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Toronto&Jewish&Film&Festival&2015& GAT&PR&Press&Summary&
Interviews*Completed* ! Thursday,!April!2! !
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L’Express! Jeremie!Abessira!
! Saturday,!April!11!!
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Newstalk*1010!! Stuart!Hands!
! Wednesday,!April!15!
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Bulgarian*Horizan!! Ivan!Nitchev!(Bulgarian)Rhapsody)!!
! Friday,!April!17!
Monday,!April!20! !
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! Tuesday,!April!21!
Russian*Express!! Alexander!Mitta,!Kristina!(Chagall) Malevich)! ! Toronto*Entero!! Hernan!Guerschuny!(The)Critic)! Toronto*Star! Anne!Serling!(Rod)Serling)Series)! Rachel*Lauren*Clark*Blog!! Rabbi!Susan!Goldberg!(Transparent)!
! Thursday,!April!23!!
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Fangoria! Hilla!Medalia!(The)Go)Go)Boys)!
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Daily*Xtra* Tamar!Glezerman!(The)Other)War)!
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Fangoria* Samantha!Fuller!(The)Fuller)Life)!
! Tuesday,!April!28! ! ! !
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CBC*RadioHCanada*L'Heure*de* Pointe!! Jeremie!Abessira!) !
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National*Post!! Perry!Rosemond!(Al)Waxman)Series)!
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! * National*Post!! Stuart!Hands!
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Globe*and*Mail** Anne!Serling!(Rod)Serling)Series))
! Wednesday,!April!29!
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Regent*Radio:*Middle*Passage!! Stuart!Hands!
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Dorkshelf*** Hilla!Medalia!(The)Go)Go)Boys)!
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Toronto*Film*Scene!! Anne!Serling!(Rod)Serling)Series)!
! CP24!! Mor!Loushy!(Censored)Voices)! ! Thursday,!April!30!!
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OMNI*TV!! Susan,!Sofi,!and!Judit!Polgar!(The) Polgar)Variant)!
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Corriere*Canadese** Oren!Jacoby!(The!Italian!Secret)!
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! ! Friday,!May!1! ! !
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Sirius*XM:*The*Todd*Shapiro*Show!! Irwin!and!Fran!(Jordan)Stone)! !
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Global*TV:*News*at*Noon!! Mor!Loushy!(Censored)Voices)!
! Outlook*Magazine*** Mor!Loushy!(Censored)Voices)! ! Saturday,!May!2! ! !
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Toronto*Film*Scene!! Anne!Serling!(Rod)Serling)Series)!
* * Newstalk*1010:*Saturdays*with* Ted*Woloshyn** Anne!Serling!(Rod)Serling)Series)! ! !
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Inner*Space!! Anne!Serling!(Rod)Serling)Series)!
! Monday,!May!4!
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Global*TV:*News*at*Noon!! Anne!Serling!(Rod)Serling)Series)!
! Tuesday,!May!5!
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Scene*Creek!! Hernan!Guershcuny!(The)Critic)!
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Scene*Creek!! Rabbi!Susan!Goldberg!(Transparent)!
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CIUT*89.5FM!! Adam!Kossoff!(The)Anarchist)Rabbi)!
! Wednesday,!May!6!! ! ! ! ! ! Thursday,!May!7! ! !
CBC*RadioHCanada*L’Heure*de* Pointe!Shirel!Amitay!(Atlit)! ! Scene*Creek!! Hernan!Guerschuny!(The)Critic)! ! Friday,!May!8!
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CHOQ*FM!! Shirel!Amitay!(Atlit)!
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Sirius*XM*–*What*She*Said** Gayle!and!Mildred!Kirschenbaum! (Look)at)Us)Now,)Mother!)!
! ! Saturday,!May!9! !
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Newstalk*1010!! Erik!Greenberg!Anjou!(Deli)Man)!
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Rye!meets!wry!at!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival:! Knelman!
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By!Martin!Knelman!|!May!8,!2015! http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2015/05/08/ryeCmeetsCwryCatC torontoCjewishCfilmCfestivalCknelman.html! !
The!Jewish!community!of!Uruguay!has!not!exactly!been!prominent!on!the!world!stage.!That’s!one! reason!why!Mr.$Kaplan!—!the!closing!night!film!of!the!2015!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!—!has!a! certain!fascination.! But!there!are!other!reasons!why!you!may!want!to!catch!it.! ·!!It!was!Urguay’s!official!entry!for!the!foreignClanguage!Academy!Award.!It!didn’t!wind!up!being! nominated,!but!Mr.$Kaplan!was!a!serious!contender!—!likely!the!closest!brush!Uruguay!has!ever!had! with!Oscar!glory.!(Uruguay,!squeezed!between!two!giants,!Argentina!and!Brazil,!has!a!population!of! under!3.5!million.)! ·!!Mr.$Kaplan’s!director,!Alvaro!Brechner,!uses!a!winningly!light!touch!while!daring!to!take!a!comic! approach!to!a!subject!few!would!consider!humorous:!the!hunt!for!Nazi!war!criminals!who!found! refuge!in!South!America,!as!in!the!notorious!case!of!Adolf!Eichmann.!Think!of!it!as!the!flip!side!of!the!
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decidedly!serious!movie!Remember,!directed!by!Atom!Egoyan,!which!will!premiere!this!fall,!and!is! already!being!promotedvia!a!trailer!at!Cineplex!theatres.!Remember!stars!Christopher!Plummer!as!a! Holocaust!survivor!on!a!road!trip!hunting!down!the!Nazi!who!wiped!out!his!family.! ·!!For!Jews!who!have!spent!generations!living!in!North!America,!the!depiction!on!screen!of!the!Latino! diaspora!opens!a!window!on!a!world!that!is!very!different!from!the!Jewish!cultures!we!know!so!well,! both!on!this!continent!and!the!European!ones!our!grandparents!escaped!from.! Those!who!love!movies!with!subtitles!got!a!glimpse!of!contemporary!Latino!Jewish!life!in!Wild$Tales,! the!OscarCnominated!2014!comedy!from!Argentina!—!which!memorably!featured!a!lavish!wedding! that!turned!into!a!demolition!disaster.! Mr.!Kaplan!stars!an!amusingly!understated!Hector!Noguera!as!76CyearCold!Jacob!Kaplan,!who!yearns! to!do!something!worldCshaking!before!he!dies.!Finding!a!Nazi!war!criminal!and!bringing!him!to! justice!is!his!goal.! With!the!help!of!a!sidekick!(Nestor!Guzzini),!an!alcoholic!exCcop,!Mr.!Kaplan!zeroes!in!on!a! mysterious!German!immigrant!who!runs!a!beachCfront!cafe.!The!outcome,!to!put!it!mildly,!is!not!what! the!NaziChunting!adventurers!had!in!mind.! The!characters!in!Mr.$Kaplan!hardly!seem!to!be!on!the!same!planet!as!the!North!American!Jews!we! watch!devouring!corned!beef!sandwiches!in!the!documentaryDeli$Man,!which!also!happens!to!be! screening!on!Sunday,!the!final!day!of!the!festival!—!and!features!an!appearance!by!Zane!Caplansky,! one!of!Toronto’s!own!deli!men.! Or!to!put!it!another!way,!think!of!Deli$Man!as!pastrami!on!rye,!and!Mr.$Kaplan!as!Eichmann!spun!wry.! In!1931!there!were!thousands!of!delis!in!New!York!City.!But!today!there!are!only!about!150!delis!in! all!of!North!America.!That’s!one!of!many!intriguing!bits!of!information!you!can!glean!from!Deli$Man,!a! notCsoChot!doc!directed!by!Erik!Greenberg!Anjou!and!billed!as!“an!insider!look!into!some!of!the!most! famous!delis!in!North!America.”! We!are!in!the!world!of!pickles,!matzo!balls,!cabbage!borscht!—!and!some!of!the!legendary!places! where!mostly!Jewish!immigrants!became!regular!customers,!finding!comforting!traces!of!the!world! they!left!behind!in!what!often!seemed!a!scary!new!world.!The!deli!boom!began!more!than!100!years! ago,!but!now!the!deli!has!become!an!endangered!species.! Among!the!legendary!ones!featured!are!many!New!York!institutions,!including!the!stillCthriving! midtown!Carnegie!Deli,!and!Stage!Deli,!which!closed!after!75!years.!The!movie!also!gives!a!nod!to!two! delis!in!Los!Angeles:!Canter’s!on!Fairfax!Ave.!and!Nate!’n’!Al’s!in!downtown!Beverly!Hills.! The!central!figure!in!the!movie!is!a!guy!named!Ziggy!Gruber,!the!YiddishCspeaking,!FrenchCtrained! chef!at!Kenny!and!Ziggy’s,!a!highly!successful!deli!in!Houston.!The!place!may!be!great,!the!food! delicious,!but!I!found!Ziggy!a!tiresome!and!narcissistic!character!seeking!acclaim!for!dedicating!his! life!to!the!deli!grail!with!the!zeal!of!an!relentless!evangelist.! Toronto!—!which!has!several!delis!that!have!survived!the!continental!meltdown!—!is!represented!on! screen!by!Caplansky,!who!has!made!a!success!of!his!deli!in!a!location,!College!St.!and!Brunswick!Ave.,! that!was!once!at!the!centre!of!Toronto!Jewish!life!for!immigrants!from!Europe.! For!deli,!Montreal!style,!you!can!head!for!a!more!recent!centre!of!Jewish!life,!Thornhill!—!where!the! Centre!Street!Deli!thrives.!Elsewhere!in!town,!I!like!the!New!Yorker!Deli!on!Bay!St.!south!of!Bloor,! and!Yitz’s!on!Eglinton!Ave.!near!Avenue!Rd.! Mr.$Kaplan$screens$at$8:30$p.m.$at$the$Bloor$Hot$Docs$Cinema.$Deli$Man$screens$at$noon$at$the$ROM$ Theatre.$Info$at$tjff.com$
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Al!Waxman,!long!may!he!reign! By:!Rebecca!Tucker!|!May!4,!2015! http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/movies/alwaxman! !
! Perry!Rosemond!is!not!one!to!hold!back!praise!—!especially!when!it!comes!to!Al!Waxman.! “He’s!one!of!the!finest!performers!I’d!ever!worked!with!and,!of!course,!a!friend,”!Rosemond!said!over! the!phone!from!his!Toronto!home!last!week.!“Al!was!confident.!He!had!stature,!but!he!was!a!really! grounded!actor.!He!had!an!integrity!as!a!human!being.!Al!helped!people.”! The!King$of$Kensington!director!was!reflecting!on!Waxman!on!the!eve!of!the!2015!Toronto!Jewish! Film!Festival,!where!the!actor!will!be!the!subject!of!the!festival’s!Canadian!Archival!Series.!Selecting! Waxman,!TJFF!program!director!Stuart!Hands!says,!was!a!way!to!spotlight!the!late!Toronto!actor’s! strengths!beyond!the!supporting!roles!for!which!he!is!most!widely!known.! “A!lot!of!his!best!performances!were!supporting!roles.!What!I’m!hoping!to!show!with!this!series!is! how!great!he!also!was!as!a!lead!actor!in!film!and!TV,”!Hands!says.!“A!lot!of!his!great!performances! were!onstage,!which!don’t!exist!anymore.!I!wanted!to!bring!a!real!seriousness!to!him!as!an!actor,!for! Canadian!audiences!but!also!for!Jewish!audiences,!to!see!what!his!persona!says!about!us.”!
For!Hands,!exploring!Waxman’s!work!—!the!sitcom!King$of$Kensington,!yes,!but!also!the!1979!CBC! film!The$Winnings$of$Frankie$Walls!and!the!1969!short!film!The$Dowry,!among!other!TJFF!screenings! —!was!also!a!way!to!explore!the!actor’s!connection!to!the!Jewish!working!class,!and!to!look!at!how! Waxman!portrayed!and!celebrated!that!aspect!of!his!persona,!onscreen!and!off.! “That!connection,!it’s!gone!—!well,!I!shouldn’t!say!gone,!but!it!is!as!reflected!in!popular!culture,”! Hands!says.!“There’s!something!this!figure,!this!icon,!that!allows!connection!with!other!workingCclass! members.!For!something!like!Frankie!Walls,!he!taps!into!it.!It’s!amazing!how!nuanced!that! performance!is.!And!then!in!reading!his!memoir,!you!read!how!his!parents!have!a!strong!work!ethic.”! !
! ! Rosemond!echoes!Hands’!assessment,!saying!that!what!Waxman!brought!to!the!table!with!King$of$ Kensington,!which!ran!for!five!seasons!on!CBC!from!1975C1980,!was!not!only!a!sense!of!humility,!but! an!unfaltering!dedication!to!getting!the!job!done.! “Let!me!first!explain!that!the!character!that!I!had!in!mind!was!somebody!who!could!solve! everybody’s!problems,”!Rosemond!says!of!Waxman’s!character,!the!convenience!storeCowning!Larry! King.!“He’s!omnipotent.!He!has!one!major!flaw:!he!can’t!make!a!buck.!So!what!I!wanted!was! somebody!of!true!stature,!in!other!words.!Al!understood!his!craft,!he!dedicated!himself!to!his!craft! and!he!conveyed!it.!When!people!acted!with!Al,!they!had!to!crank!it!up!a!notch.!He!set!the!bar.!The! bar!was!grounded,!realistic,!naturalistic.!If!you!look!at!the!history!of!sitcoms,!today!it’s!hard!to!find! that!guy!who’s!not!a!standup!comic.!Al!wasn’t!that.!But!Al!brought!truth!to!it.”! “When!I!look!at!people!with!an!ethic!I!look!at!people!like!De!Niro,!Pacino!and!Hoffman,”!Rosemond! continues.!“They!give!you!a!day’s!work.!Al!gave!you!day’s!work.”! In!addition,!Hands!is!hopeful!that!a!spotlight!of!Waxman’s!more!serious!cinematic!offerings!will! disassociate!him!from!our!collective!memory!of!what!he!calls!“cheesy!Canadian!cinema.”! “I!hope!that!this!series!will!help!dispel!that!misconception,!and!attempt!to!begin!a!serious!discussion! about!his!work!and!value!as!a!cultural!icon,”!he!says.! Waxman!died!in!2001,!at!age!65.!In!attempting!to!shed!more!light!on!the!late!actor’s!impact!as!a! person!and!not!just!an!artist,!Rosemond!remembers!an!anecdote!he!delivered!during!Waxman’s! funeral.! “Al!told!me,!‘I!was!in!a!fenderCbender,!and!the!cop!asked!me!how!fast!I!was!going,!and!I!knew!it!was!a! 30Cmile!zone.!He!said!I!was!going!32!miles.!And!I!said!why!didn’t!you!tell!the!cop!I!was!going!30! miles?!And!he!said!because!I!was!going!32!miles.’!“!Rosemond!cracks!up.!“That’s!what!I!mean.!He!had! this!kind!of!integrity.”!
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RealClife%monsters:%Celebrating%the%works%of%The% Twilight(Zone’s(Rod(Serling! By:!Brad!Wheeler!|!April!30,!2015! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/realClifeCmonstersCcelebratingCtheC worksCofCtheCtwilightCzonesCrodCserling/article24190869/! !
