The Last Laugh

Director Ferne Pearlstein and producer Robert Edwards will introduce the screening, followed by an extended post-film conversation with Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, founder and director of the Holocaust Teacher’s Institute.

Outrageously funny and provocatively insightful, The Last Laugh explores the boundaries of comedy and the enduring power of laughter in the face of humanity’s darkest chapters. Filmmaker Ferne Pearlstein assembles an extraordinary roster of comedic legends—including Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers, Carl Reiner, Gilbert Gottfried, Judy Gold, Jake Ehrenreich, Susie Essman, Larry Charles, Etgar Keret, and Sarah Silverman—alongside Holocaust survivors for a compelling conversation about whether humor has limits, who gets to decide them, and why laughter can be both deeply uncomfortable and profoundly necessary. Navigating the moral minefields of Holocaust humor with wit, nuance, and fearless curiosity, Pearlstein delivers a star-studded, thought-provoking documentary that challenges conventions and illuminates comedy’s remarkable capacity to confront the unspeakable. Hilarious, provocative, and unexpectedly moving, The Last Laugh makes a compelling case for laughter not as an escape from darkness, but as one way of facing it.

This special event is presented as part of Holocaust Education Week, with generous support from Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, the Holocaust Teacher’s Institute, and the University of Miami’s Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies.