Based on a Jewish folk tale adapted by playwright John Lazarus, this animated short tells the story of Shmendrik, a simpleton living in a small Polish village. Weary of daily life in his native Chelm, Shmendrik sets out on a quest for knowledge that brings him to a new Chelm, a place eerily reminiscent of his old Chelm. An amusing take on our tendency to romanticize what we don't have.
Village of Idiots
“Outsiders call Chelm the village of idiots,” Shmendrick explains, “but our rabbi said we were a city of natural geniuses, with our own way of figuring things out.”
Animation
12 min
6.7
1999
Canada