! It!was!in!1960,!an!era!of!bogeyman,!some!makeCbelieve!and!some!not.!Rod!Serling! opened!episode!22!of!the!first!season!of!his!network!sciCfi!anthologyThe$Twilight$ Zone!with!a!crisply!foreboding!setCup.!“This!is!Maple!Street!on!a!late!Saturday! afternoon,!in!the!last!calm!and!reflective!moment!–!before!the!monsters!came.”! The!30Cminute!episode!concerned!suspicions,!selfCdestruction!and!the!ugly! mentality!of!fearful!mobs.!A!certain!demographic!will!remember!the!1950s!and! early!’60s!as!a!simpler,!safer!time.!But!it!wasn’t!at!all.!By!1960,!America!had!come! through!the!areCyouCnowCorChaveCyouCeverCbeen!years!of!Red!Scares!and!witch! hunts,!but!the!segregated!nation!was!still!worried!about!ACbombs,!space!invaders! and!racial!minorities.!The!war!was!cold,!but!the!tensions!ran!weird!and!red!hot.!And! Serling’s!allegory!was!that!packs!of!frightened!people!are!monsters!enough.! This!year’s!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!celebrates!the!works!of!Serling,!a!writer! who!used!television!as!a!tool!for!social!protest!and!a!mirror!for!societal!selfC reflection.!As!part!of!the!Serling!program,!Anne!Serling!(author!of!the!2013!
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memoir!As$I$Knew$Him:$My$Dad,$Rod$Serling)!will!screen!film!clips,!show!home! movies!and!talk!about!the!man!beyond!the!tautClipped,!imposing!host!(and!creator! and!head!writer)!of!The$Twilight$Zone.!Another!dimension,!one!might!say.! “A!lot!of!people!think!of!him!as!this!dark!image,!walking!across!the!MGM!sound! stage!with!a!cigarette!and!a!serious!expression,”!says!Serling,!on!the!phone!from! upstate!New!York.!“But!he!wasn’t!dark.!He!was!funny!and!fun!to!be!with.”! But!if!his!daughter’s!duty!is!to!reveal!Serling’s!softer!sides,!his!reputation!as!the! angry!young!man!of!television!should!not!be!diminished.!Because!he!had!a!lot!about! which!to!be!angry.! “It!certainly!motivated!him!to!write,”!Serling!says,!about!her!father’s!disgust!for!the! suppression!and!bigotry!of!the!day.!“The!reason!he!started!The$Twilight$Zone!was! because!he!was!frustrated!with!network!censorship.”! In!1958,!for!CBS’s!live!drama!showcase!Playhouse$90,!Serling!wrote!a!script!about! Emmett!Till,!a!black!American!murdered!in!Mississippi!in!1955!for!being!black.! Thanks!to!network!meddling,!the!episode!eventually!presented!had!to!do!with!a! Mexican!boy!murdered!by!lynch!mob!in!a!Southwestern!town.!But!while!The!New! York!Times!hailed!his!work!as!a!“raw,!tough!and!at!the!same!time!deeply!moving! outcry!against!prejudice,”!Serling!himself!seethed.!To!him,!the!episode!titled!A$Town$ Has$Turned$to$Dust!represented!what!he!saw!as!a!script!turned!to!dust.! Serling’s!daughter!will!speak!on!May!2.!Her!free!lecture!precedes!a!screening! of!Walking$Distance,!another!episode!from!the!first!season!of!The$Twilight$Zone.!The! script,!considered!autobiographical,!concerns!a!grown!man!who!happens!across!his! hometown!as!it!existed!when!he!lived!there!as!a!child.!“He!really!had!a!longing!for! the!past,”!says!Serling.!“In!Walking$Distance,!we!see!an!idyllic!childhood!that!he! missed.”! Of!The$Twilight$Zone’s!156!episodes!(which!aired!over!five!seasons,!from!1959!to! 1964),!Serling!wrote!or!coCwrite!92!of!the!scripts.!In!1958,!CBS!had!purchased!a! teleplay!script!from!Serling!called!The!Time$Element.!Though!the!network!ran!it!as! part!of!its!Westinghouse$Desilu$Playhouse!series,!TheTime$Element!effectively!served! as!The$Twilight$Zone’s!pilot!episode.! The!story!concerned!time!travel!and!a!psychoanalyst’s!patient!who!complained!of! troubled!dreams.!He!imagined!waking!up!in!Honolulu!just!prior!to!the!Japanese! attack!on!Pearl!Harbour.!He!tries!to!warn!the!islanders,!but!they!paid!him!no!mind!–! at!their!peril.! The!timeCtraveller!today!could!be!seen!as!Serling,!except!that!his!cautionary!tales! come!from!the!past.!We!should!listen!to!him.!The!monsters,!they’re!here.! Rod$Serling:$The$Mensch$of$the$Twilight$Zone,$May$2$to$4,$ROM$Theatre,$100$Queen’s$ Park,$tjff.com.$The$Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival$runs$through$May$10$at$various$ theatres.! !
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Anne!Serling!steps!outside!The!Twilight!Zone! By:!Phillip!Brown!|!April!30,!2015! http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2015/04/30/anneCserlingC stepsCoutsideCtheCtwilightCzone.html! !
! He!was!a!voice!in!the!darkness.!A!man!in!a!black!suit!with!an!ear!for!irony!who! introduced!his!supernatural!parables!through!lips!clenched!so!tight!that!a!cigarette! could!barely!fit!and!his!authoritative!voice!could!barely!slip!out.! Rod!Serling!became!a!pop!culture!icon!through!his!late!1950s!horror/sciCfi! series!The$Twilight$Zone.!Something!about!him!continues!to!resonate!with!audiences! today!while!most!of!his!contemporaries!have!faded,!despite!the!fact!their!work!was! considered!more!serious!or!important!at!the!time.! This!week,!the!annual!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!is!back,!highlighted!by!a! retrospective!dedicated!to!Serling.! One!of!his!most!personal!episodes!of!The$Twilight$Zone!(“Walking!Distance”)!will! screen!along!with!a!collection!of!forgotten!TV!plays!like!Requiem$for$a$ Heavyweightand!A$Storm$in$Summer.! As!part!of!the!retrospective,!Rod’s!daughter,!Anne!Serling,!will!give!a!talk!about!her! father’s!legacy!on!Saturday.! She!has!different!memories!of!her!father!than!his!intimidating!screen!presence! might!suggest.! “Even!his!speaking!voice!at!home!was!quite!different!than!the!voice!you!heard!on! television,”!she!told!the!Star.!“I!know!that!most!people!who!never!met!my!father!
have!this!perceived!image!of!a!person!who!walked!across!a!black!and!white!sound! stage!and!spoke!in!a!tightClipped!voice,!but!at!home!he!was!brilliantly!funny,!a! practical!joker!and!he!would!do!anything!for!a!laugh.!It!was!an!entirely!different! persona.”! One!of!the!finest!practical!jokes!that!Rod!played!on!his!family!was!one!that!Anne!and! her!sister!didn’t!understand!until!years!later.! “He!brought!home!one!of!the!Twilight!Zone!props!once,”!she!recalls!through!a!laugh.! “It!was!the!ventriloquist!dummy!from!the!episode!‘The!Dummy.’!I!remember!we! would!set!it!up!at!the!dinner!table!and!my!sister!and!I!would!fight!over!sleeping!with! it.!Of!course,!we!hadn’t!seen!the!episode!and!didn’t!realize!the!malevolent!nature!of! this!thing.!So!it!was!funny!to!see!that!particular!show!years!later!and!remember! fighting!over!that!creepy!dummy.”! Rod!Serling!was!a!remarkably!prolific!writer!when!he!wasn’t!pranking!his!family.! His!daughter!estimates!that!he!wrote!more!than!250!scripts!from!1955!to!1975.! “It’s!an!amazing!amount,!isn’t!it?”!she!says.!“I!can’t!imagine!what!it!would!have!been! like!if!the!computer!had!been!available.!He!was!extraordinarily!prolific.!He!did!an! interview!with!Mike!Wallace!and!said!that!he!worked!12!hours!a!day,!but!I!never!got! a!sense!that!my!father!wasn’t!accessible!or!available.! “Sure,!he!was!writing!a!great!deal,!but!he!was!always!there!at!the!dinner!table!and! would!play!basketball!ever!day!with!us!after!school.”! Though!far!too!young!to!appreciate!most!of!her!father’s!most!iconic!work!at!the! time,!Anne!Serling!often!spoke!with!her!father!about!his!later!scripts!as!she! developed!her!own!interest!in!writing.!Eventually!that!led!to!a!memoir!about!her! father!reaching!shelves!a!few!years!ago,!continuing!her!family’s!legacy!with!the! printed!word.! “I!was!so!grief!stricken!after!my!dad!died!and!I!found!writing!cathartic!as!he!did,”! she!says.!“So!I!actually!started!another!book!about!him!that!I!just!couldn’t!finish!at! that!time.!Then!as!the!years!went!by!and!a!couple!of!other!books!came!out!that! described!a!man!who!was!not!remotely!familiar!to!me!or!anyone!else!who!knew! him,!I!decided!to!set!the!record!straight!about!who!he!was!from!someone!who! actually!knew!him.! “So!it!was!partially!that!and!partially!also!to!eradicate!my!grief!that!As$I$Knew$Him,! my!memoir,!was!born.”! The!book!provides!a!warm!conclusion!to!their!story,!one!that!unlike!The$Twilight$ Zonecontains!not!even!a!hint!of!irony.! Anne!Serling!appears!at!the!ROM!Theatre!May!2!at!1:30!p.m.!The!film!festival! continues!until!May!10.!Go!to!tjff.com!for!information.!
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NEW?!LOTS!OF!JEWISH!FLICKS! By:!Norman!Wilner!|!April!29,!2015! https://nowtoronto.com/movies/filmCfestsCandCscreenings/torontoCjewishCfilmC festivalC2015/! !
! ! TORONTO%JEWISH%FILM%FESTIVAL!at!multiple!venues!from!Thursday!(April!30)!to! May!10.!Full!schedule!and!film!list!at!tjff.com.!Rating:!NNNN%! ! If!you!still!have!any!space!in!your!brain!after!Cinéfranco,!Images,!TIFF!Kids!and!Hot! Docs,!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!is!here!for!you!with!a!wide!range!of!features,! shorts,!docCumentaries!and!even!some!televiCsion,!all!with!a!vaguely!Judaic!flavour.! In!some!cases,!“flavour”!can!even!be!taken!literally.!Two!foodCcentric!docs,!Famous% Nathanand!Deli%Man,!delve!into!specifically!Jewish!areas!of!the!American!diet.!The!
former!is!about!Nathan!Handwerker’s!storied!Coney!Island!hot!dog!stand,!which! became!an!essential!element!of!New!York’s!identity.!The!latter!throws!a!wider!net,! looking!at!Jewish!delicatessen!culture!across!North!America!–!and!featuring! Toronto’s!own!Zane!Caplansky,!whose!deli!is!coCpresentCing!that!film’s!screening.!A! friendly!warning:!you!will!leave!hungry.! My!brain!is!telling!me!there’s!a!further!food!connection!to!be!found!with!the!late!Al! Waxman,!who’s!being!celebrated!at!this!year’s!festival…!though!that!might!just!be! because!I!saw!him!having!a!sandwich!at!Yitz’s!when!I!was!a!kid.!In!any!case,!Al! Waxman:!A!Jewish!Everyman!provides!free!screenings!of!the!beloved!actor’s!TV!and! shortCfilm!work!throughout!the!festival,!including!three!episodes!of!King%Of% Kensington!followed!by!a!panel!with!spouse!Sara!Waxman!and!the!show’s! surviving!cast!and!crew.! Also!being!honoured!with!a!retrospective!is!American!television!legCend!Rod! Serling.!The!Mensch!Of!The!Twilight!Zone!brings!Serling’s!daughter!Anne!to!town!to! introduce!free!screenings!of!classic!television!productions!like!Requiem%For%A% Heavyweight%and!A%Storm%In%Summer!(starring!Peter!Ustinov!as!a!deli!ownCer!),!as! well!as!one!of!his!most!personal!Twilight%Zone!episodes,!Walking!Distance.! Another!filmmaking!scion,!Samantha!Fuller,!explores!the!life!and!career!of!her! father,!Sam,!in!A%Fuller%Life,!assembling!a!cast!of!actors!and!directors!–!among!them! Tim!Roth,!Buck!Henry,!Bill!Duke!and!Wim!WenCders!–!to!celebrate!the!man!who! gave!the!world!such!pulp!classics!as!Shock!Corridor,!The!Naked!Kiss!and!The!Big! Red!One.! And!speaking!of!pulp,!anyone!who!had!a!VCR!in!the!80s!or!90s!will!want!to!check! out!The%Go%Go%Boys:%The%Inside%Story%Of%Cannon%Films,!which!resurrects!the! eponymous!exploitation!house!built!by!Israeli!wouldCbe!moguls!Menachem!Golan! and!Yoram!Globus!in!all!its!grainy!glory.!(The!festival!is!also!doing!a!lateCnight! screening!of!Golan!and!Globus’s!1978!sex!comedyLemon%Popsicle.!It!was!basically! Israel’s!Porky’s,!spawning!eight!sequels.!C’mon,!you!know!you’re!curCious.)! More!serious!cinema!is!explored!in!Forbidden%Films,!Felix!Moeller’s!look!at!40Codd! Nazi!propaganda!films!that!remain!banned!in!Germany!today!for!their!loathsome! poliCtics,!racist!stereotypes!and!historical!distortions.!Moeller!includes!clips!from! many!of!the!movies!and!historical!context!provided!by!scholars!and!cineastes!–! while!pointing!out!that!the!most!hateful!titles,!like!Jew!Suss!and!The!Rothschilds,!are! still!prized!by!neoCNazi!culture!today.! There’s!also!more!commercial!stuff!–!Dough,!a!British!comedy!starring!Jonathan! Pryce!as!an!observant!Jewish!baker!whose!business!gets!a!shot!in!the!arm!when!his! new!Muslim!employee!(Jerome!Holder)!accidentally!drops!some!cannabis!in!the! challah!mixture;!and!Suicide,!about!a!woman!(Mali!Levi)!yanked!into!a!waking! nightmare!after!her!husband!does!something!really!stupid.!It’s!Israeli!cinema’s!first! attempt!at!a!proper!Hollywood!thriller,!so!it’s!almost!ridiculously!slick…!but!the! script!is!clever!and!the!performances!solid.!You!could!do!better!maybe?!! ! !
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!full!of!mustC sees! By:!Jason!Anderson!|!April!30,!2015! http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2015/04/30/torontoCjewishCfilmC festivalCfullCofCmustCsees.html! ! Toronto%Jewish%Film% Festival:!Though!Hot!Docs!is!about! to!call!it!a!wrap!on!its!latest!edition,! the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!is! just!getting!rolling.!From!now!to! May!10,!the!TJFF’s!23rd!annual! program!of!screenings!and!other! events!fills!screens!at!the!Varsity,! the!Carlton,!Cineplex!Cinemas! Empress!Walk!and!many!more! venues.! Highlights!for!the!opening!days! include!the!local!premiere!of!To$ Life!!(May!1!at!1!p.m.!at!Empress!Walk),!an!acclaimed!French!drama!about!three!Auschwitz! survivors!enjoying!a!beach!holiday!15!years!after!the!war,!and!a!free!talk!about!the!life!and! work!of!Twilight$Zone!mastermind!Rod!Serling!by!his!daughter!Anne!Serling.!The! presentation!on!May!2!at!1:30!p.m.!at!the!ROM!Theatre!also!includes!a!screening!of! “Walking!Distance,”!one!of!the!cult!TV!show’s!finest!episodes.! When!it!comes!to!mustCsees!for!cinephiles!(a!category!that!includes!gentiles,!too),!the! strongest!title!at!this!year’s!TJFF!may!be!The$Kindergarten$Teacher,!a!provocative!Israeli! drama!making!its!Toronto!premiere!this!week.! The!second!feature!by!Tel!Aviv!filmmaker!Nadav!Lapid!after!the!similarly! startlingPoliceman,!The$Kindergarten$Teacher$stars!Sarit!Larry!as!a!teacher!who!takes!an! initially!wellCintentioned!but!increasingly!obsessive!interest!in!a!5CyearCold!pupil!with!a! precocious!talent!for!poetry.!From!this!unusual!premise!Lapid!wrests!a!riveting!character! study!of!a!sensitive!woman!who!uses!her!relationship!with!this!unusual!boy!as!a!means!to! reinvent!herself.!The!results!are!alternately!exhilarating!and!disturbing.! A!critical!favourite!at!Cannes!last!year!and!a!prizewinner!at!festivals!in!Jerusalem!and! Seville,!The$Kindergarten$Teacher!plays!May!5!at!8:45!p.m.!at!Empress!Walk!and!May!9!at!9! p.m.!at!Innis!Town!Hall.!
