CARPATI: 50 MILES, 50 YEARS focuses on Zev Godinger, a Jewish ice cream man of the Carpathian Mountains, a self-described “proste” (ordinary) Jew who embarks on a symbolic pilgrimage to his hometown.
In 1931 the Jewish community of mostly poor farmers in the Carpathian region (then Czechoslovakia, today Ukraine) numbered a quarter million. Today, there are fewer than 1,500. Zev lives in Beregovo, where he has special friendship with his Rom (Gypsy) neighbors. Through their exhilarating musical “jam” sessions they demonstrate the subtle interrelationships and influences between Gypsy and Jewish music.
Carpati captures the unique melodies and cadences created by communities in this region. Zev’s experiences and unique insights are representative of the rich Jewish culture that once thrived in the Carpathian Mountains. Moving and beautiful, this film, uncovers the last stronghold of Jewish life in this region once vibrant with a melting pot of thriving cultures.
From the makers of The Last Klezmer and Voices of the Shoah
Comes this powerful and beautiful film about a Jewish ice cream man living today in a small town in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine…
(There are many versions of the spelling of the area we call Carpati. Here are a few variations: carpathya, carpatia, carpatian, carpatica, carpatien mountains, carpatimel, carpatind, carpato, carpatski, carpatti, and carpaty.)
NARRATED by Leonard Nimoy!
SAMPLE the SOUNDTRACK — beautiful Klezmer & Gypsy (here’s a happy buyer.)
WHERE has the film already played?
LETTER FROM DIRECTOR Yale Strom, and the adventures of creating Carpati
What do the reviews say about Carpati?
LETTER FROM PRODUCER David Notowitz.
Official CREDITS.
For those aspiring filmmakers, some ADVICE.
For full website about NOTOWITZ PRODUCTIONS
“Carpati overflows with camaraderie and intoxicating music.”
—in a Los Angeles Times review by Kevin Thomas dated November 15, 1996.
You can buy it here
REVIEWS — Carpati is “irresistible”: NY Times, LA Times, NY Post, Variety, and more!
Festivals & Awards
* Official Selection, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, 1996.
Carpathian Mountains terrain view