The following films were a collaboration and produced by Irvin Ungar with film editor Jim Ruxin. They met at an antiquarian Book Fair in Los Angeles, where Ungar introduced Ruxin to Szyk’s art. There they shared the discovery that Szyk’s intricate work, usually never larger than a page, could be brought to wider audiences when enlarged and given the gift of movement and music.
Their first collaborative effort was a visit to Mercer Island High School in Seattle, Washington in 2005. In the short film, “Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art,” teachers and students interact with the art and respond to its messages. This film was well received by educators and the public, screening at eight international film festivals in the US, Warsaw, Jerusalem, and Mexico City.
When Ungar began work on an entirely new edition of the The Szyk Haggadah in 2006, another film began to take shape. Over the next two years the producers documented the re-creation of this technically and creatively challenging project. This film, “In Every Generation: Remaking The Szyk Haggadah,” accompanies each Deluxe and Premier limited edition of the Historicana publication.
In 2012, Hollywood composer Richard Friedman was inspired by Szyk’s work and created an original score that musically interpreted the issues about which Szyk was most passionate. Together, the music and 64 images dramatically capture the essence of Arthur Szyk as an activist artist. It is a wordless exploration of the ideals of American democracy, the horrors of the Nazi era the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the hope-filled rebirth of the Jewish people in the land of Israel.
Over the years a few other short films were produced.