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INEVITABLE!COMPARISONS:!INTERVIEW!WITH! ANNE!SERLING,!AUTHOR!OF!AS!I!KNEW!HIM:!MY! DAD,!ROD!SERLING! By:!William!Brownridge!|!April!30,!2015! http://thetfs.ca/2015/04/30/inevitableCcomparisonsCinterviewCwithCanneCserlingC authorCofCasCiCknewChimCmyCdadCrodCserling/! !
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When!people!hear!the!surname!Serling,!they!certainly!must!think!of!Rod!Serling!first.! He’s!best!known!for!bringing!social!issues!to!the!world!in!the!form!of!the!frequently! frightening!television!series!The$Twilight$Zone,!but!fans!will!now!have!an!opportunity!to! learn!more!about!him!both!professionally!and!personally!at!the!2015!Toronto!Jewish! Film!Festival.!The!festival!will!be!screening!some!of!his!work!including!a!few!of!his! productions!on!Playhouse$90,!his!madeCforCTV!film!A%Storm%in%Summer,!and!of!course,! an!episode!from!The$Twilight$Zone.!Following!the!screening!of!The$Twilight$ Zone!episode!Walking$Distance,!Serling’s!daughter,!Anne!Serling!will!be!speaking!about! her!father.!Serling’s!book,!“As$I$Knew$Him:$My$Dad,$Rod$Serling”!gives!readers!a!look!at! life!with!Anne!and!her!famous!father,!and!shows!us!a!side!of!Rod!Serling!that!we!would!
never!really!be!able!to!know.!TFS!had!the!chance!to!speak!with!Anne!Serling!before!her! appearance!at!the!2015!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!on!Saturday,!May!2,!2015.! Toronto%Film%Scene:!You’ve!mentioned!that!your!father!built!an!office!in!your! backyard.!Was!it!a!huge!benefit!that!he!worked!from!home!in!this!way?! Anne%Serling:!My!dad’s!office!was!originally!in!the!downstairs!of!our!house,!but!I!don’t! remember!that.!When!he!built!the!one!in!the!backyard,!I!would!say,!yes,!it!was!a!huge! benefit!in!the!sense!that!he!was!always!assessable,!present.!That!said,!we!always! respected!his!space,!and!were!always!cognoscente!that!when!he!was!working,!we!knew! not!to!bother!him.!It!was!nice!to!have!him!so!close!though.!He!would!get!up!very!early!in! the!morning,!make!coffee!and!then!go!out!to!his!office.!Around!noon!he!would!drive! over!to!the!MGM!set!and!be!back!by!the!time!my!sister!and!I!got!home!from!school.!My! dad!and!I!would!play!basketball!then.!(Well,!our!version.)! TFS:!You!worked!as!a!teacher!after!finishing!school,!but!are!now!writing!more.!You! mention!that!you’ve!always!loved!writing,!but!what!was!it!that!finally!pushed!you!to! focus!more!on!that?! AS:!I!primarily!wrote!poetry!before!becoming!a!teacher!and!that!fell!by!the!wayside,! some,!while!teaching.!It!was!something!I!always!wanted!to!return!to,!though.!After!my! dad!died,!I!wrote!a!book!titled:!“In$His$Absence.”!I!was!still!trying!to!navigate!that!whole! minefield!of!grief—and!couldn’t!complete!that!book.!Years!later,!my!memoir!“As$I$Knew$ Him:$My$Dad,$Rod$Serling”!was!finally!born.!It!took!seven!years!to!complete.! TFS:!Being!the!daughter!of!Rod!Serling,!a!man!so!many!people!know!from!his!work,!do! you!find!that!people!have!certain!expectations!when!it!comes!to!your!own!writing?! AS:!That!was!a!concern!of!mine!when!I!first!began.!I!think!if!one!chooses!the!same! profession!as!a!parent,!there!is!always!a!risk!of!comparison.!I!write,!though,!in!a!very! different!genre!than!my!father!did!and!so!I!think!I!have!escaped!that.!Fortunately!the! feedback!has!been!positive!and!I!am!so!grateful!for!that!! TFS:!Many!people!remember!your!father!from!The$Twilight$Zone,!so!I!wonder!how! similar!he!was!to!the!persona!that!so!many!automatically!think!of?! AS:!That!was!actually!one!of!the!reasons!I!wrote!my!book.!To!set!the!record!straight.! Some!have!described!him!as!this!dark!and!tortured!soul!and!that!was!not!even!remotely! the!person!I!(or!his!friends)!knew.!My!father!was!brilliantly!funny!and!fun.!I!read!a!line! that!Roger!Rosenblatt!wrote!in!a!graduation!speech!to!his!daughter.!He!said:!“I!wished! her!moments!of!helpless!hilarity.”!I!love!that,!and!thank!my!own!father!for!all!those! moments!of!“helpless!hilarity”!that!he!gave!me.! TFS:!Your!father’s!work!was!mostly!for!television,!and!he!brought!a!cinematic!flair!to! the!medium!that!we’re!now!starting!to!see!more!of.!Do!you!think!he!would!still!be! working!in!the!medium!now,!and!what!kinds!of!topics!do!you!believe!he!would!want!to! explore.! AS:!I!think!he!likely!would!still!be!working!in!the!medium!and!would!be!grateful!that!it’s! grown,!matured,!in!the!sense!that!he!could!write!meaningful!scripts!without!fearing!the! drastic!censorship!that!existed!in!his!day.!He!once!said,!“It’s!the!writer’s!job!to!menace! the!public’s!conscience,”!but!that!wasn’t!easy!to!do!back!then!when!every!potential! offending!line!would!have!been!stricken.!I!think!he!would!still!be!exploring!all!the!issues!
that!are!still!(sadly)!so!prevalent!today!like!racism!and!scapegoating.!My!dad!wanted!to! write!a!novel!and!a!Broadway!show.!Had!he!lived,!I!believe!that’s!the!direction!he!would! also!have!gone.! TFS:!Although!The$Twilight$Zone!may!be!how!he’s!best!remembered,!your!father! created!so!much!more,!some!of!which!will!be!screening!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film! Festival.!What!do!you!think!is!the!most!important!thing!for!others!to!know!about!his! work!outside!of!The$Twilight$Zone.! AS:!That!there!was!more!than!The$Twilight$Zone.!He!was!among!an!elite!group!of! writers!(Reginald!Rose!and!Paddy!Chayefsky)!–!from!The!Golden!Age!of!Television.! Before!The$Twilight$Zone,!my!dad!wrote!Patterns!andRequiem%for%A%Heavyweight!as! well!as!writing!and!adapting!screenplays!for!movies.! TFS:!What!was!it!like!to!grow!up!with!your!father!working!in!television,!or!were!the!two! avenues!of!his!life!separated?! AS:!I!think!my!dad!successfully!separated!his!work!and!his!family!life.!I!never!felt!that!he! was!inaccessible!and!we!were!very!much!shielded!from!that!“Hollywood”!life!style.! TFS:!Your!novel,!“As$I$Knew$Him:$My$Dad,$Rod$Serling“,!tells!a!side!of!your!father!that! few!people!know.!Was!it!difficult!to!go!back!over!your!life!with!him!and!were!you!ever! concerned!that!you!may!not!want!to!share!this!information!with!the!world?! AS:!Like!my!dad,!I!find!writing!cathartic!and!so!writing!my!memoir!really!helped!me! work!through!my!grief!and!it!brought!my!dad!back!to!me!in!unexpected!ways.!For! instance,!I!never!really!knew!(before!writing!my!memoir)!the!professional!side!of!my! dad.! I!was!reticent,!at!first,!to!talk!about!my!sadness!in!such!a!detailed!and!open!way!and!my! editor!said!(of!an!earlier!draft),!“Your!grief!is!so!central!to!this!book…can!you!be!more! open?”!And!so!I!just!let!it!go.!At!an!early!reading!I!did!at!The!Paley!Center,!a!woman! came!up!to!me!afterwards!and!told!me!her!dad!had!a!terminal!illness.!She!said!after! hearing!me!read,!she!knew!she!would!be!ok.!Hearing!her!words!was!such!an!unexpected! gift,!to!know!that!I!had!helped!her!in!some!way.!All!I!could!do!was!hug!her.! TFS:!You!stated!that!you!predominantly!wrote!poetry!before!you!adapted!two!of!your! father’s!teleplays!and!now!your!book!“As$I$Knew$Him:$My$Dad,$Rod$Serling“.!What!are! your!plans!for!your!own!writing!in!the!future?! AS:!I!am!working!on!a!novel!called!“Aftershocks“.!A!very!different!animal!than!writing!a! memoir—and!a!beast!at!times!!It’s!about!the!dissolution!of!a!family!and!the!fault!lines! that!rupture!them.!Ultimately!it!is!the!story!of!triumph!over!madness!and!a!testament!to! the!resilience!of!the!human!spirit.! You!won’t!want!to!miss!out!on!all!the!wonderful!screenings!of!Rod!Serling’s!work!at!the! 2015!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!and!Anne!Serling!will!be!speaking!on!Saturday,!May! 2,!2015!at!the!ROM!Theatre!at!1:30!pm.!The!event!is!free,!and!will!also!feature!a! screening!of!Walking$Distance,!an!episode!of!The$Twilight$Zone.!You!can!find!more! information!about!the!event!at!the!TJFF!website.!
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! 5!Questions!with!Rabbi!Susan!Goldberg,! consultant!for!Transparent! By:!Leora!Hellbronn!|!May!9,!2015! http://scenecreek.com/interviews/5CquestionsCwithCrabbiCsusanCgoldbergC consultantCforCtransparent/! !
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Winner!of!the!recent!Golden!Globe!award!for!best!comedic!television!series,!Transparent!revolves! around!the!Pfefferman!family!(played!beautifully!by!Gaby!Hoffmann,!Amy!Landecker,!Jay!Duplass! and!Judith!Light)!coming!to!terms!with!their!patriarch!Mort!(multiple!award!winner!Jeffrey!Tambor)! revealing!himself!as!transgender.!Transparent!is!one!of!our!favorite!television!shows!so!we!were!very! excited!to!speak!with!Rabbi!Susan!Goldberg,!consultant!to!the!show,!prior!to!her!presentation!of!four! handpicked!episodes!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival.! Scene%Creek:%How%did%you%first%get%involved%with%the%show%Transparent?! Rabbi!Susan!Goldberg:!Well!the!creator!of!the!show,!Jill!Soloway,!is!a!friend!and!also!someone!who!is! a!part!of!the!Jewish!community!that!I!am!a!part!of.!In!addition!to!Jill,!the!other!writers!on!the!show! were!also!people!that!I!knew!from!the!Jewish!community!and!also!the!neighborhood!that!we!all!live! in.!So!as!the!show!was!being!formed,!Jill’s!process!is!very!collaborative!so!when!there!are!pieces!that! she!thinks,!“Oh!this!person,!we!should!talk!to!them!at!that”,!she!asks!them!to!be!a!part!of!her!process.! She!has!transgender!consultants!too.!There!are!a!lot!of!Jewish!aspects!to!the!show!so!when!things! would!come!up!we!would!talk!about!themCeither!Jill!or!her!sister!Faith.!It!was!very!organic!and! evolved.!Then!they!said,!“You!know!what!you’re!doingCit’s!a!consultant.”! SC:%What%sort%of%input%have%you%given%(Transparent%creator)%Jill%Soloway?%!
SG:!There!are!different!kinds!of!things!really.!The!writers!are!also!very!knowledgeable!with!Judaism! but!sometimes!the!information!is!deepening.!We!did!some!bible!studies!with!one!of!the!writers!to! help!him.!I!helped!with!the!sermon!that!the!character!Rabbi!Raquel!(played!by!Kathryn!Hahn)! delivered!and!helped!Kathryn!to!embody!that!character.!So!she!shadowed!me!and!we!spent!time! talking,!studying!in!services,!so!she!would!feel!comfortable!in!the!role.!She!ended!up!taking!on!some! of!my!mannerisms,!which!was!interesting!to!observe.!I!would!say!that!her!energy!and!approach!is! based!on!me.!I’m!married!with!kids!and!a!big!part!of!her!character!is!that!she’s!single!and!looking!to! be!in!a!relationship.!So!the!character!is!definitely!based!on!me!and!also!distinctly!her!own!creation.! And!then!sometimes!there!were!technical!aspects,!such!as!“we!need!this!Torah!portion!around!this! time!of!year”!or!“we!need!to!get!the!young!Ali!character!to!get!tutored!in!her!bat!mitzvah!portion”.! SC:%Going%over%your%topics%of%discussion%for%tonight’s%event,%can%you%talk%a%little%about%“the% spiritual%journey%of%the%characters%of%Transparent%and%of%the%show%as%a%whole”?! SG:!That’s!the!broader!conversation.!This!journey!that!the!character!Maura!is!taking,!initially!when! people!hear!about!the!show!they!think!it’s!only!that!journey,!but!really!every!character!is!going! through!a!journey!and!reflection.!Maura!has!been!on!the!journey!for!a!long!time!but!when!she!takes! the!step!of!sharing!her!journey!with!them!and!bringing!them!in!to!the!truth!of!her!life,!it!opens!up! their!journeys!as!well.!Some!of!the!spiritual!themes!that!we!look!at!is!of!being!in!the!wilderness.!You! know!most!of!the!Torah!happens!in!the!wilderness.!It’s!not!the!big!epiphanies.!Yes!there’s!a!leaving!of! Egypt!but!after!that!there’s!a!lot!of!time!in!the!wilderness.!The!whole!rest!of!the!Torah!is!in!the! wilderness.!That!idea!that!you!might!have!a!moment!of!coming!out!of!revelation!and!some!aspect!of! yourself!and!then!it’s!the!rest!of!the!journey.!It’s!not!only!an!epiphany.!So!that!idea!and!there’s!also!a! real!throughline!of!using!the!Parsha!(Bible!portion)!Lech!Lecha!where!Avram!and!Sarah,!but!the! communication!from!GCD!is!to!Avram,!to!go!on!a!journey.!If!you!look!at!the!Hebrew!it!says! “goto!yourself!in!this!journey”.!And!it!wasn’t!a!coincidence!that!that!was!the!portion!that!young!Ali!is! chanting.!And!It’s!not!a!coincidence!that!that!bat!mitzvah!on!that!particular!journey!weekend!is! canceled!for!a!whole!complicated!set!of!reasons.!But!a!lot!of!it!was!as!Mort!was!wanting!to!become! Maura!and!the!first!steps!of!trying!that!on!and!that!camp!happened!on!the!same!weekend.!So!that! idea!of!one!character!not!getting!her!chance!to!claim!her!young!womanhood!as!another!character!is! claiming!hers.!So!the!Lech!Lecha!and!the!wilderness!were!both!symbolism!around!that!journey.! SC:%You’ve%said%in%past%interviews%that%the%trans%themes%and%Jewish%themes%are%so%intricately% interwoven%on%the%show.%Can%you%elaborate%on%that?%! SG:%One!of!the!greatest!gifts!that!the!trans!community!gives!us!all!is!the!modeling!of!how!to!take!risks! and!to!come!to!a!deeper!truth!of!who!you!are.!I!think!all!of!us!are!on!that!journey!that!I!spoke!of! earlier.!You!can!see!on!the!show!that!every!one!of!the!characters!are!struggling!to!do!that.!The! tremendous!risks!of!being!a!trans!personCthat!of!total!financial!loss,!risk!of!total!rejection!by!your! family,!risk!of!total!ostracization!from!society.!Those!high!stakes,!the!move!to!being!your!true!self!is! just!something!all!of!us!can!really!learn!so!much!from.! SC:%%Can%you%tell%us%anything%about%the%upcoming%season%of%the%show?! SG:!Oh!it’s!going!to!be!good!!I!know!a!lot!of!people!want!to!know!if!Rabbi!Raquel!is!coming!back!and! she!is!!There!are!some!interesting!fantasy!dream!sequences.!It’ll!continue!on!the!journey!of!each!of! the!characters.! The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!presents!four!episodes!of!the!awardCwinning! show!Transparent$followed!by!an!inCdepth!discussion!by!Rabbi!Susan!Goldberg!on!Saturday!May!9th! at!9pm!at!Canada!Square!in!Toronto.!The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!runs!until!May!10th,!2015.!For! further!information!and!to!purchase!tickets!please!visit!tjff.com.!Season!one!of!Transparent!is! currently!streaming!on!Shomi!Canada!and!is!available!on!Amazon!Studios!for!residents!of!the!United! States.!
