Nikolai "Kolya" Borodulin
Workman's Circle/Arbiter Ring
Nikolai “Kolya” Borodulin directs educational programs for Yiddish students of all ages at The Workmen's Circle/Arbiter Ring. He is a recognized scholar and published author in several Slavic, Germanic, and Jewish languages. He has lectured extensively and developed and taught a wide range of courses for Yiddish and Jewish programs and conferences in universities and cultural institutions throughout the U.S., Canada, and Russia. He has supervised and conducted specialized reference library cataloging and research collection work in print publications and performng arts media preservation, especially in the areas of Yiddish culture and Russian and Slavic Judaica. His educational background includes a Master's from Columbia University in Yiddish, and a Bachelor's in Education for English and German languages.
Lehayim!
Jews and drinking in Yiddish film, folklore and song
- Saturday 11:55PM–1:10AM Festival Room
Arts and Performance, Global History and Culture
Traditional Yiddish folklore is filled with scenes of drinking—for one example, Ignacy Bernstein’s classic Yiddish Proverbs anthologizes no fewer than eighteen pieces of folk wisdom on the subject. This presentation will discuss how drink has been presented in Yiddish film and song, with examples ranging from the curious to the uproarious to the devastating. A free wine tasting is offered as part of the program.
Yiddish Games for the Entire Family
- Sunday 1:20PM–2:35PM Golden Gate Auditorium
Global History and Culture, Children's and Family Programming
Learn 50 Yiddish words through games and fun! Come, shep nakhes from your kinder un eyniklekh (extract joy from your children and grandchildren). Come and see what surprises, fun, and games we have in store for you.
Gut-yontef, gut-yor!
Jewish Holidays in Yiddish film!
- Sunday 6:05PM–7:20PM Festival Room
Arts and Performance, Global History and Culture
In the 1920s and 30s, Yiddish film blossomed on the both sides of the Atlantic—a flowering cut tragically short by the events of World War II. Despite a tendency toward nostalgia, the Yiddish cinema was for the most part contemporary and secular. However, observances of nearly all major Jewish holidays can be found in Yiddish cinema, which is especially significant today as a document of the Ashkenazic culture nearly wiped out by the horrors of Nazism. This presentation will outline important phases in the development of Yiddish film with an emphasis on the portrayal of Jewish holiday celebrations.
Stalin’s Forgotten Zion
Experiments with Yiddish Culture in Birobidzhan
- Monday 9:45AM–11:00AM Festival Room
Arts and Performance, Global History and Culture
Created as an agricultural settlement in the Soviet Far East in 1928, Birobidzhan, the capital of Russia’s still-extant Jewish Autonomous Region, was intended as a viable Jewish homeland. A great many Jews the world over supported this project, some settling there, others lending financial and material support. Yiddish, along with Russian, was designated the official language of education, municipal affairs, and cultural expression. At the same time, Jewish religious observance was discouraged, and Jewish identity, over time, drastically diminished. Nikolai Borodulin was born and grew up there; in many ways the story of Birobidzhan is also his personal story, a story he presents with personal reminiscences and rare video footage, as well as historic and contemporary photographs.
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