{{distinguish|Shtetl (film){{!}}''Shtetl'' (film)}} {{Infobox film | name = Shttl | image = SHTTL Provisional Poster.webp | caption = | director = Ady Walter | producer = Jean-Charles Lévy<br>Yuriy Artemenko<br>Ryta Grebenchikova<br>Olias Barco | story = | writer = Ady Walter<br>Samuel Fischler | starring = Moshe Lobel<br>Saul Rubinek<br>Anisia Stasevich<br>Petro Ninovskyi<br>Antoine Millet | music = David Federmann | cinematography = Volodymyr Ivanov | editing = Jérémie Bole du Chaumont | studio = {{plainlist| *Ukrainian Producers Hub *Apple Tree Vision *Forecast Pictures }} | distributor = Menemsha Films (USA) | released = {{Film date|2022|10|13|BFI|2023|10|26|Ukraine|2023|12|13|France|df=y}} | runtime = 114 minutes | country = Ukraine<br>France | language = Yiddish<br>Ukrainian | budget = | gross = }} '''''Shttl''''' ({{langx|yi|שטטל}}, {{langx|uk|«Шттл»}}) is a 2022 Ukrainian–French one-shot drama film written and directed by Ady Walter and starring Moshe Lobel and Saul Rubinek.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kirshner |first=Sheldon |date=January 11, 2023 |title=Shttl Resurrects A Vanished World |newspaper=The Times of Israel |url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/shttl-resurrects-a-vanished-world/ |accessdate=July 6, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Liphshiz |first=Cnaaan |date=August 11, 2021 |title=Filmmakers constructed an acre-sized shtetl for a Ukrainian WWII film. Now they want to preserve it as a museum. |url=https://www.jta.org/2021/08/11/global/filmmakers-constructed-an-acre-sized-shtetl-for-a-ukrainian-wwii-film-now-they-want-to-preserve-it-as-a-museum |accessdate=July 6, 2023 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lipshiz |first=Cnaan |date=August 11, 2021 |title=Acre-sized shtetl for Ukrainian WWII film to become a museum |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/acre-sized-shtetl-for-ukrainian-wwii-film-to-become-a-museum-676437 |accessdate=July 6, 2023}}</ref> The film depicts the lives of a Jewish shtetl on the eve of Operation Barbarossa. It was filmed in Ukraine six months before the 2022 Russian invasion.<ref name=":1" />
''Shttl'' premiered at the 2022 London Film Festival,<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Levitt |first=Barry |date=2022-10-18 |title=SHTTL Review: A Towering, Single-Take Masterpiece Of The Lives We've Lost [London Film Festival] |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1059004/shttl-reivew-a-towering-single-take-masterpiece-of-the-lives-weve-lost-london-film-festival/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=/Film |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=SHTTL |url=https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/article/shttl |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=BFI London Film Festival 2022 |language=en}}{{dead link|date=October 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and won the Audience Award one week later at the Rome Film Festival.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Winners of the Rome Film Fest 2022 – Fondazione Cinema per Roma |date=22 October 2022 |url=https://www.romacinemafest.it/en/winners-2022/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |language=en-US}}</ref>
The missing 'e' in the title (normally spelled "shtetl") is a reference to Georges Perec's La disparition, a 1969 novel which doesn't contain the letter. The missing 'e', in French pronounced the same way as "eux" (they), represents, according to Walter, their absence, the void left behind in the Shoah; Perec's father died in the war, and his mother was killed in Auschwitz.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Wiseman |first=Andreas |date=2022-12-16 |title=Ukraine-Shot Shoah Feature 'Shttl' Boarded By Upgrade Productions |url=https://deadline.com/2022/12/ukraine-shot-shoah-movie-shttl-upgrade-productions-1235200889/ |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>
On September 8, 2023, it was announced that ''Shttl'' is on the shortlist to represent Ukraine for the 96th Academy Awards.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-07 |title=Shortlist for Ukraine's Oscars submissions announced |url=https://kyivindependent.com/shortlist-for-ukrainian-oscars-submissions-announced/ |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=The Kyiv Independent |language=en}}</ref>
The film received two Golden Dzyga nominations by the Ukrainian Film Academy for its cinematography and production design.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Оголошено список номінантів на VIII Національну Кінопремію "Золота Дзиґа" {{!}} Новини |url=https://uafilmacademy.org/news/ogolosheno-spisok-nominantiv-na-viii-natsionalnu-kinopremiju-zolota-dziga.html |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Українська Кіноакадемія |language=uk}}</ref>
== Plot == Mendele, an aspiring filmmaker, has left his Hasidic community and joined the Red Army. On June 21, 1941, he returns to his shtetl in Western Ukraine, along with his Ukrainian best friend, Demyan. They plan to run away with the Rebbe's daughter, Yuna. However, she is already set to marry Folie, a zealous Hasid hoping to succeed the Rebbe as leader of the shtetl.