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Movies!from!18!countries!at!this!year’s!Toronto! Jewish!Film!Festival! April!28,!2015! http://www.insidetoronto.com/newsCstory/5589996CmoviesCfromC18CcountriesC atCthisCyearCsCtorontoCjewishCfilmCfestival/! !
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The!23rd!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!(TJFF)!will!be!featuring!movies!from! across!the!world!in!theatres!throughout!the!city,!including!North!York’s! Empress!Walk!Cineplex!Cinemas.! The!festival!runs!April!30!to!May!10.! This!year’s!festival!features!110!films!from!18!countries.!More!than!50!of!the! films!will!be!screened!at!the!North!York!location.!
“The!Jewish!world!goes!beyond!Bathurst!Street!and!it’s!important!that!the! Toronto!community!see!that.!Being!Jewish!in!Toronto!is!different!than!it!is!in! Uruguay!or!Poland!or!in!any!one!of!the!18!countries!that!are!represented!in! this!year’s!festival,”!wrote!artistic!director!Helen!Zukerman!in!a!welcome! message!at!www.tjff.com! “It!is!important!to!share!our!history!as!well!as!our!presentCday!existence...So! for!the!Jewish!community,!it!is!an!opportunity!to!see!what!being!Jewish! meant!yesterday!as!well!as!what!it!means!today!in!the!wider!world.”! Besides!films,!this!year’s!festival!will!include!a!series!about!The!Twilight!Zone! creator!Rod!Sterling!and!the!iconic!Jewish!Canadian!actor/director!Al! Waxman.! Rod!Sterling:!The!Mensch!of!the!Twilight!Zone!will!feature!seven!screenings! of!Sterling’s!various!shows,!including!Walking!Distance,!considered!one!of!the! best!Twilight!Zone!episodes.!The!series!also!includes!a!screening!of!In!the! Presence!of!Mine!Enemies,!an!episode!of!Playhouse!90,!about!a!family!living! in!a!Warsaw!Ghetto.! Sterling,!who!died!in!1975,!used!television!as!a!forum!for!social!protest,!the! festival!said,!creating!stories!dealing!with!racism,!war,!conformity!and!even! the!Holocaust.!Setting!his!stories!in!sciCfi!worlds!allowed!him!to!evade! censorship.! Al!Waxman:!A!Jewish!Everyman!will!feature!four!showings,!including!a!threeC episode!showing!of!King!Of!Kensington,!which!starred!Waxman!as!a! convenience!store!clerk.! Waxman,!who!died!in!2001,!is!said!to!have!come!from!blueCcollar!roots!and! his!characters!are!relatable!to!the!workingCclass!and!ethnic!outsiders!and! they!are!often!Jewish.! This!year’s!opening!night!film!is!Dancing!With!Arabs,!an!IsraeliCFrenchC German!film!spoken!in!Hebrew!and!Arabic!(with!English!subtitles),!by! director!Eran!Riklis.!The!film!is!an!adaptation!of!Sayed!Kashua’s!Arab!Labor,! about!a!young!ArabCIsraeli!citizen!at!an!Israeli!school.! The!first!presentation!at!the!Empress!Walk!will!be!on!the!second!day!of!the! festival!(May!1),!featuring!a!screening!of!the!first!five!episodes!of!the!Israeli! TV!show!Hostages.!Total!run!time!is!180!minutes.! The!festival!will!close!with!Uruguay’s!Mr.!Kaplan,!a!comedy!by!director!Álvaro! Brechner.! The!Empress!Walk!is!at!5095!Yonge!St.!For!a!full!schedule!of!screenings,! tickets!and!for!more!information,!visit!www.tjff.com!
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TRIBUTE:!Al!Waxman!will!forever!be!the!King!of! Kensington!! By:!Jordan!Adler!|!April!29,!2015! http://www.cjnews.com/news/tributeCalCwaxmanCwillCforeverCbeCkingCkensington! !
! One!day,!Sara!Waxman!was!driving!around!Montreal!with!a!FrenchCCanadian!guide.! Waxman!told!the!woman!that!she!was!a!widow!but!that!her!husband!had!visited! Montreal!quite!often.!When!the!guide!asked!for!her!late!husband’s!name,!she! replied,!“Al!Waxman.”! “The!King!of!Kensington?”!the!Québécois!guide!asked,!stunned.! Waxman!says!the!guide!instantly!pulled!over!and!explained!that!her!father! watched!King$of$Kensington!–!the!CBC!series!that!made!Al!Waxman!a!household! name!across!the!country!–!religiously.!Her!father!couldn’t!speak!English,!the!guide! said,!but!he!made!sure!to!watch!the!show!every!time!it!was!on!television.!!
“He!had!an!impact!in!many,!many!small!ways,”!Waxman!says!of!her!husband,!who! would!have!turned!80!this!year.!“After!he!died,!I!got!over!1,000!letters!–!and!I!still! have!them!–!from!strangers!all!over!the!country.”! Even!14!years!after!his!death,!Sara!and!son,!Adam!Waxman,!often!hear!about!the! impact!King$of$Kensington!had!on!the!lives!of!Canadians.!Some!tell!them!the!show! helped!to!teach!their!parents!English.!Sara!says!a!young!boy!ran!away!from!home! and!travelled!to!Kensington!Market!to!meet!Al!Waxman,!who!played!convenience! store!owner!Larry!King!on!the!popular!CBC!series.!! “He!was!so!tender,”!Adam!told!The$CJN.!“I!think!a!lot!of!people!felt!they!knew!him! because!he!put!so!much!of!himself!into!his!characters.”!! Audiences!hoping!to!spend!some!time!in!the!company!of!the!late!acting!great!should! line!up!early!for!the!Canadian!Archival!series!at!this!year’s!Toronto!Jewish!Film! Festival.! The!TJFF!will!play!an!afternoon!of!King$of$Kensington!episodes!May!2!at!the!ROM! Theatre.!A!Q&A!with!Sara!Waxman,!series!creator!Perry!Rosemond,!actors!Jayne! Eastwood!and!Rosemary!Radcliffe!and!producer!Joe!Partington!will!follow!the! episodes.!Adam!will!lead!the!Q&A.!! The!archival!series!will!also!highlight!some!of!Waxman’s!screen!work.!On!May!9,!the! festival!will!screen!Sun$in$My$Eyes,!Waxman’s!film!debut,!where!he!plays!a!Jewish! man!confronting!the!darkness!of!NaziCoccupied!Poland.!The!same!day,!audiences! can!check!out!The$Winnings$of$Frankie$Walls,!for!which!Waxman!won!an!Earle!Grey! Award,!the!Gemini!Award!for!lifetime!achievement.! When!she!first!saw!The$Winnings$of$Frankie$Walls,!Sara!was!astonished!to!discover! that!the!character!in!the!opening!scene!was!her!husband.!She!didn’t!even!recognize! him!until!a!few!minutes!into!the!film.! “All!his!performances!amazed!me!because!I!know!the!man,”!she!says.!“I!know!every! movement,!I!know!every!expression.![OnCscreen],!his!whole!body,!his!whole! demeanour…!he!became!a!stranger.”! The!son!of!Jewish!immigrants!from!Poland,!Waxman!was!on!his!way!to!becoming!a! lawyer!when!the!flu!made!him!miss!several!months!of!classes.!He!abandoned!law! school!to!pursue!acting,!initially!much!to!his!parents’!chagrin.!! Waxman!was!working!as!a!director!at!the!CBC!and!doing!occasional!acting!gigs! when!he!was!offered!King$of$Kensington.!Although!he!was!first!asked!to!direct,! Waxman!campaigned!for!the!part!of!the!lead!character.!The!producers!approved.! The!part!of!King!came!to!him!naturally.!As!a!boy,!Waxman!grew!up!near!the!corner! of!Spadina!Avenue!and!Nassau!Street!in!Kensington!Market!in!Toronto,!living!in!a! small!apartment!above!a!poultry!shop.!!
The!show!was!an!instant!hit,!pulling!in!nearly!two!million!Canadian!viewers!a!week.! Canadians!responded!to!King’s!workingCclass!sensibility,!as!well!as!the!show’s! humour,!social!commentary!and!ethnic!diversity.!! “He!was!so!unabashedly!proud!to!be!Canadian!and!to!be!Jewish,”!Adam!says.!“He! wasn’t!one!of!those!actors!who!would!change!his!name!so!it!sounded!less!ethnic.!He! was!a!really!strong!proponent!of!promoting!Canada.”! He!also!began!Al’s!Gym,!where!he!mentored!professional!actors!rehearsing!a!role!or! preparing!an!audition.!Waxman!gave!advice!and!his!time,!and!didn’t!ask!for!any! money!in!return.! Adam!says!that!despite!his!father’s!busy!schedule,!he!was!constantly!available!for! him.!! “He!would!fly!home!from!Los!Angeles!to!help!me!with!my!math!homework!or!to! watch!my!judo!tournaments!or!my!track!meets,”!he!says.!“I’d!hear!him!shouting!my! name,!and!it!would!just!ignite!my!spirit!because!he!was!there.”!! After!finding!fame!on!Canadian!and!American!TV!with!Kensington$and!Cagney$and$ Lacey,!Waxman!continued!to!be!a!mensch!in!his!community.!He!was!the!national! campaign!chairman!for!the!Canadian!Cancer!Society,!as!well!as!a!spokesman!for! Israel!Bonds!and!UJA.!! Waxman!was!named!to!the!Order!of!Canada!and!the!Order!of!Ontario.!There!is!also!a! statue!of!him,!appropriately,!in!Kensington!Market.!However,!he!is!not!on!the! Canadian!Walk!of!Fame,!a!point!of!some!controversy.!! Late!in!his!career,!he!put!a!lot!of!focus!on!stage!performances.!His!performance!as! Willy!Loman!in!a!Stratford!Festival!production!of!Death$of$a$Salesman!in!1997! earned!him!rave!reviews.!He!lost!close!to!80!pounds!for!the!play.! Waxman!also!directed!for!the!stage!(Lost$in$Yonkers$in!Toronto,!The$Diary$of$Anne$ Frank!in!Stratford)!and!television,!earning!an!Emmy!nomination!for!the!TV! movie!Maggie’s$Secret.! Waxman!was!slated!to!play!Shylock!in!a!Stratford!production!of!The$Merchant$of$ Venice!in!2001.!However,!he!died!during!a!bypass!operation!in!January!of!that!year.! “He!said,!‘I’m!going!to!make!everybody!love!Shylock,’”!Sara!told!The$CJN.!“And!he! would!have,!if!he!had!the!chance.”! After!his!father’s!death,!Adam!decided!to!move!into!acting.!He!went!to!the!same! theatre!school!his!father!attended!in!New!York!–!a!symbolic!way!!to!walk!alongside! his!father’s!path,!Adam!says.!! “Under!the!stage!lights,!he!was!a!star.!But!in!my!eyes,!he!was!so!much!bigger!than! that,”!he!says.!“He!was!the!greatest!man!I’ll!ever!know.!He!gave!me!enough!love!to! fuel!me!for!a!lifetime.”! Jordan$Adler$is$a$frequent$contributor$to$The!CJN.!
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"WE!ARE!ALL!STORIES"!HERNAN!GUERSCHUNY! By:!!Anna!Buira!|!April!27,!2015! http://www.torontoentero.ca/todosCsomosCrelatosChernanCguerschuny/! !
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"The$Critic",$the$writer$and$Argentine$director$Hernรกn$Guerschuny$,$is$the$story$of$ Victor$Tellez,$a$film$critic$who$is$in$a$time$where$his$life$takes$a$turn$when$he$begins$to$ write$a$script$for$a$film$experiencing$other$activities$that$was$not$used.$In$Toronto$ Integer,$we$enjoyed$an$interesting$conversation$with$the$director$and$Argentine$writer$ who$reveals$the$entire$creative$process$of$his$first$film.! In%history%and%film%theory%in%many%chapters%talking%about%the%figure%of%the% muse%as%inspiration%for%directors%and%screenwriters.%In%"The%Critic",%Sofia%ends% up%being%the%muse%of%Victor%Tellez.%What%was%your%muse%to%write%and%direct% this%film?% The!creation!of!the!film!took!me!many!years,!and!not!just!because!it!took!me!to! write!the!script,!but!also!because!a!hard!time!getting!financing.!Whereupon,!the! versions!were!reCwriting!and!reCwriting,!and!the!things!that!were!happening!to!me! in!my!life!were!changing.!So!while!writing!the!film!thinking!of!different!people;!my! muses!kept!changing,!but!also!inspired!me!in!movie!characters.!Finally,!when!I!had! to!direct!it,!I!was!in!a!different!stage!of!my!life;!I!was!married!with! children.!Undoubtedly,!the!person!who!accompanied!me!and!who!I!dedicate!the!film! in!the!end!is!my!wife!and!the!mother!of!two!children.!Of!course,!it!is!the!person!with! whom!I!finished!relating!all!wish!that!instead!of!occupying!the!muse.!But!again,!the! journey!was!so!long!that!I!pulled!at!one!point!and!ended!with!another.! We%see%that%the%main%character,%thinks%in%French%...%Why?% That's!an!idea!that!truth,!like!many!other!ideas!of!the!film!made!them!because!I!liked!
them.!But!the!question!I!asked!myself!all!the!time!was!whether!it!was!a!joke!that! could!work!in!the!world,!because!the!Argentine!intellectuals!and!film!lovers!in! particular!have!as!unresolved!trauma!French!cinema.Especially!the!cinema!of! the!Nouvelle!Vague!representing!a!symbol;!an!interesting,!deep,!intellectual! cinema.!A!film!that!represents!a!space!that!faces!the!Hollywood!cinema.!And!of! course!I!always!consider!it!a!prejudice,!because!when!one!begins!to!see!the!films!of! the!Nouvelle!Vague!is!that!many!of!these!are!emotional!and!deeply!romantic! comedies.!It!is!not!an!intellectual!film;!It!is!full!of!beautiful,!full!of!muses!just!women,! which!is!a!prejudice.!But!for!the!character!of!my!film,!to!think!in!French!and!imagine! an!ideal!life!as!in!those!French!films!he!loved!during!his!training!as!a!critic,!an!idea! that!seemed!well!supported!what!was!shaping!character.!
