A musical feature film in development · in the vein of La La Land
An inherited songbook, reborn by the young. A contemporary musical about who gets to sing the old songs next.
At MASA, an elite Manhattan arts school, a class revives the handwritten songbook of their teacher Joseph Shapiro's late mother and makes it their own, and carries it to a national stage.
The songs in this film are not a hope. They already travel the world, and the people who love them were never supposed to know them.
Proof of reach
And the audience is overwhelmingly not Jewish. For eight years they have written, again and again, that these songs move them to tears.
“I am listening to Hava Nagila in your translation and crying… with joy. There is so much life, so much light in this. Now this is my anthem for every new day.”
A listener, in Russian
“I accidentally heard Hava Nagila at my neighbors’. It sounded so kind and life-affirming that for a month now my family, we are Russian, starts every new morning with it, all together.”
A listener, in Russian
The world on screen
Three places carry the whole film: an elite Manhattan arts school, the OyPizza cafe across Times Square, and the eleventh-grade class that turns an inherited songbook into modern arrangements, and takes it to a live championship in the square itself.
Hear it for yourself
Forever rebuilds an old wedding ritual into a communal song anyone can sing. It is the whole project in one track: inherited melody, contemporary pulse, public joy.
ForeverThe flagship demo · on YouTube
Prefer to browse? Hear the full songbook · read what listeners wrote.
Be part of it
The next step is a ten-minute, AI-assisted proof-of-concept short, the lever that raises the feature. There is a door here for producers, investors, donors, and partners.
Sponsor
Support the film and be named in its end titles. A name in a story carried by millions.
Sponsor →Invest
Seed the proof-of-concept, with a path to feature equity. For qualified parties.
Request the package →Donate
Give through a fiscal sponsor so your gift supports the work and your taxes.
Learn how →Partner
Cultural orgs, schools, choirs, museums, music supervision, distribution.
Partner with us →
JEWISH