Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt

Film Screening & Discussion Admission: $10 YIVO members: $8 Watch the post-screening panel discussion: Watch the video

For years, artist Drew Friedman has chronicled a strange, alternate universe populated by forgotten Hollywood stars, old Jewish comedians and liver-spotted elevator operators. Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt is an in-depth documentary tracing artist Friedman's evolution from underground comics to the cover of The New Yorker. The film, directed by Kevin Dougherty, features interviews with Friedman's friends and colleagues, including Gilbert Gottfried, Patton Oswalt, Richard Kind, Mike Judge, Merrill Markoe and many others.

Join YIVO for a screening of this new documentary followed by a panel discussion with Friedman, Dougherty, actors Craig Bierko and Richard Kind, comedy writer Tom Leopold, and co-host of Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast Frank Santopadre, led by YIVO Senior Academic Advisor & Director of Exhibitions Eddy Portnoy.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.