! "The%Critic"%is%your%debut,%and%has%not%only%written%the%script,%but%has%also% directed%the%film.%What%was%more%challenging,%writing%the%script,%or%direct%the% film?% I!see!everything!as!part!of!the!same!process,!I!do!not!know!if!you!could!separate.!So!I! think!when!you!write!a!script,!directs!the!actors!or!choose!the!position!of!a!camera,! he!is!always!trying!to!tell!you!something.!I!was!convinced!that!rather!than!becoming! a!film!director!I!wanted!was!to!make!this!film.For!many!years!I!dreamed!of!how!this! film!wanted!to!be!see.!When!she!is!writing!the!script,!and!imagined!the!kind!of!plane! he!wanted,!what!he!had!to!explain!to!the!actor!and!what!lie!to!tell!the!actress!to! react!a!certain!way.!So!for!me,!it!was!all!part!of!the!same!process,!with!the!intention! of!telling!a!story!I!had!in!my!head!and!I!had!to!try!to!take!form!on!the!big!screen.! Can%you%tell%a%story%of%the%creative%process,%or%shooting?% There!are!thousands!because!one!thing!I!learned!doing!the!film!is!that!movies!are!
more!the!result!of!a!series!of!chances.!It!is!like!the!art!of!the!possible.!You!may!be! planning!a!plan!for!years!and!then!the!result!ends!up!being!the!consequence!that! one!day!there!came!the!sun,!for!example.!! Now!I!come!to!mind!a!scene!where!we!meet!at!5!in!the!morning!trying!to!find!what! called!the!magic!hour!.!We!try!to!shoot!a!sunset!but!left!at!dawn!in!an!early!scene! where!Sofia!and!Victor!are!eatingchoripรกn!(a!very!typical!meal!Argentina).!We! mobilized!a!team!of!40!people!at!5!in!the!morning!to!tax!this!morning!that!the!film! would!be!a!sunset,!and!of!course,!the!day!dawned!cloudy!...!We!eat!choripรกn!actors! early,!it's!disgusting,!and!ultimately,!We!assembling!finished!picking!up!shots.!This! is!one!example!of!what!you!plan!is!not!always!what!you!just!saw!on!the!screen.! The%film%tells%the%story%of%Victor%Tellez,%film%critic%whom%he%likes%some% Hollywood%movies.%We%see%a%character%in%modern%cinema%search,%find%part%of% Bazin,%Cartier,%Godard%yet,%something%different%and%unique%...%Do%you%think%this% character%shows%a%portion%of%film%critics%today?% To!be!fair,!the!truth!is!that!I!tried!to!illustrate!a!caste!of!critics!that!I!knew!when!I! started!the!magazine!"!Making!Movies!"20!years!ago.!A!time!when!there!were!no! social!networking,!no!internet,!and!were!only!12C15!critics!writing!in!the! mainstream!media,!and!gathered!in!a!private!media!room,!as!I!show!in!the!film,!and! it!It!depended!the!fate!of!the!film.!In!addition,!people!were!completely!inaccessible,! which!one!did!not!know!their!faces.!Today,!the!situation!is!very!different!because! you!find!them!at!festivals,!in!social!networks,!you!can!send!an!eCmail!directly!...!So,! the!film!is!inspired!more!by!the!time!where!the!aesthetic!canons!were!also!much! more!rigid!for!what!was!the!valid!and!invalid!cinema,!although!the!film!does!not! refer!to!any!technology,!because!I!wanted!it!to!be!a!bit!timeless.!
!
Which%phrase%which%says%Victor%throughout%the%film%do%you%most%identify:% a)!"La!maladie!du!cinema"!b)!"Money,!always!money"!c)!"I'm!pathetic"!! d)!"Life,!a!grocery!store!spend!opportunities!"!! If!you!make!me!choose!between!these!four,!I!think!I'll!stick!with!that!"I'm!pathetic,"! because!I!think!that!is!where!the!pathos!show!us!how!we!are.!True!honesty!is!seen! in!these!times!when!we!can!not!control!how!we!look.!We!cease!to!be!"cool"!and! thinking!how!clever!phrase!we!say!...!The!photojournalist!has!the!great!advantage!of! having!plenty!of!time!to!think!about!what!you!write.Instead,!the!pathos!comes!from! these!moments!where!you!do!not!have!that!possibility!and!has!to!show!what!it!is.!I! love!this!!I!love!the!characters!that!show!moments!of!pathos!and!people!who!can! afford!to!be!pathetic,!or!go!to!places!that!can!leave!them!absurd!or! outside!syncro!.!But!surely,!all!the!phrases!you!named,!I!was!accompanied!at!the! time!of!creation!and!direction!of!the!film!and!at!times,!I!felt!very!identified!with! them.! What%does%it%mean%for%you%who%have%selected%"Critical"%to%be%presented%at% the%2015%Toronto%Jewish%Film%Festival%%in%Toronto?% The!film!has!gone!to!more!than!30!festivals,!and!the!truth!is!that!every!invitation!to! a!new!festival,!the!celebration!as!the!first.!What's!so!wonderful!film!is!that!you!do! the!movie,!you!put!your!life!in!that!month!of!filming,!then!make!the!assembly!and! release!it!...!but!after!the!film!has!its!own!life!!There!are!many!people!who!begin!to! discover!for!the!first!time.!You!already!have!the!head!elsewhere,!and!you!keep! coming!emails!with!comments!on!the!movie.!Now,!you!can!see!the!citizens!of! Canada,!I!find!it!incredible.!I!also!find!great!appeal!that!have!appreciated!the!Jewish! element!because!the!truth!is!that!it!is!very!subtle!in!the!film.!It's!something!that! keeps!surprising!me!yet,!I!love!it!and!have!valued!for!the!Festival!in!Toronto.%! How%do%you%think%the%Canadian%audience%will%receive%this%film?% Well!I!have!no!idea.!I!am!very!curious,!so!what!I!do!is!ask!the!audience!to! tag!elcriticolapeli!so!I!can!find!out!what!they!think,!even!if!they!are!the!most! merciless!criticism.! As%Victor's%niece%says%at%one%point%in%the%film%Agatha:?%"Art%imitates%life"%% Woody!Allen!completed!the!sentence!saying!that!"life!does!not!imitate!art,!but!bad! television"!and!I!think!a!definition!very!successful.!What!often!happens!is!that!we! are!in!times!in!our!life!when!we!say,!"this,!if!we!put!it!in!a!movie,!it!is!unlikely".!Then! life!has!this!ability!to!be!like!the!movie!is!a!clichĂŠ!all!the!time!we!married,!we!have! children,!we!have!a!life!together,!we!parted,!we!suffer!...!Somehow,!we!are!all!a!big! cliche;!we!all!do!the!same!and!yet,!when!one!lives!in!first!person,!is!unique!and! particular.!We!are!all!stories.!! One!thread!of!the!movie!is!like!life!and!art!sometimes!they!feed.!A!guy!like!Victor! Tellez,!who!has!his!life!immersed!in!a!screen,!reaches!a!point!where!it!starts!to!mix! what!is!true!and!what!is!fiction,!and!no!difference!where!one!thing!ends!and!the! other!begins.!
! And%in%the%words%of%Victor%Tellez,%the%critic,%"you%think%that%cinema%is%dead"?% No,!quite!the!opposite.!I!think!we!have!no!idea!what!the!film!yet.!It!is!an!art!too! young,!when!compared!to!the!music!or!literature,!almost!still!is!gaining!its!place!in! the!arts.!Anyone!trying!to!define!what!is!the!cinema,!a!mistake!that!film!critics!tend! to!fall,!they!are!wrong.!I!have!heard!phrases!like!"film!with!two!actors,!is!theater"!or! "music!underscores!emotions."!We!tend!to!define!what!cinema!should!be,!and!the! film!has!just!over!100!years.!It!is!a!baby!beside!other!arts.!So!he's!not!dead.!More! and!more!content!production,!more!screens,!and!are!therefore!increasingly! redefines!what!is!cinema.I!think!we!have!no!idea!...%! What%projects%are%you%working%on%right%now?% Right!now!I'm!working!on!two!projects.!With!"The!Critic"!founded!a!production! company!with!which!we!are!producing!films!by!other!directors.!June!4!premiered!a! film!as!a!producer,!who!led!Daniela!Goggi!and!called!"Abzurdah".!This!film!is!based! on!a!!bestseller!!Cielo!Latini!that!tells!the!story!of!an!anorexic,!and!is!starring!actress! Eugenia!!Suarez!China!.!Moreover,!I!will!direct!a!new!film!in!August!also!my! producer.!It!is!a!movie!called!"A!Night!of!Love"!with!!Julieta!Diaz!!and!Sebastian! Wainraich!,!two!Argentine!players.!Somehow,!this!film!visit!some!of!the!themes!of! "The!Critic"!but!from!a!totally!opposite!position.! And%to%finish%...%A%wish?% Follow!filming,!because!the!truth!is!that!I!had!a!great!time,!and!I'm!doing!very!well.!I! have!yet!many!things!to!tell,!and!some!things!that!happened!with!"The!Critic",!I! suspect!that!some!people!have!wanted!to!see!more,!and!this!is!the!best.!
! My!Italian!Secret:!The!Forgotten!Heroes! By:!Mariella!Policheni!|!May!8,!2015! http://www.corriere.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=506:m yCitalianCsecretCtheCforgottenCheroes&catid=35&Itemid=467&lang=en! ! TORONTO!C!It!is!a! compelling! documentary!"My! Italian!Secret:!The! Forgotten!Heroes"!that! will!be!on!May!7!at!the! Toronto!Jewish!Film! Festival,!which!began! on!April!30!will!close!its! doors!on!May! 10.!Writer,!director!and! producer!of!the!film! that!lasts!90!minutes,! Oren!Jacoby!who!also! directed!Lafayette:!The! Lost!Hero!(2010),! Constantine's!Sword! (2008),!Sister!Rose's!Passion!(2005),!The!Shakespeare!Sessions!(2003),!Stage!on! Screen:!The!Topdog!Diaries!(2002),!The!Beatles!Revolution!(2000),!and!Sam!Shepard:! Stalking!Himself!(1998).!Its!also!the!stage!adaptation!of!Ralph!Ellison's!Invisible!Man,! which!debuted!in!2012!in!the!Court!Theater!in!Chicago.!A!documentary,!this,!that!tells! the!story!of!the!cyclist!Gino!Bartali,!the!doctor!Giovanni!Borromeo!and!other!Italians! who!secretly!worked!to!save!Jews!and!fugitives!from!the!Nazis!during!World!War! II.!Bartali,!the!winner!of!the!Tour!de!France!in!1938,!made!hundreds!of!trips!carrying! false!documents!in!the!crossbar!of!his!bike.!The!testimonies!of!the!survivors!alternate! with!images!of!the!archives!of!the!years!of!the!Second!World!War.The!stories!are!told!in! the!first!person!by!some!Jews!survived!thanks!to!the!help!of!Bartali!but!also!of!many! other!Italians!who!to!save!them!have!risked!their!lives.!In!the!documentary!is!devoted! to!testimonies!of!Andrea!Bartali,!Riccardo!Pacifici,!Peter!Borromeo,!Gaia!Servadio,! Charlotte!Hauptman,!Piero!Terracina,!Ursula!Korn!Selig,!Ugo!Sciamanno,!Mercedes! Virgili,!Grazia!Viterbi,!Giorgio!Goldenberg,!Wanda!Lattes,!Sister!Benedetta.!To!tell!us! about!the!birth!of!this!work!is!the!American!director!Oren!Jacoby.!What!made!you! decide!to!produce!and!direct!"My!Italian!Secret:!The!Forgotten!Heroes":!those!who!gave! this!idea?!"The!idea!was!given!to!me!from!Italy!and!the!Holocaust!Foundation,!a!nonC profit!organization!founded!in!2010!which!is!based!in!New!York!and!that!aims!to!collect! and!disclose!stories!of!surviving!Jews!in!Italy!during!'!holocaust.!Lives!saved!by!the!
!
courage!of!so!many!Italians.!In!sharing!these!stories,!the!Foundation!aims!to!teach! future!generations!that!if!people!are!not!indifferent,!things!can!be!different.!Here,!I! wanted!to!do!something!on!this!issue!for!some!time.!I!knew!the!terrible!history!of!the!8! thousand!Italian!Jews!deported!in!1943!died!in!the!Holocaust.!"!She!has!already! explored!this!theme!in!another!film,!Constantine's!Sword.!"In!this!documentary!film,! which!is!inspired!by!the!book!by!the!former!priest!James!Carroll,!I!analyzed!the! relationship!between!the!Catholic!Church!and!the!Jews!during!the!Second!World!War!by! emphasizing!the!unfortunate!aspect!of!the!success!or!failure!of!the!church!to!protect!the! Jews!and!other!citizens!by!the!Nazis.!"!The!church!is!therefore!guilty!of!failing!to!protect! people!in!danger?!"The!story!is!never!black!and!white,!there!are!shades.!I!think!it's! important!to!remember!the!people!who!risked!their!lives,!including!also!people!of! Italian!church,!who!wanted!to!do!the!right!thing!and!who!rebelled,!who!did!not!want!to! obey!blindly!and!follow!the!flock!but!who!courageously!took!a!stand!,!answered!their! conscience!rather!than!to!certain!doctrines.!"!In!addition!to!Gino!Bartali,!then,!there! were!many!Italians!who!worked!to!save!Jews!when!they!entered!into!force!the!Fascist! racial!laws!aimed!mainly!C!but!not!only!C!against!people!of!the!Jewish!religion.!"Yes,!the! history!of!Italy!is!different!from!that!of!the!rest!of!Europe!where!most!of!the!Jews!ended! up!in!concentration!camps!in!Germany!and!Poland.!While!80%!of!European!Jews!was! killed!in!the!Nazi!genocide!during!the!Second!World!War,!80%!of!Italian!Jews!survived! thanks!to!the!heroic!and!ingenious!subterfuge!of!ordinary!citizens.!The!winner!of!the! Tour!de!France!1938!Gino!Bartali,!for!example,!made!hundreds!of!trips!carrying!false! documents!in!his!bicycle!while!a!doctor!in!Rome,!Dr.!Borromeo!even!invented!a! nonexistent!disease!to!scare!the!SS!and!keep!them!away!from!the!hospital!on!'!Tiber! Island!where!it!hid!Jews.!"!The!question!that!naturally!arises!is!why!so!many!people! chose!to!take!risks,!endangering!their!own!lives!to!save!strangers?!"Most!of!the!people! to!whom!I!addressed!this!question!I!replied"!what!else!could!I!do?!or!"it!was!the!right! thing!to!do."!There!is!something,!in!my!opinion,!in!the!character!of!the!Italians!that! drives!them!to!do!what!they!feel!and!not!what!the!authorities!want!to!impose!them!in! addition!to!the!fact!that!they!are!very!compassionate.!Of!course,!many!others,!such!as! the!Italian!fascists,!have!done!terrible!things,!many!people!just!to!have!a!larger! apartment!have!been!happy!to!see!the!neighbors!arrested.!Do!not!forget!that!it!was!in! times!of!war,!there!was!a!lot!of!pressure!on!people,!he!lived!in!a!climate!scary.!"!The! voice!of!Gino!Bartali!in!the!film!is!that!of!Robert!Loggia!while!the!narrator!is!Isabella! Rossellini.!How!was!it!working!with!her?"It!was!fabulous,!is!an!extremely!generous,!he! was!enthusiastic.!Yes,!really!I!liked!this!documentary.!"!It!is!important!that!young! people!see!this!documentary!film?"The!figure!of!Bartali!is!in!itself!fascinating,!it!is!a! great!champion!in!cycling!but!not!everyone!knows!what!he!did!during!the!Second! World!War.!Children!can!discover!a!story!even!bigger.!We!live!in!a!difficult!time,!it!is! important!to!make!young!people!understand!the!danger!dell'invasamento!religious! propaganda!as!the!one!made!by!ISIS.!Since!the!end!of!the!last!world!war!there!were!3!or! 4!in!the!world!other!genocides,!we!must!not!lose!concentration.!"!In!"My!Italian!Secret:! the!Forgotten!Heroes"!the!protagonists!are!ordinary!people!who!have!accomplished! feats,!as!in!the!words!of!an!Italian!expression,!that!"the!good!you!do!but!you!do!not! say."!"Usually!when!we!speak!of!the!Second!World!War,!it!does!it!in!a!negative!way.!This! film!will!highlight!the!positive!side!of!such!horror,!he!wants!to!tell!of!brave!people!who! will!seek!to!save!people!in!danger.!It!is!a!film!positive,!hopeful.!And!it!is!also!a!film!in! which!the!survivors!thank!the!people!who!have!saved!their!lives.!Bartali!as!well!as! many!other!Italians.!"!