The Soviet Union has already been infiltrating the shtetl, indoctrinating the community with Soviet propaganda, and threatening the Jewish way of life. The conflict of contemporary ideologies is inflamed by Mendele's presence, as he speaks with old friends and intervenes in local matters.
Meanwhile, just across the border with Poland, Nazi Germany is preparing for their imminent invasion of the Soviet Union.
==Cast== *Moshe Lobel as Mendele *Anisia Stasevich as Yuna *Petro Ninovskyi as Demyan *Saul Rubinek as Rebbe Weitsenzang *Antoine Millet as Folie *Daniel Kenigsberg as Shloime *Emily Karpel as Beilke *Oleksandr Yeremenko as Menachem *Lili Rosen as Zishe *Yurko Kritenko as Shmulke *Philipp Mogilnitskiy as Noach *Yevheniya Miakenka as Woman 1 *Valeria Shpak as Woman 2 *Sharon Azrieli as Dina
==Production== In March, 2021, the Ukrainian press announced plans to film ''Shttl,'' a co-production between Ukrainian, French and Belgian producers, with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-11 |title=В Україні готуються знімати фільм "Шттл" в копродукції з Францією і Бельгією |url=https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-culture/3206506-v-ukraini-gotuutsa-znimati-film-sttl-v-koprodukcii-z-francieu-i-belgieu.html |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=www.ukrinform.ua |language=uk}}</ref>
Production designer Ivan Levchenko and art director Iuliia Antykova constructed a village 60 kilometers from Kyiv. The crew built 25 buildings, including one of the largest hand-painted synagogues in the world, and collected historical artifacts from all over Ukraine to fill the sets.<ref name=":1" />
Cinematographer Volodymyr Ivanov filmed a series of long shots, which were then edited by Jérémie Bole du Chaumont to have the appearance of one continuous shot. Most of the film was shot in black-and-white, with flashbacks done in color.<ref name=":02" />
On September 1, 2021, ''Deadline Hollywood'' reported that principal photography on the film had wrapped.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last=Tartaglione|first=Nancy|title='SHTTL': Single-Shot Shoah Feature With Saul Rubinek Wraps In Ukraine; Sets To Be Maintained As Open-Air Museum|date=September 1, 2021|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/shttl-film-shoah-saul-rubinek-museum-ukraine-1234824978/|accessdate=July 6, 2023}}</ref> The set was to be turned into a museum, but now remains inaccessible due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref name=":2" />
== Music == {{Album infobox soundtrack | name = SHTTL (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | type = soundtrack | artist = David Federmann | cover = SHTTL soundtrack cover.webp | released = December 13, 2023 | genre = film score, classical, jazz, klezmer, nusach | length = 69 minutes | misc = }} The film's score was composed and conducted by David Federmann, combining elements of jazz, classical and klezmer with modern cinematic music. The soundtrack also features traditional Yiddish songs, as well as Sabbath prayer in Hebrew and Aramaic.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=DAVID FEDERMANN {{!}} SHTTL |url=https://www.davidfedermann.com/shttl |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=David Federmann |language=fr}}</ref>
The music was recorded in Paris, Kyiv, Brussels and Montreal, with over 20 musicians, as well as Ukrainian and French choirs.<ref name=":0" />
The album was released on December 13, 2023.<ref name=":0" />
==Release== ''Shttl'' premiered October 16, 2022 at the London Film Festival,<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":3" /> and won the Audience Award one week later at the Rome Film Festival. The American premiere was at the New York Jewish Film Festival on January 16, 2023.<ref>{{cite web|last=Baxter|first=Velvl|title=Yiddish film offers authentic recreation of shtetl life before it was destroyed|date=January 10, 2023|website=The Forward|url=https://forward.com/forverts-in-english/531274/yiddish-film-offers-authentic-recreation-of-shtetl-life-before-it-was-destroyed/|accessdate=July 6, 2023}}</ref><ref name=":2" />
The film was released in cinemas in Ukraine on October 26, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=В Україні 26 жовтня вийде у прокат стрічка SHTTL/ШТТЛ |url=https://espreso.tv/stala-vidoma-data-premeri-franko-ukrainskoi-strichki-shttl-shttl-v-kinoteatrakh-ukraini |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=espreso.tv |language=uk}}</ref>
It opened in France on December 13, 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Urban Distribution |url=https://www.urbandistribution.fr/films/shttl/ |access-date=2023-09-18 |language=fr-FR}}</ref> where it continued its theatrical run for fourteen consecutive weeks.<ref>{{Citation |last=AlloCine |title=Séances SHTTL |url=https://www.allocine.fr/seance/film-314887/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |language=fr}}</ref>
