JIFF: The Performance

The Story

Australian Premiere

“Jeremy Piven excels as a conflicted Jewish American entertainer in 1936 Berlin... An enthralling period drama with often disquieting contemporary relevance ” - Variety

It’s 1936. Harold May (Jeremy Piven) is an American Jew and a gifted but underemployed tap dancer whose early success is a distant memory as we meet him in New York.

Along with members of his troupe he hopes to find a return to prominence by signing on for a European tour. The gigs are small, but audiences are receptive. They find a new fan in Damian Fuglar (Robert Carlyle), a well-to-do German who, not realising Harold is a Jew, makes Harold an offer he can't refuse to perform before a very special guest in Berlin - Adolf Hitler himself.

Vividly adapted from an Arthur Miller short story (The Crucible), this period drama is rippling with urgent themes of personal integrity, creative autonomy, and the allure of fame in history's shadows.

Rating

Unclassified 15+

Duration

112 min

Cast

Jeremy Piven, Robert Carlyle, Maimie McCoy, Adam Garcia, Isaac Gryn, Suzanne Shepherd, Steven Berkoff, Lara Wolf, Yaniv Biton, Annette Lober

Director

Shira Piven