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‰ÓÒÚ‡Ú˙Í Ë ‰‡ ÒÎÓÊË Ï‡ÎÍÓ ˆ‚ˇÚ ̇ ÎˈÂÚÓ. ¿ Ú‡ÁË ÔÓÙÂÒˡ  ÏÌÓ„Ó Ôӂ˜ - Úˇ  ڂӘÂÒÚ‚Ó, ËÁÍÛÒÚ‚ÓÚÓ ‰‡ ÓÚÍ˯
‘ËÎÏ˙Ú ì¡˙΄‡Ò͇ ‡ÔÒӉˡî ̇ ÂÊËÒ¸Ó‡ »‚‡Ì Õ˘‚ ˘Â ·˙‰Â ÔÓ͇Á‡Ì ̇ ‘ÂÒÚË‚‡Î‡ ̇ ‚ÂÈÒÍÓÚÓ ÍËÌÓ ‚ “ÓÓÌÚÓ, ÍÓÈÚÓ Ú‡ÁË „Ó‰Ë̇ ÓÚ·ÂΡÁ‚‡ 23 „. ÓÚ Ò˙Á‰‡‚‡ÌÂÚÓ ÒË. ÀÂÌÚ‡Ú‡ ÏÓÊ ‰‡ ·˙‰Â ‚ˉˇÌ‡ ̇ 4 Ï‡È ÓÚ 8 ˜‡Ò‡ ‚˜ÂÚ‡ ‚ Empress Walk 5 Ë Ì‡ 8 Ï‡È ÓÚ 1 ˜‡Ò‡ ÒΉ Ó·ˇ‰ ‚ Innis Town Hall. “ˇ ·Â¯Â ·˙΄‡Ò͇ڇ ÌÓÏË̇ˆËˇ Á‡ ŒÒ͇.
‘ËÎÏ˙Ú Â ËÒÚÓˡ Á‡ β·Ó‚ Ë ÔˡÚÂÎÒÚ‚Ó, ÒÎÛ˜‚‡˘‡ Ò ‚ —ÓÙˡ ÔÂÁ ΡÚÓÚÓ Ì‡ 1943 „. ÕÂÁ‡‚ËÒËÏÓ ÓÚ ÂÒÚË͈ËËÚ Í˙Ï Â‚ÂËÚÂ, 17-„Ӊ˯ÌËˇÚ ÃÓÌË ÛÒÔˇ‚‡ ‰‡ Ê˂ ҂ӷӉÌÓ, ·Î‡„Ó‰‡ÂÌË ̇ ̇È-‰Ó·Ëˇ ÒË ÔˡÚÂÎ ƒÊÓ‰ÊÓ, ÍÓÈÚÓ, ÔÓ‰Ó·ÌÓ Ì‡ ÏÌÓ„Ó Ò‚ÓË Ò˙ÓÚ˜ÂÒÚ‚ÂÌˈË, Ì ÔÓ‰ÍÂÔˇ Ò„„‡ˆËˇÚ‡ ̇ ‚ÂËÚÂ. (œÓ‰˙Îʇ‚‡ ̇ 7-χ ÒÚ.)
—ÌËÏÍË: À˘ÂÌ ‡ıË‚
͇ÒÓÚ‡Ú‡ Ë ‰‡ ˇ ÔÓ‰˜Âڇ¯, ͇ÚÓ ‰ÓË ÔÓÌˇÍÓ„‡ ËÁÌÂ̇‰‡¯ Ë Ò‡Ïˡ ÏÓ‰ÂÎ. ƒ‡ Ëχ¯ ÓÍÓ Á‡ ÚÓ‚‡ Ó·‡˜Â Ì  ‰ÓÒ-
Ú‡Ú˙˜ÌÓ. ÕÛÊÌÓ Â ‰‡ ÒË Û˜ËÎ, ‰‡ Ëχ¯ ÓÔËÚ Ë ÔÓ‰ıÓ‰ˇ˘ ı‡‡ÍÚÂ. ì–‡·ÓÚ‡Ú‡ ̇ „ËϸӇ  ÒÔ·‚ ÓÚ Ô‰‡ÌÚËÁ˙Ï Ë Ù‡ÌÚ‡Áˡî, ͇Á‚‡¯Â ‰ËÌ ÓÚ Ì‡È-„ÓÎÂÏËÚ ·˙΄‡ÒÍË „ËϸÓË ƒËÏËÚ˙ ÓÍÎËÌ. ¿ ͇ˇڇ ̇ Ò˙̇ӉÌ˘͇ڇ ÌË ÓÚ “ÓÓÌÚÓ ¬ÂÓÌË͇ œÂÚÍÓ‚‡, ÍÓˇÚÓ „ËÏˇ ÏÓÏ˘ÂÚ‡Ú‡ ÓÚ ÍÓÌÍÛÒ‡ ìÃËÒ ¡˙΄‡Ëˇ ‚ ‡Ì‡‰‡ 2015 „.î „Ó ÔÓÚ‚˙ʉ‡‚‡. Õ‡ ‚Ò˘ÍË Û˜‡ÒÚÌ˘ÍË Í‡ÒÓÚ‡Ú‡ ËÏ ·Â¯Â ÔÓ͇Á‡Ì‡ Ë ËÁ„ÎÂʉ‡ı‡ ÚÓÎÍÓ‚‡ ÂÒÚÂÒÚ‚ÂÌÓ. » ÌËÚÓ Â‰Ì‡ Ì ÒÔÂÒÚË ÒÛÔ·ÚË‚Ë Á‡ Ï·‰‡Ú‡ „ËϸÓ͇ ͇ÍÚÓ Á‡ ‡·ÓÚ‡Ú‡ ∫, ڇ͇ Ë Á‡ ÔˡÚ̇ڇ ‡ÚÏÓÒÙ‡, ÍÓˇÚÓ Â Ò˙Á‰‡Î‡. ì–‡·ÓÚ‡Ú‡ ÔÓ ÍÓÌÍÛÒ‡ Ì ·Â¯Â ÌÂ˘Ó ÔÓ-ÒÔˆˇÎÌÓ ÓÚ ÚÓ‚‡, ÍÓÂÚÓ ÔÓ ÔË̈ËÔ Ô‡‚ˇ.
(œÓ‰˙Îʇ‚‡ ̇ 6-Ú‡ ÒÚ.)
200 âîåííè â Óêðàéíà
‡Ì‡‰‡ ˘Â ËÁÔ‡ÚË 200 ‚ÓÂÌÌË ‚ ”͇È̇ ÓÚ Ì‡˜‡ÎÓÚÓ Ì‡ ÚÓ‚‡ ΡÚÓ ‰Ó 31 Ï‡Ú 2017 „Ó‰Ë̇, ˜ËˇÚÓ ‡·ÓÚ‡ ˘Â  ‰‡ Ó·Û˜‡‚‡Ú Û͇ËÌÒÍËÚ ‚˙Ó˙ÊÂÌË ÒËÎË. “Ó‚‡ Ò˙Ó·˘Ë ÔÂÏËÂ˙Ú —ÚË‚˙Ì ’‡Ô˙. “ÓÈ Ì‡Ô‡‚Ë ËÁˇ‚ÎÂÌËÂÚÓ ‚ ÔËÒ˙ÒÚ‚ËÂÚÓ Ì‡ ÏËÌËÒÚ˙‡ ̇ ÓÚ·‡Ì‡Ú‡
Ë ÏÛÎÚËÍÛÎÚÛ‡ÎËÁ‚‡ ƒÊÂÈÒ˙Ì ÂÌË Ë ¯ÂÙ‡ ̇ √Â̇ÎÌˡ ˘‡· “ÓÏ ÀÓÛÒ˙Ì. “‡ÁË ÒÚ˙Ô͇ ÔÓ͇Á‚‡, ˜Â ŒÚ‡‚‡ ÔÓ‰˙Îʇ‚‡ ‰‡ Ò ÓÚ‰‡Î˜‡‚‡ ÓÚ Ú‡‰ËˆËÓÌ̇ڇ ÒË ÔÓÎËÚË͇ ‰‡ ËÁÔ‡˘‡ Ò‡ÏÓ ÏËÓÚ‚Ó˜ÂÒÍË ÒËÎË. (œÓ‰˙Îʇ‚‡ ̇ 7-χ ÒÚ.)
ÇÀÏÎÂßÄÀÉÒÅ Â ÍÎÂÎÒÎ ÈÇÄÀÍÈÅ Canadian Bulgarian Business Directory
2015
(œÓ‰˙Îʇ‚‡ ̇ 6-Ú‡ ÒÚ.)
„Áúëãàðñêà ðàïñîäèÿ“ íà ôåñòèâàë â Òîðîíòî
‡‰˙ ÓÚ ÙËÎχ ì¡˙΄‡Ò͇ ‡ÔÒӉˡî.
«‡ Û˜‡ÒÚËÂ, ÔÓÁ‚˙ÌÂÚ ÚÂÎ. 416.962.7100
Œ¡Ÿ≈—“¬Œ
April 20, 2015
Bulgarian Horizons
7
„Áúëãàðñêà ðàïñîäèÿ“ íà ôåñòèâàë â Òîðîíòî (œÓ‰˙ÎÊÂÌË ÓÚ 1-‚‡ ÒÚ.)
Ó„‡ÚÓ Ë ‰‚‡Ï‡Ú‡ Ï·‰ÂÊË Ò ‚β·‚‡Ú ‚ ÿÂÎË, ÒË·ڇ ̇ ÚˇıÌÓÚÓ ÔˡÚÂÎÒÚ‚Ó Â ÔÓÒÚ‡‚Â̇ ̇ ËÁÔËÚ‡ÌËÂ. ƒÓ·Â ̇ԇ‚ÂÌ Ë ‰Ó·Â ËÁË„‡Ì, ì¡˙΄‡Ò͇ ‡ÔÒӉˡî  ‰ÌÓ‚ÂÏÂÌÌÓ ÏËÎ ‡Á͇Á Á‡ ˛ÌÓ¯ÂÒÚ‚ÓÚÓ Ë Ò˙ˆÂ‡Á‰Ë‡ÚÂÎÂÌ ÔӄΉ ‚˙ıÛ ‚ÎˡÌËÂÚÓ Ì‡ ‚ÓÈ̇ڇ Ë Ì‡ˆËÒÚÍˡ ‡ÌÚËÒÂÏËÚËÁ˙Ï. ¬˙‚ ÙËÎχ Û˜‡ÒÚ‚‡Ú β·ËÏËÚ ·˙΄‡ÒÍË Á‚ÂÁ‰Ë ¬‡ÒËÎ ÃËı‡ÈÎÓ‚ Ë “‡ÚˇÌ‡ ÀÓÎÓ‚‡, ͇ÍÚÓ Ë Â‰ËÌ ÓÚ Ì‡È-ӷ˘‡ÌËÚ ËÁ‡ÂÎÒÍË ‡ÍÚ¸ÓË ÃÓÌË ÃÓ¯ÓÌÓ‚. –ÂÊËÒ¸Ó˙Ú »‚‡Ì Õ˘‚ ‡Á͇Á‡ Ô‰ ì¡˙΄‡ÒÍË ıÓËÁÓÌÚËî, ˜Â ‚Ò˙˘ÌÓÒÚ Â‰ÌÓ ÓÚ ÛÒÎӂˡڇ Á‡ ÙË̇ÌÒˇÌÂÚÓ Ì‡ ÔÓÂÍÚ‡  ·ËÎÓ ‚ ÌÂ„Ó ‰‡ Û˜‡ÒÚ‚‡ ‚Ӊ¢ ËÁ‡ÂÎÒÍË ‡ÍÚ¸Ó, ‰Ó·Â ÔÓÁÌ‡Ú Ì‡ ËÁ‡ÂÎÒ͇ڇ ÔÛ·ÎË͇ ‚ ÏÓÏÂÌÚ‡, ‚ ÍÓÈÚÓ ÙËÎÏ˙Ú ˘Â ·˙‰Â ÔÓ͇Á‡Ì Ú‡Ï. “ÓÈ Ó·ˇÒÌË, ˜Â ÓÚ Ì‡˜‡ÎÓÚÓ Ì‡ ˇÌÛ‡Ë ÎÂÌÚ‡Ú‡  ÔÓ Â͇ÌËÚ ‚ »Á‡ÂÎ Ë ÔÂÏˇڇ ÏÛ Â ÏË̇· ÏÌÓ„Ó ‰Ó·Â, Ò ÏÌÓ„Ó ÚÓÔ˙Î ÔËÂÏ. »ÌÚÂÂÒÌÓÚÓ Â, ˜Â ‚ ì¡˙΄‡Ò͇ ‡ÔÒӉˡî
“‡ÚˇÌ‡ ÀÓÎÓ‚‡ Ëχ ÂÔÎËÍË Ì‡ ·‰ËÌÓ. Õ˘‚ ‡Á͇Á‡, ˜Â ÔÂ‰Ë ‰‡ Á‡ÔӘ̠‡·ÓÚ‡Ú‡ ÔÓ ÒˆÂÌ‡Ëˇ, ÔÓ‰ÛˆÂÌ˙Ú ÏÛ Ô‰ÎÓÊËÎ Ó·ËÍÓÎ͇ ̇ “ÂÎ ¿‚Ë‚. “‡Ï ÚÓÈ Ò ÒÂ˘Ì‡Î Ò Ì‡‰ 30 ÒÂÏÂÈÒÚ‚Ë Ë ‚ Úˇı ÔÓ˜ÚË ‚Ò˘ÍË Ì‡ÔÓÏÌˇÎË, ˜Â ÒÚ‡ËÚ ‚ÂË „Ó‚ÓˇÚ ÚÓÁË ÂÁËÍ Ë ‡ÍÓ ËÒÍ‡Ú ‰Âˆ‡Ú‡ ËÏ ‰‡ Ì ‡Á·Â‡Ú Ì¢Ó, ÚÓ„‡‚‡ Á‡ÔÓ˜‚‡Ú ‰‡ „Ó ËÁÔÓÎÁ‚‡Ú. “‡Í‡ ‰Ó¯Î‡ ˉ¡ڇ ‰‡ Ò ‚Ï˙ÍÌ ·‰ËÌÓ ‚ ÂÔÎËÍËÚ ̇ „ÂÓËÚ ÓÚ ÔÓ-ÒÚ‡ÓÚÓ ÔÓÍÓÎÂÌËÂ. «‡ Ô‚Ӊ‡ ÔÓÏӄ̇Π‰ËÌ ÒÓÙËÈÒÍË Â‚ÂËÌ. ‘ËÎÏ˙Ú ‚˜  ۘ‡ÒÚ‚‡Î ‚ ÌˇÍÓÎÍÓ ÙÂÒÚË‚‡Î‡. ì“ÓÈ Ì ÒÚ˄̇ ‰Ó ÌÓÏË̇ˆËË Á‡ ŒÒ͇, ÌÓ Ëχ¯Â ÌˇÍÓÎÍÓ ÔÓÊÂ͈ËË, ÒΉ ÍÓÂÚÓ „Ó ÔÓËÒ͇ı‡ ÓÚ ÌˇÍÓÎÍÓ ÙÂÒÚË‚‡Î‡, Í˙‰ÂÚÓ ÔÓÏÌˇÚ ÏÓË ÙËÎÏË, ÓÒÓ·ÂÌÓ ì—Ή ͇ˇ ̇ Ò‚ÂÚ‡î, Ò ÍÓÈÚÓ Ó·ËÍÓÎËı ÔÓ˜ÚË ˆˇÎ‡ —‚Â̇ ¿ÏÂË͇ ÔÂ‰Ë „Ó‰ËÌËî, ‡Á͇Á‡ ÂÊËÒ¸Ó˙Ú. “ÓÈ Ó·ˇÒÌË, ˜Â ì¡˙΄‡Ò͇ ‡ÔÒӉˡî  ÔÓ͇Á‚‡Ì ‚ ǡÏË, œ‡ÎÏ ¡ËȘ, ‘Ë·‰ÂÎÙˡ Ë Ì‡ ‰Û„Ë ÏÂÒÚ‡. œÓÊÂÍÚË‡Ì Â Ë ‚ œÓί‡, Í˙‰ÂÚÓ Â ·ËÎ ÔË-
ÂÚ ÏÌÓ„Ó ‰Ó·Â. ¡˙΄‡Ò͇ڇ ÔÂÏˇ  ·Ë· ‚ ͇ˇ ̇ ÌÓÂÏ‚Ë Ë Ì‡˜‡ÎÓÚÓ Ì‡ ‰ÂÍÂÏ‚Ë, ÏÂÒˆ ÔÂ‰Ë Ô‰ÒÚ‡‚ˇÌÂÚÓ ÏÛ ‚ “ÂÎ ¿‚Ë‚. »‚‡Ì Õ˘‚ ͇Á‚‡, ˜Â ‚ Ó‰Ë̇ڇ
ÌË Ì  ÓÚ‰ÂÎÂÌÓ ÌˇÍ‡Í‚Ó ÒÔˆˇÎÌÓ ‚ÌËχÌË ̇ ÎÂÌÚ‡Ú‡ Ë ÚÓÈ ÒË „Ó Ó·ˇÒÌˇ‚‡ Ò˙Ò ÒËÚÛ‡ˆËˇÚ‡, ‚ ÍÓˇÚÓ Â Òڇ̇ڇ ÌË. ìœÓ·ÎÂÏ˙Ú Ì‡ ·˙΄‡Ò͇ڇ ÍËÚË͇ Â, ˜Â ÔÓ˜ÚË ÌˇÏ‡ Í˙‰Â ‰‡ Ô˯ ‚ Ò„‡¯ÌËÚ ‚ÒÂÍˉÌ‚ÌˈË, ÍÓËÚÓ ÒÚ‡‚‡Ú ‚Ò ÔÓ-ÍÓÏÂÒˇÎÌË. ÃÓÊ ·Ë Úˇ·‚‡ ‰‡ ÏËÌ Ӣ ‚ÂÏÂ Ë ‡ÌÌËˇÚ Í‡ÔËÚ‡ÎËÁ˙Ï Û Ì‡Ò ‰‡ Òڇ̠ÔÓ-
Ó˜ÌËÚ ÏÛ ˆÂÎË Ò‡ ‰‡ ‚ÎÂÁ ‚ Ô˙‚ËÚ 100 ̇ ITF (ÃÂʉÛ̇Ӊ̇ڇ Ù‰‡ˆËˇ ÔÓ ÚÂÌËÒ) Ë ‚ ͇̇‰ÒÍˡ ̇ˆËÓ̇ÎÂÌ Ï·‰ÂÊÍË ÓÚ·Ó (Á‡ ÔÓ‰ 18 „.) ¬ ÏÓÏÂÌÚ‡ ‚ ÚÓÔ 100 ̇ Ï·‰ÂÊ͇ڇ ITF Ëχ Ò‡ÏÓ Â‰ËÌ Í‡Ì‡‰Âˆ. —„‡ ̇ ¬ËÍÚÓ ÏÛ Ô‰ÒÚÓË ‰‡ Ë„‡Â ‚ –ÛÏ˙Ìˡ Ë —ÎÓ‚‡Íˡ, Í˙‰ÂÚÓ ˘Â Ëχ ITF Ò˙ÒÚÂÁ‡Ìˡ, ‚ÚÓ‡ ÒÚÂÔÂÌ.