A limited North American release began on October 3, 2025 in New York, where it has run for 27 weeks to date – breaking the record for the longest running film at New Plaza Cinema.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-11 |title=INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE: SHTTL - Only in Theaters Movie |url=https://onlyintheaters.com/inside-the-arthouse-shttl/ |access-date=2026-03-12 |website=onlyintheaters.com |language=en-US}}</ref> It opened in Los Angeles at Laemmle Theatres on November 28, before expanding to additional cinemas across the U.S. and Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SHTTL {{!}} Menemsha Films |url=https://www.menemshafilms.com/shttl |access-date=2025-10-17 |website=menemsha |language=en}}</ref>
==Reception==
=== Critical response === Barry Levitt of ''/Film'' rated the film a 10 out of 10, calling it "a towering, single-take masterpiece of the lives we've lost."<ref name=":02" />
Joshua Polanski of Boston Hassle gave the film a positive review and wrote, "''Shttl'' is unlike anything you've seen... I doubt there is another film with quite the same ''chutzpah''."<ref>{{cite web|last=Polanski|first=Joshua|title=REVIEW: SHTTL (2022) DIR. ADY WALTER|date=May 12, 2023|website=Boston Hassle|url=https://bostonhassle.com/review-shttl-2022-dir-ady-walter/|accessdate=July 6, 2023}}</ref>
International critics received the film with enthusiasm, calling ''Shttl'' "a hypnotic masterpiece from an exciting new voice."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Itkonen |first1=Joonatan |title=LFF 2022 Review: SHTTL |url=https://toisto.net/lff-2022-review-shttl/ |website=Tosto.net}}</ref>
Lobel received praise from critics for his breakout performance, who called it "masterful"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zeitlin |first=Alan |date=2025-10-31 |title=New Yiddish movie 'Shttl' is a cinematic triumph that rebuilds a lost Jewish world: review |url=https://unpacked.media/new-yiddish-movie-shttl-is-a-cinematic-triumph-that-rebuilds-a-lost-jewish-world-review/ |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=Unpacked |language=en-US}}</ref> and "captivating."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-16 |title=NYJFF 2023 capsule review: 'SHTTL' is already one of the year's best films. - Reel News Daily |url=https://reelnewsdaily.com/2023/01/16/nyjff-2023-capsule-review-shttl-is-already-one-of-the-years-best-films/ |access-date=2025-12-10 |language=en-US}}</ref> French newspaper Le Figaro writes, "In the role of Mendele, American actor Moshe Lobel is mesmerizing. With remarkable sensitivity, he embodies a man caught between two violently opposing worlds.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beck |first=Valérie |date=2023-12-12 |title=Notre critique du film Shttl: l'horreur d'hier ravivée |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/cinema/notre-critique-du-film-shttl-l-horreur-d-hier-ravivee-20231212 |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=Le Figaro |language=fr}}</ref>
=== Festivals and accolades === {| class="wikitable" |+Partial list of international film festivals and awards for ''Shttl'' !Year !Country !Festival !Awards !ref. |- | rowspan="2" |2022 |United Kingdom |BFI London Film Festival | |<ref name=":3" /> |- |Italy |Rome Film Festival |{{Won|Winner}}: Audience Award |<ref name=":4" /> |- | rowspan="15" |2023 |United States |New York Jewish Film Festival | |<ref name=":2" /> |- |France |Festival Diasporama |{{Won|Winner}}: Audience Award |<ref>{{Cite web |title=[Festival Diasporama]... – FSJU – Centre d'Art et de Culture |url=https://www.facebook.com/espace.rachi/posts/festival-diasporama-en-direct-de-la-c%C3%A9r%C3%A9monie-de-remise-des-prix-du-festival-dia/691329396017120/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=www.facebook.com |language=en}}</ref> |- |United States |Atlanta Jewish Film Festival |{{Won|Jury Prize}}: Emerging Filmmaker |<ref>{{Cite web |title=AJFF |url=https://ajff.org/festival-series/2023-annual-festival/article/2023-jury-winners |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=ajff.org}}</ref> |- |United States |Cleveland International Film Festival |{{Won|Jury Prize}}: Honorable Mention |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Awards & Competitions {{!