In a 17th century Jewish town, a lapsed-faith rabbi must keep his community together as it threatens to tear itself apart over rumors of the Messiah’s arrival.

SYNOPSIS:

LOGLINE: In a 17th century Jewish town, a lapsed-faith rabbi must keep his community together as it threatens to tear itself apart over rumors of the Messiah’s arrival.

FACT: In the 17th century, the largest false Messianic movement in history swept through Europe. The false Messiah, Shabtai Zevi, convinced hundreds of thousands of Jewish followers to sell their property and abandon their communities to follow him on an ill-fated journey to the holy land where he would lead them in a life of freedom from persecution, wealth and peace.

The screenplay, THE MESSIAH OF KONTOROVICH imagines Zevi’s impact on a small Jewish town in Poland. How did he attract so many followers? How could so many people be so naive?

SUMMARY: In the vein of WACO and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, THE MESSIAH OF KONTOROVICH follows a 17th century Jewish community in Poland, Kontorovich, following a brutal Cossack attack. The town is in ruins and most of the labor force is dead. And winter is fast approaching.

The town’s atheist rabbi YAKOB, who had turned his back on his community, gathers them now to rebuild the town and to gather food for the winter – or face starvation and freezing. His pregnant wife is soon due and the specter of an unprotected winter also threatens their unborn child.

Rumors reach the village that the Messiah has arrived in Europe to save the Jewish people and take them to the holy land, freeing them from persecution, hunger, illness and war. Yakob’s best friend, DOV, gifted with eloquence and charisma and captivated by the rumors goes on a mission to convince the people of Kontorovich to cease rebuilding and instead to spend their days in repentance and prayer to make them worthy of the Messiah’s redemption.

One by one, Dov succeeds in steering the people away from rebuilding. With winter fast approaching, and with it the promise of famine and cold, Yakob must work against time to convince the people to abandon their faith for reason and practicality.

With Dov's numbers growing and his perspective becoming increasingly fanatical, Yakob is banished from the community for his atheism, and must find a way to save the town, himself and his wife, from death and freezing.

At the core of THE MESSIAH OF KONTOROVICH is the theme of the dangers of cultism and religious extremism and how it spreads its tentacles around unsuspecting subjects. In this era of cult-like leaders and fanaticism, THE MESSIAH OF KONTOROVICH will speak to a large contemporary audience.