—˙̇ӉÌËÍ˙Ú ÌË ÓÚ “ÓÓÌÚÓ ÓÚ ËÁ‚ÂÒÚÌÓ ‚ÂÏ ÊË‚ÂÂ Ë ÚÂÌˇ ‚ ÃÓ̇Î, ÚÓÈ Í‡ÚÓ ·Â¯Â ËÁ·‡Ì ‰‡ Ò ӷۘ‡‚‡ ‚ ͇̇‰Ò͇ڇ ̇ˆËÓ̇Î̇ ÚÂÌËÒ ‡Í‡‰ÂÏˡ, ÍÓˇÚÓ Ò ̇Ïˇ Ú‡Ï. ÕÂ„Ó‚Ë ÚÂ̸ÓË Ò‡ ÔÂÔÓ‰‡‚‡ÚÂÎË ÓÚ ‡Í‡‰ÂÏˡڇ ه̈ÛÁËÚ √ËÈÓÏ Ã‡ÍÒ Ë ƒÊÓÒÎËÌ –ӷ˯Ó. ¬ËÍÚÓ ÔËÁ̇‚‡, ˜Â
‚ÂÌÓ Ì Ò „Ó‚ÓË ÏÌÓ„Ó ‚ ¡˙΄‡Ëˇ. Õ˘‚ ̇ÔÓÏÌˇ, ˜Â ÏÂÊ‰Û ¡˙΄‡Ëˇ Ë »Á‡ÂÎ Â ËχÎÓ ÔÓ·ÎÂÏË Ì‡ ÏÂʉÛÔ‡‚ËÚÂÎÒÚ‚ÂÌÓ ÌË‚Ó ÔÓ ÚÓÁË ‚˙ÔÓÒ Ë ÚÓÈ Â ‰˙ʇΠÚÂχڇ ‰‡ ÔËÒ˙ÒÚ‚‡. –ÂÊËÒ¸Ó˙Ú Ó·ˇÒÌË, ˜Â Ò ì¡˙΄‡Ò͇ ‡ÔÒӉˡî ÚÓÈ Á‡‚˙¯‚‡ Ò‚ÓˇÚ‡ ‚ÂÈÒ͇ ÚËÎӄˡ. ƒÛ„ËÚ ÏÛ ÙËÎÏË Ò‡ ì—Ή ͇ˇ ̇
Ò‚ÂÚ‡î Ë ìœ˙ÚÛ‚‡Ì Í˙Ï ≈ÛÒ‡ÎËÏî. œÓÒΉ̇ڇ ÏÛ ÎÂÌÚ‡  ÔÓÒ‚ÂÚÂ̇ ̇ Ò˙ÊËÚÂÎÒÚ‚ÓÚÓ Ì‡ ‡Á΢ÌË ÂÚÌÓÒË Ì‡ ¡‡Î͇ÌËÚÂ, Í˙‰ÂÚÓ ÊË‚ÂˇÚ ·˙΄‡Ë, ‚ÂË, ÚÛˆË, ˆË„‡ÌË, ‡ÏÂÌˆË Ë Ú.Ì. —ÔÓ‰ ÌÂ„Ó ÍÒÂÌÓÙӷˡڇ, ̇ˆËÓ̇ÎËÁÏ˙Ú, ÔӉͷʉ‡Ì ÓÚ Ï‡ÎÍË ÔÓÎËÚ˘ÂÒÍË ÒÛ·ÂÍÚË, ÍÓËÚÓ Ú˙ÒˇÚ ÏˇÒÚÓ ÔÓ‰ ÒÎ˙̈ÂÚÓ Ì‡ ‚ÒˇÍ‡ ˆÂ̇, ͇ÍÚÓ Ë Ì‰ӂÓÎÒÚ‚ÓÚÓ Ì‡ ·˙΄‡ËÚÂ, ˜Â Ò„‡ Ì ÊË‚ÂˇÚ ÏÌÓ„Ó ‰Ó·Â Ë Ì‡Ò˙ÒÍ‚‡ÌÂÚÓ ËÏ, ˜Â Á‡ ÚÓ‚‡ Ò‡ ‚ËÌÓ‚ÌË ˜ÛʉÂ̈ËÚÂ, ‚Ó‰ˇÚ ‰Ó Ì ÓÒÓ·ÂÌÓ ÔˡÚÌÓ ÓÚÌÓ¯ÂÌË Í˙Ï ÔÓ‰Ó·ÌË ÚÂÏË. ì¿Á ÒÔˆˇÎÌÓ ËÁ·‡ı Ï·‰ÂÊÍË Î˛·Ó‚ÂÌ ÚË˙„˙ÎÌËÍ, Á‡ ‰‡ ‚͇‡Ï Ôӂ˜ Ï·‰Ë ÁËÚÂÎË ‚ Ò‡ÎÓÌËÚÂ. ¬˙Á‡ÒÚÌËÚ ıÓ‡ Ò‡ Ò ÚÂÊÍÓ ÙË̇ÌÒÓ‚Ó ÔÓÎÓÊÂÌË ËÎË Ò‡ ÚÛ‰ÌÓ ÔÓ‰‚ËÊÌË Ë ÔÓ˜ÚË Ì ıÓ‰ˇÚ ̇ ÍËÌÓ, Ú ˜‡Í‡Ú ‰‡ ÔÓÍ‡Ê‡Ú ÙËÎχ ÔÓ ÚÂ΂ËÁˡڇ. ÷‰ËÚ ıÓ‡ Ó·ËÍÌÓ‚ÂÌÓ Ô˙ÎÌˇÚ Ò‡ÎÓÌËÚÂ Ë Á‡ ‰‡ ÒÚË„Ì ÚÂχڇ ‰Ó Úˇı, ‚͇‡ıÏ ‚ Ò˛ÊÂÚ‡ ÚËχ Ï·‰Ë „ÂÓËî, ‡Á͇Á‡ ÂÊËÒ¸Ó˙Ú.
ì¡˙΄‡Ò͇ ‡ÔÒӉˡî  Ò˙Ò ÒÍÓÏÂÌ ·˛‰ÊÂÚ Ë Â Ì‡Ô‡‚ÂÌ Ò‡ÏÓ Á‡ 27 ÒÌËχ˜ÌË ‰ÌË. ìÃÓÊ ‰‡ Ò ͇ÊÂ, ˜Â ÙËÎÏ˙Ú Â ÌÓÍÚ˛ÌÓ Á‡ ‰ÌË ‰‡Ï‡Ú˘ÌË Ò˙·ËÚˡ ‚ ËÒÚÓˡڇ ̇ ̇¯‡Ú‡ Òڇ̇î, ‰ÓÔ˙΂‡ Õ˘‚. —‰ ÒˆÂ̇ËÒÚËÚÂ Â Ë Ò˙ÔÛ„‡Ú‡ ÏÛ “‡ÚˇÌ‡ √‡ÌËÚÓ‚‡. ŒÚ 8 „Ó‰ËÌË Úˇ Û˜‡ÒÚ‚‡ ‚ Ò˙Á‰‡‚‡ÌÂÚÓ Ì‡ ÒˆÂ̇ËËÚ ̇ ÎÂÌÚËÚÂ, ÍÓËÚÓ Õ˘‚ Ô‡‚Ë. «‡‚˙¯Ë·  ՇˆËÓ̇Î̇ڇ ‡Í‡‰ÂÏˡ ÔÓ Ú‡ڇÎÌÓ Ë ÙËÎÏÓ‚Ó ËÁÍÛÒÚ‚Ó Ë ‡·ÓÚË Í‡ÚÓ Ì„ӂ‡ ‡ÒËÒÚÂÌ͇ Ë ÍÓ-ÔÓ‰ÛˆÂÌÚ͇. «‡ ÂÊËÒ¸Ó‡  ÏÌÓ„Ó ‚‡Ê̇ Ë ÌÂÈ̇ڇ ÊÂÌÒ͇ „Ή̇ ÚӘ͇ ‚˙ıÛ Ò˛ÊÂÚ‡. ìÃÌÓ„Ó Ò ‡‰‚‡Ï, ˜Â ‰‚‡Ï‡Ú‡ ËχÏ ‚˙ÁÏÓÊÌÓÒÚ ÌÂÔÂÍ˙Ò̇ÚÓ ‰‡ Ò ‰ÓÔ˙΂‡ÏÂ. —„‡ Á‡ÔÓ˜‚‡Ï ÌÓ‚ ‰ÓÍÛÏÂÌÚ‡ÎÂÌ ÙËÎÏ, ̇ ÍÓÈÚÓ Úˇ  ÓÒÌÓ‚ÂÌ ÒˆÂ̇ËÒÚî, ͇Á‚‡ ÚÓÈ. ¬ ̇˜‡ÎÓÚÓ Ì‡ ‡ÔËÎ ‰‚‡Ï‡Ú‡ ·ˇı‡ ‚ ÀÓ̉ÓÌ Á‡ Ô‰ÒÚ‡‚ˇÌÂÚÓ Ì‡ ì¡˙΄‡Ò͇ ‡ÔÒӉˡî Ú‡Ï, ̇ 21 ‡ÔËÎ Á‡ÏË̇‚‡Ú Á‡ ÃÓÒÍ‚‡. ¿ ÙËÎχ ‚˜ „Ó ËÒÍ‡Ú Ë ‚ ËÚ‡È.
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Ò Û˜ÂÌÂÚÓî, ͇Á‚‡ ÚÓÈ. Õ ÓÚ˘‡, ˜Â ÏÛ ÎËÔÒ‚‡ ÒӈˇÎÌËˇÚ ÊË‚ÓÚ Ë ËÁÎËÁ‡ÌÂÚÓ Ò ÔˡÚÂÎË. ŒÔËÚ‚‡ Ò ‰‡ ̇Ïˇ ‚ÂÏÂ, Á‡ ‰‡ Ò ‚Ëʉ‡ Ò˙Ò Ò‚ÓË ‚˙ÒÚÌˈË. “ÓÈ ÔÓ‰ÏË̇‚‡ Ò ÛÒÏ˂͇ ‚˙ÔÓÒ‡ Í‡Í Ò ÒÔ‡‚ˇ Ò ÙÂÌÍËÚÂ, ÍÓËÚÓ ÔÓ ÔË̈ËÔ ÒË Ô‡‰‡Ú ÔÓ ÔÓÔÛΡÌËÚ ÏÓϘÂÚ‡. ìÕ Ò˙Ï ÏÌÓ„Ó Á‡ËÌÚÂÂÒÓ‚‡Ì ÓÚ ÚÓ‚‡ Í˙Ï ÏÓÏÂÌÚ‡î,  ‰ËÌÒÚ‚ÂÌÓÚÓ, ÍÓÂÚÓ Í‡Á‚‡. »Ì‡˜Â ӷ˘‡ ‰‡ ıÓ‰Ë Ì‡ ÍËÌÓ, ‰‡ Ë„‡Â ‚ˉÂÓ Ë„Ë Ë ‰‡ Ò Ò¢‡ Ò ÔˡÚÂÎË. ÷‰ËˇÚ ڇ·ÌÚ Í‡Á‚‡, ˜Â Ò¢‡ ̇È-„ÓÎˇÏ‡ ÔÓ‰ÍÂÔ‡ ÓÚ Tennis Canada, Ó‰ËÚÂÎËÚ ÒË Ë ÔˡÚÂÎËÚÂ. Õ‡ ̇ˆËÓ-
̇ÎÌÓÚÓ Í‡Ì‡‰ÒÍÓ Ò˙ÒÚÂÁ‡ÌË ÚÓÈ Ë„‡ ̇ ÔÓÎÛÙËÌ‡Î Ò ‰Û„Ó ·˙΄‡˜Â ‡ÏÂÌ ƒ‡ÏÓ‚ ÓÚ ÃÓ̇Î. ƒ‚‡Ï‡ Ó·‡˜Â Ì Ò ÔÓÁ̇‚‡Ú ËÁ‚˙Ì ÒÔÓÚ‡ Ë Ì ҇ ÒË „Ó‚ÓËÎË. ÕÓ ¬ËÍÚÓ ÓÚ·ÂΡÁ‚‡, ˜Â ‡ÏÂÌ Â Ì‡Ô‰̇ΠÏÌÓ„Ó ‚ ÔÓÒΉÌÓ ‚ÂÏÂ Ë ÒÏˇÚ‡, ˜Â ÒÍÓÓ ÚÓ‚‡ ˘Â Ò ÓÚ‡ÁË Ë Ì‡ ÂÁÛÎÚ‡ÚËÚ ÏÛ. ÃÓϘÂÚÓ Ò‡ Í·Òˇ ̇ ÚÂÚÓ ÏˇÒÚÓ Ì‡ 3 ‡ÔËÎ. ¿ ¬ËÍÚÓ Í‡Á‚‡, ˜Â ‚ ÚÂÌËÒ‡ Ò ‚˙Áıˢ‡‚‡ ̇È-ÏÌÓ„Ó Ì‡ –Ó‰Ê˙ ‘‰ÂÂ Ë ÕÓ‚‡Í ƒÊÓÍӂ˘. ì“ ҇ ÏÌÓ„Ó ÒÚ‡·ËÎÌË ‚ ÂÁÛÎÚ‡ÚËÚÂ Ë Ô˜ÂÎˇÚ Ò‰Ïˈ‡ ÒΉ Ò‰Ïˈ‡î, ͇Á‚‡ ÚÓÈ. ’‡ÂÒ‚‡, ‡Á·Ë‡ ÒÂ, Ë √Ë„Ó ƒËÏËÚÓ‚.