}} CIFF 47 |url=https://www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/awards-winners-ciff47 |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=CIFF |language=en}}</ref> |- |Canada |Toronto Jewish Film Festival | |<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-06-01 |title=Better call Saul Rubinek, man of a hundred stories |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-better-call-saul-rubinek-man-of-a-hundred-stories/ |access-date=2023-08-17}}</ref> |- |China |Shanghai International Film Festival | |<ref>{{Cite web |title=WORLD DEBUT |url=https://www.siff.com/english/content?aid=101230508113150425219834289065989774 |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=www.siff.com}}</ref> |- |Germany |Berlin Jewish Film Festival |{{Won|Jury Prize}}: Best Feature Film |<ref>{{Cite web |last=K.d.ö.R |first=Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland |date=2023-06-16 |title=Preisregen beim Jüdischen Filmfest Berlin Brandenburg |url=https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/kultur/preisregen-beim-juedischen-filmfest-berlin-brandenburg/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=Jüdische Allgemeine |language=de}}</ref> |- |Italy |Taormina Film Fest | |<ref>{{Cite web |last=DEON |first=BRYNN |date=2023-06-12 |title=Amber Heard Starring 'In the Fire' Will Premiere At The 69th Taormina Film Festival |url=https://maxblizz.com/amber-heard-starring-in-the-fire-will-premiere-at-the-69th-taormina-film-festival/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=Maxblizz |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |Ukraine |Odesa International Film Festival | |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Odessa Journal {{!}} Main |url=https://odessa-journal.com/oiff-2023-presents-a-block-of-special-screenings-festival-of-festivals |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=odessa-journal.com}}</ref> |- |Slovakia |International Film Festival Cinematik | |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aktuality.sk |date=2023-08-14 |title=Víťazné filmy z festivalov v Cannes aj Karlových Varoch premietne Cinematik v slovenských premiérach |url=https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/7Jrn48N/vitazne-filmy-z-festivalov-v-cannes-aj-karlovych-varoch-premietne-cinematik-v-slovenskych-premierach/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=Aktuality.sk |language=sk}}</ref> |- |Poland |Warsaw Jewish Film Festival | |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shttl |url=https://wjff.pl/en/film/shttl/ |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=wjff.pl}}</ref> |- |Australia |Jewish International Film Festival |{{Won|Winner}}: Audience Award |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jewish International Film Festival |url=https://www.jiff.com.au/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=www.jiff.com.au}}</ref> |- |United States |Centre Film Festival |{{Won|Jury Prize}}: Gratitude Award |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Awards 2023 |url=https://centrefilm.org/awards-2023/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=Centre Film Festival |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |Hong Kong |Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival |{{Won|Winner}}: Best First Feature |<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023-HKJFF-Home-Audience Awards |url=https://hkjff.org/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=HKJFF |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |Poland |Camerimage | |<ref>{{Cite web |title=SHTTL – EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2023 |url=https://camerimage.pl/en/wydarzenie/shttl/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=camerimage.pl}}</ref> |- | rowspan="3" |2024 |Croatia |Festival of Tolerance | |<ref>{{Cite web |title=SHTTL |url=https://festivaloftolerance.com/event/shttl |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=festivaloftolerance.com}}</ref> |- | rowspan="2" |Ukraine | rowspan="2" |Ukrainian Academy Award |{{Nom}}: Best Cinematography |<ref name=":5" /> |- |{{Nom}}: Best Production Design |<ref name=":5" /> |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|15289502}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes|shttl}} * [https://www.shttl.info ''Official website'']
Category:2022 films Category:2022 black-and-white films Category:2022 war drama films Category:Yiddish-language films Category:2020s Ukrainian-language films Category:Films about Jews and Judaism Category:Holocaust films Category:French war drama films Category:Ukrainian historical drama films Category:Ukrainian war drama films Category:Ukrainian World War II films Category:Ukrainian black-and-white films Category:French black-and-white films Category:Films set in Ukraine Category:Films shot in Ukraine Category:2020s historical drama films Category:2022 historical films Category:French World War II films Category:Films about religion Category:Films set in 1941 Category:Films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era Category:One-shot films Category:2022 Ukrainian films