Film Talk
Bringing History to Life as Never Before: an inside look at the award-winning film Among Neighbors
Among Neighbors filmmaker Yoav Potash in conversation with Deborah Kaufman
Jewish Arts and Bookfest
Sunday, May 3, 2026
at UC Berkeley’s Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA
In the film Among Neighbors, hand-drawn animation brings the past to life to depict the accounts of a Holocaust survivor and an eyewitness to the post-war murder of Jews in Poland. The San Francisco Chronicle called the film “remarkable,” while the Jewish Journal dubbed it “masterful.” But by revealing Poland’s darkest secret, the film itself has become the target of attacks by ultra-nationalists in Poland, who have sought to ban the film. Join Among Neighbors filmmaker Yoav Potash in conversation with Deborah Kaufman, filmmaker and founder of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, as they discuss the unique artistry and politics of this groundbreaking film.
About Yoav Potash
Yoav Potash is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. He produced and directed the Sundance premiere documentary Crime After Crime, a New York Times Critics’ Pick which won two dozen awards and helped change domestic violence law in multiple US states. Crime After Crime is now streaming on Amazon Prime. Yoav also directed the San Francisco IndieFest Jury Prize-winning documentary Food Stamped, and his film A Great Big Secret was one of only two short films to screen at Lincoln Center as part of the 2025 New York Jewish Film Festival. Yoav is an alumnus of UC Berkeley, where he received the university’s top prize in creative writing. Today he joins us to discuss the making of Among Neighbors, a breathtaking film in which the accounts of a Holocaust survivor and an eyewitness to the murder of Jews in postwar Poland come to life through stunning hand-drawn animation. The film has won 14 awards to date, and the office of Poland’s ultra-nationalist president has attempted to ban the film.
Watch a full screening of Among Neighbors at Rialto Cinemas in El Cerrito.
Thursday, April 16 at 6:30 pm
Rialto Cinemas El Cerrito
10070 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito
About the Film: Among Neighbors
Decades after the Holocaust, award-winning American filmmaker Yoav Potash (Crime After Crime, Sundance Film Festival) unearths the haunting mysteries of a small Polish town where people of two different faiths lived side by side for centuries.
At its heart, the film focuses on two individuals who lived through the peril of World War II and its aftermath: Yaacov Goldstein, a Holocaust survivor whose harrowing story exposes both the heights of human compassion and the depths of cruelty and Pelagia Radecka, an eyewitness to when five Jews were murdered, not by the Nazis but by her own Polish neighbors, six months after the end of World War II.
Breaking decades of silence for this film, they share secrets they have held for a lifetime, and their experiences are brought to life in stunning animated sequences, enriched by artful touches of magical realism. Together, their accounts illuminate the darkest chapter of Poland’s history.
As attempts to rewrite this history in favor of a more politically convenient narrative gain momentum, Among Neighbors offers a powerful counterpoint. Revealing a tale of love and murder spanning seven decades, the film boldly asserts that true patriotism lies in facing history honestly, no matter how painful the truths may be. As life imitates art, political extremists and historical revisionists in Poland, including its president, have now called for the film itself to be banned.
About Deborah Kaufman
Deborah Kaufman’s films include Town Destroyer, the award-winning Company Town, Between Two Worlds, Thirst, Secrets of Silicon Valley, and Blacks and Jews. She founded and for 13 years was Director of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the first and largest independent Jewish film showcase in the world. Kaufman has been a Board member of the California Council for the Humanities, the New Israel Fund, and Amnesty International USA. She has been a consultant, programmer, lecturer, and activist with a variety of human rights, multicultural and media arts organizations. Kaufman is a graduate of University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and a member of the California Bar. She is member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.