KINGSTON, R.I.—April 15, 2025—In commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls during the week of April 21, URI Hillel and the URI Film Media Department will host an exclusive screening of the award-winning film “A Real Pain.” The film and a discussion led by David Spitzman, the son of Holocaust survivors, will take place on Monday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m. in 304 Swan Hall (film screening room), 60 Upper College Road on the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston Campus.

This 90-minute, critically acclaimed film starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin tells the story of mismatched cousins (played by Eisenberg and Culkin) who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their recently deceased, beloved grandmother who survived the Holocaust but was forced from her home. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. The film was written and directed by Eisenberg and resulted in a 2025 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Culkin.

The film will be followed by a discussion led by David Spitzman, the son of Holocaust survivors from Poland and Lithuania. Spitzman is a board member and long-time volunteer educator with the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center in Providence.

Eisenberg was inspired to write “A Real Pain,” which garnered an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay, after a trip through Poland that landed him at the tiny house in the village of Kranystaw, where his aunt Doris had lived before the Holocaust displaced her family. “Had the war not happened, this is where I would be living,” Eisenberg remembers thinking. “What would my life be like? Who would I be?”

URI student Kate Hirsch ‘26 is excited for the opportunity to see the film and to hear from Spitzman. “Like the characters in the movie, I went on a heritage trip to Poland and Austria where I learned more about the impact that the Holocaust had on my family. I am especially eager to hear from the speaker after the film in order to keep the stories and memories of Holocaust survivors alive for my generation.”

The film is free and open to the public; however, due to limited space, RSVPs are recommended. For more information, contact Hillel Executive Director Amy Olson at amyolson@uri.edu.