A film distributor has acquired world rights to director Gidi Dar’s latest feature film, The Wedding Entertainer (The Story of Moishe Badan), ahead of its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The comedy-drama, which premieres June 4 in Tribeca, stars Shri Rand, Elon Gold, and Malki Goldman. Dahl will be attending the premiere along with the rest of the cast.
The film follows Moishe, once a famous entertainer at Jerusalem’s lavish Hasidic weddings, but whose career collapses due to alcoholism. According to the official synopsis: “Now penniless and on the rise, Moishe must make one last expensive engagement to finance his daughter’s wedding. This desperate mission causes his old world pride to collide with modern reality and liquidate the very ambitions that once destroyed him.”
“When Ushpizin premiered at Tribeca 21 years ago, it was a leap forward for the festival to present the story of the Hasidic world to an international audience,” said Film Sales Company President Andrew Hurwitz. “Thanks to the global reception of that film and the recent success of many series such as “Shtisel” and “Fauda,” we are confident that audiences will be eager to see this new film.”
Dahl explained that the film is rooted in the classic Hasidic storytelling tradition, drawing inspiration from figures like Sholem Aleichem and Isaac Bashevis Singer. “This is humor rooted in warmth, with a healthy dose of irony, and based on relatable, deeply human situations and dilemmas,” he said, noting that the project is an homage to filmmakers such as Ernst Lubitsch and Billy Wilder.
The film, based on a story written by Rand and co-created with Darr, is being shown in Hebrew, Yiddish and English. Producers include Aviv Ben Thrash, Daniel Finkelman, Chaya Amor and Dahl, and executive producers include Charles-Edouard Gros, Shlomo Boehm, Gold and Jonathan Gordon.
