Film Screening: The Conspiracy

It’s an insidious, centuries-old conspiracy theory that continues to rear its ugly head today – that Jews have a secret international plot to control the world. Behind the torch-bearing chants of “Jews will not replace us” is an age-old myth.

How do such preposterous ideas get started, and why do they flourish? In this 2022 animated documentary, writer/director Maxim Pozdorovkin walks us through almost 250 years of anti-Semitic ideology, focusing on how times of uncertainty give rise to anxieties in marginalized populations, and how three Jewish family dynasties – the Dreyfuses, Warburgs, and Bronsteins – came to bear the brunt of irrational scapegoating. This film screening, held in honour of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, is made possible by Jewish Story Partners and Good Docs.

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Admission: $10.00

“Maxim Pozdorovkin’s THE CONSPIRACY is original, creative, brilliant and enduring. It makes history real and current. It takes a monstrous historic wrong – antisemitism – traces its beginnings, explains it and brings it up to the present moment. If you want to understand Antisemitism, watch The Conspiracy.” – Abe Foxman, Anti-Defamation League director 1987-2015, Holocaust survivor

The idea that Jews are plotting world domination is rooted throughout centuries of history and dangerously dangled when fear and uncertainty strike a disaffected populace. Never one to avoid controversial subjects, documentarian Maxim Pozdorovkin employs historical research and creative storytelling to debunk the venomous fallacy of the “secret cabal” that has served as the bedrock of anti-Semitism. The Conspiracy spans centuries to show the recurrence of the same conspiracy theory, weaving together the history of three prominent families used as pawns on the chessboard of global affairs into the larger history of the Jewish people: the Warburgs, a prominent German banking family; the Dreyfuses, the family of Alfred Dreyfus, the French artillery officer wrongfully accused of treason; and the Bronsteins of Ukraine, whose son would go on to change his name to Leon Trotsky. Uniquely brought to life with hand drawn 3D animation and punctuated with archival footage, The Conspiracy is an ambitious history lesson narrated by Mayim Bialik and including the voice talents of Liev Schreiber and Jason Alexander.

GOOD DOCS are films that do good in the world. Our award-winning collection engages and inspires by featuring rarely heard stories about individuals and communities working towards a more equitable world. We champion creative expression and complex films that provoke critical thinking. GOOD DOCS represents established documentarians and passionate new filmmakers driven by their experiences as educators, academics, journalists, artists, social workers, community members, and activists.

Jewish Story Partners (JSP) supports the making of films that tell Jewish stories of experiences, cultures, and encounters from fresh perspectives. Film is a universal language, an extraordinary way to engage emotions, reach diverse audiences, build empathy, and provoke thought. Filmmaking is hard work, and Jewish films are a niche market. Through film, JSP is uniquely positioned to cinematically celebrate the diversity in Jewish stories, and aims “to ignite understanding and spark dialogue among Jews and non-Jews alike.”