Jewish life has existed in Sweden since the second half of the 18th century. The local communities today number around 20,000 members and, since 2002, Yiddish – alongside Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani-Chib, and Sami – has been officially recognised as a minority language and has been undergoing a renaissance ever since. Released under the title “Harry Potter un der Filosofisher Shteyn“, a Harry Potter film has even appeared here in Yiddish.
Comedians Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion weave together stories and anecdotes ranging from Yiddish-language theatre to the difficulty of obtaining kosher meat in Sweden due to strict animal welfare laws. Their approach is the same as in their previous portraits of everyday Jewish life in Montréal, New York, London, Detroit, Toronto, Houston, and Krakow. Taking to the streets in search of stories, they move between daily life and institutions, historical landmarks and food courts, and speak with rabbis, historians, and young people, discovering the diverse ways in which tradition is adapted, and Jewish identity interpreted, across culture, politics, and religion.
According to Batalion, humour is the main focus:
Dabei steht, so Batalion, Humor im Vordergrund:
“Our goal has been to use comedy as a Trojan horse of bridge-building within and beyond the Jewish community. And so we’ve never tried to be political. In fact, part of our brand is to find the comedy in debate, and that’s what you see in our characters […] Our hope is that we represent the nuance of what the average Jew is thinking.”
The result is a gently crafted portrait of contemporary Jewish life, which, it should be noted, was filmed before 7 October 2023—after which Sweden, and Malmö in particular—where, incidentally, the first Jewish Film Festival took place from 18–20 April 2026—made headlines due to antisemitic incidents.
Text: Bernd Buder