poland, Europe and the world today.

Film Festivals

Toronto Jewish Film Festival – 2017
Jewish Motif Festival, Warsaw Poland – 2017
Nashville Jewish Film Festival – 2017
Southampton Jewish Film Festival – 2018
Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival – 2018
Columbia Jewish Film Festival – 2018
Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival – 2019