How To: Be or Not to Be (2008)

Dutch, Surinamese, African, Catholics, Muslims, Jews: young people from all over The Netherlands come to ITS DNA, a unique international, multicultural theater school in Amsterdam. Under the leadership of Loes Hegger, they make creative use of their different backgrounds in adapting the Sholem Aleichem's 1907 novel The Bloody Hoax into a poignant production that explores issues of identity and tolerance. In the Aleichem story two students, one Russian Christian and the other Russian Jewish, exchange identities, exposing entrenched antisemitism and discrimination. One hundred years after Aleichem's story, in a culture that prides itself on openness, the students' goal is to celebrate diversity while producing meaningful art. The camera's rapid motion and jump cuts echo the energy of these young actors.