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Øàìïèîíúò íà Êàíàäà Âèêòîð Êðúñòåâ ìå÷òàå çà Ãîëÿì øëåì
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Barrister
603 1/2 Parliament Street, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario M4X 1P9 Tel. 416-924-0123 Fax 416-934-0123 www.valovalaw.com Criminal: All charges pursuant to the !"#$#%&'(!)*+(),(!&%&*&, including sexual assault, domestic assault, drinking and driving (over 80), criminal harassment, fraud and theft, possession and trafficking, weapons, drugs and robbery. Academic: Representation in academic disciplinary hearings for both colleges and universities. Regulatory: Representation in a variety of regulatory prosecutions and appeals. -)./0()%(1"&%02)"1 $&11+"0. 314+"(&"+&0(#%.'/*+ Environmental and Health & Safety prosecutions. Notary Services: Document Notarization and Oath Commissioning.
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Daniel!Garber!talks!with!filmmaker!Adam!Kossoff! about!his!documentary!The!Anarchist!Rabbi! at!TJFF! By:!Daniel!Garber!|!May!8,!2015! https://danielgarber.wordpress.com/category/culturalKmining/! ! !
! Hi,$this$is$Daniel$Garber$at$the$ Movies$for$culturalmining.com$and$ CIUT$89.5$FM.! When!we!talk!about!protests! against!the!police,!we!think! Baltimore,!Maryland!or!Ferguson,! Missouri.! But!how!about!London,!England!a! hundred!years!ago?!Probably!not.! We!don’t!realize!London,!and! particularly!it’s!impoverished!East! End!was!a!seething!cauldron!of! protest,!unrest,!and!even! revolution.!Much!of!it! centred!on!Jewish!immigrants! from!Central!and!Eastern!Europe! who!fought!internal!battles,!as! religion!and!politics!competed!for! dominance.! A!new!film!documents!this!history!with!an!impressionistic!examination!of!London,! then!and!now.!Period!photos!and!recordings!share!the!screen!with! contemporary,!sepiaKtoned!shots!of!London’s!East!End.!It’s!having!its!
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! Canadian!debut!today!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival.!Its!called!The!Anarchist! Rabbi,!and!is!narrated!by!actor/writer!Stephen!Berkoff,!and!written!and!directed!by! Adam!Kossoff.!Adam!is!a!writer,!artist!and!filmmaker!who!explores! historically!separate!but!siteKspecific!videos.! I!reached!Adam!by!telephone!in!London.!He!talks!about!anarchoKsyndicalism,! Rudolph!Rocker!(1873K1958),!London’s!East!End,!strikes,!revolution,!Russian! immigrants,!his!grandfather,!Arbeter$Fraynd,!history,!politics,!the!use!of!colour!in! film,!!memorials,!Kropotkin,!Emma!Goldmann…and$more!$ ! !
I!am!Thor!gives!due!to!unsung!rock!warrior! By:!Jason!Anderson!|!May!7,!2015! http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2015/05/07/iKamKthorKgivesKdueKtoK unsungKrockKwarrior.html! ! The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!continues!to!May!10!—!closingKnight!honours!go! to!the!Uruguayan!crowdKpleaser!Mr.!Kaplan,!which!plays!the!Bloor!at!8:30!p.m.! ! ! !
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival:!Mr.!Kaplan!Review! By:!Brandon!Isaacson!|!May!9,!2015! http://nextprojection.com/2015/05/09/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalKmrKkaplanK review/! !
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Mr.$Kaplan$(2014)$ Cast:!Héctor!Noguera,!Néstor!Guzzini,!Rolf!Becker! Director:!Álvaro!Brechner!! Country:!Spain!|!Uruguay!|!Germany! Genre:!Comedy!|!Drama!|!Thriller! Editor’s)Notes:$The$following$review$is$part$of$our$coverage$of$the$2015$Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival.$ For$more$information$visit$tjff.com$and$follow$TJFF$on$Twitter$at$@tjfftweets.! Mr.!Kaplan,!Uruguay’s!2015!Best!Foreign!Language!Film!Oscar!submission!from!writer/director! Álvaro!Brechner,!follows!a!76Kyear!old!Jewish!man’s!existential!struggles!with!old!age.!In!late!1930s! Poland,!his!family!sent!him!alone!to!South!America!to!avoid!religious!persecution.!His!family! promised!to!meet!him!there,!although!perhaps!they!knew!they!never!would.!Mr.!Kaplan!takes!place! in!Montevideo,!Uruguay!in!the!year!1997,!as!Jacob!(Héctor!Noguera)!reflects!on!his!lack!of! contribution!to!the!Jewish!community!and!society!as!a!whole.!In!a!late!attempt!to!leave!a!legacy,!he! decides!to!find!and!capture!an!alleged!escaped!Nazi!living!in!Uruguay,!with!the!ultimate!goal!of! transporting!the!mysterious!German!escapee!to!Israel!to!be!tried!for!his!war!crimes.! Mr.)Kaplan)recalls)Alexander)Payne’s)Nebraska.)However)unlike)the)sharp)comedy)and)glum) aesthetic)of)Payne’s)film,)Mr.)Kaplan)has)a)delightfully)light)and)wistful)sense)of)humor)and) style.$
Believing!he!can!no!longer!take!care!of!himself,!Jacob’s! family!hires!a!Uruguayan!exKpolice!officer!Wilson! (Néstor!Guzzini)!to!drive!him!around!and!keep!him! safe.!As!is!traditional!among!films!about!the! quandaries!of!old!age,!Mr.!Kaplan’s!Jacob!rejects!the! idea!that!he!needs!help.!After!a!few!cruel!verbal! rebellions,!Jacob!becomes!friends!with!Wilson,!a!lightK hearted!and!optimistic!man!plagued!by!an! undercurrent!of!sadness.!Wilson!is!forced!into!being!a! coKconspirator!in!the!quest!to!capture!the!Nazi,!a! necessary!plot!point!as!Jacob!hasn’t!the!slightest!idea! how!to!effectively!investigate.!There!are!a! few!moments!of!lightly!charming!humor,!playing!off! the!image!of!the!clueless!old!man!paired!with!the! former!police!offer,!but!mostly!the!film!digresses! towards!less!interesting!subKplots.! Being!a!comedic!road!movie!about!an!elderly!man!somewhat!on!the!loose,!Mr.$Kaplan!recalls! Alexander!Payne’s!Nebraska.!However!unlike!the!sharp!comedy!and!glum!aesthetic!of!Payne’s!film,! Mr.!Kaplan!has!a!delightfully!light!and!wistful!sense!of!humor!and!style.!Brechner!successfully! meshes!the!conflicting!levity!of!tone!with!the!somber!Holocaust!subject!matter,!allowing!the!difficult! topic!to!be!digestible!and!approachable.!In!order!to!accomplish!this,!Brechner!uses!a!wellKplanned! visual!palette.!Each!frame!has!a!pattering!of!light!blues,!which!are!never!obnoxiously!bright!but! rather!endearingly!gentle.!There’s!a!slight!overKreliance!on!images!of!water!and!the!sky!to!include! this!color!into!as!many!frames!as!possible,!but!it’s!also!inserted!into!most!costumes!and!objects,!as! obvious!as!the!sails!of!a!sail!boat!or!as!subtle!as!the!buttons!on!an!arcade!game.!This!specificity!of! detail!never!announces!itself!but!is!merely!there!to!be!noticed!and!appreciated.!Mr.$ Kaplan’s$!endearing!visuals!are!its!most!memorable!quality,!driving!the!film’s!subdued!but!present! vivacity.! …Brechner)uses)a)wellFplanned)visual)palette.)Each)frame)has)a)pattering)of)light)blues,)which) are)never)obnoxiously)bright)but)rather)endearingly)gentle.$ Less!successful!is!the!film’s!sense!of!place.!It’s!hard!to!understand!geographically!where!the!many! locations!are,!which!becomes!an!issue!when!Jacob!continually!returns!home.!Is!this!Nazi! astoundingly!close!by?!How!long!does!it!take!for!Jacob!and!Wilson!to!get!from!one!place!to!another,! and!how!is!all!that!idle!time!spent?!Brechner!relies!too!heavily!upon!plot!turns!and!big!moments,! instead!of!taking!a!longer!time!to!reflect!on!the!small!details!of!its!characters’!interactions.!These! details!prevent!the!film’s!reality!from!feeling!livedKin!and!keeps!its!characters!at!a!distance.! Mr.$Kaplan!is!not!a!film!that!beckons!to!be!seen,!but!if!one!is!inclined!to!explore!this!plot!or! experience!a!Uruguayan!aesthetic,!it’s!a!lightly!intriguing!and!worthwhile!viewing.!It’s!hard!not!to!be! charmed!by!a!director!that!carefully!brings!his!vision!to!life,!and!that!allows!this!film!to!be!rather! enjoyable,!despite!its!somewhat!dull!characters!and!plot!digressions.!
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival:!Famous!Nathan! Review! By:!Matthew!Blevins!|!May!10,!2015! !
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Famous$Nathan$(2014)$ Cast:!Nathan!Handwerker,!Lloyd!Handwerker,!Sol!Handwerker! Director:!Lloyd!Handwerker! Country:!USA! Genre:!Documentary! Official!Trailer:!Here! Editor’s)Notes:$The$following$review$is$part$of$our$coverage$of$the$2015$Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival.$ For$more$information$visit$tjff.com$and$follow$TJFF$on$Twitter$at$@tjfftweets.! Famous$Nathan!takes!us!through!the!history!of!the!world!famous!Coney!Island!institution,!Nathan’s! Famous!Frankfurter!&!Soft!Drink!Stand,!and!tells!the!classic!story!of!the!American!Dream!as!Nathan! Handwerker!transcends!his!humble!beginnings!to!create!a!uniquely!American!institution.!Llloyd! Handwerker,!grandson!of!Nathan!Handwerker,!uses!archival!footage!and!interviews!spanning! decades!to!paint!a!vibrant!portrait!of!Nathan’s!and!the!colorful!and!often!surly!characters!that!served! Nathan!with!undying!loyalty.!It’s!a!tale!as!old!and!familiar!as!America!itself,!but!as!Lloyd!illuminates! his!fascinating!family!history!he!finds!his!own!identity!as!both!the!progeny!of!a!piece!of!Americana! and!a!strong!filmmaker!in!his!own!right.! In)searching)for)his)origins)through)the)medium)of)film,)Lloyd)Handwerker)proves)himself)to)be) a)solid)filmmaker…$ We!enter!the!world!of!the!Handwerker!family!through!grainy!8mm!footage!of!children!learning!about! the!simple!pleasures!of!life!as!grandparents!from!a!Norman!Rockwell!painting!cut!fruit!from!a!branch!
and!pass!it!to!their!grandchildren.!These!are!images!from!an!era!when!the!American!Dream!was!still! attainable!and!with!the!right!amount!of!hard!work!a!person!could!achieve!anything.!We!see!the!sepia! toned!ghosts!of!the!old!country!as!the!only!known!interview!of!Nathan!tells!his!story!of!humble! beginnings,!early!business!acumen,!and!immigration!from!Poland!to!America!with!little!more!than! ambition!and!the!hope!of!building!a!better!tomorrow.! Flashes!of!Americana!fill!the!screen!with!deceptively! nostalgic!notions!of!simpler!times,!but!times!were! never!simple!and!families!have!maintained!their! secrets!and!comfortable!lies!for!generations.!As!we! learn!the!history!of!Nathan’s!we!also!see!the!dubious! nature!of!America’s!recollection!of!its!own!past!as! hints!of!old!family!scars,!secret!infidelities,!and!ageK old!conflicts!begin!to!emerge!despite!some!family! members’!best!attempts!to!contain!them.!Despite!the! ubiquitous!flaws!that!run!in!the!background!of!any! family!history,!we!also!see!a!man!dedicated!to!his! dream!with!the!business!acumen!to!turn!it!into!a! reality.!We!see!a!man!who!gained!the!respect!and! loyalty!of!his!diverse!employees!through!example,! and!we!see!the!collapse!of!his!empire!when!the! typical!problems!that!come!with!second!generation! business!owners!destroy!the!central!ideals!that! made!the!institution!thrive.! Famous)Nathan)is)more)reminiscent)of)the)films)of)Jonas)Mekas)than)it)is)contemporary) documentaries,)letting)the)past)unfold)while)heightening)the)emotional)intensity)to)allow)the) audience)to)connect)at)a)visceral)level.$ Famous$Nathan!is!about!family,!hot!dogs,!and!the!death!of!the!American!Dream!as!told!by!the!friends! and!family!that!turned!a!hot!dog!stand!into!an!international!brand.!In!searching!for!his!origins! through!the!medium!of!film,!Lloyd!Handwerker!proves!himself!to!be!a!solid!filmmaker,!using! experimental!montages!to!capture!the!spirit!of!the!midK20th!century!by!combining!archival!footage! and!old!photographs!with!music!and!cinematic!flair!to!breathe!life!into!his!deeply!personal! film.!Famous$Nathan!is!more!reminiscent!of!the!films!of!Jonas!Mekas!than!it!is!contemporary! documentaries,!letting!the!past!unfold!while!heightening!the!emotional!intensity!to!allow!the! audience!to!connect!at!a!visceral!level.!He!shows!respectful!restraint!in!interviews!with!family! members!and!former!employees!of!Nathan’s,!never!pushing!too!hard!for!scandal!but!allowing!the! silence!of!the!interviewees!to!fill!in!the!gaps.!He!discovers!the!paper!thin!façade!that!is!common!in! American!families!and!we!learn!who!the!curators!of!the!comfortable!lies!are!from!their!unwillingness! to!approach!a!particular!subject.!Every!family!has!at!least!a!few.!
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Mr.!Kaplan!(TJFF!Review)! By:!Michael!Nazarewycz!!|!May!10,!2015! http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/mrKkaplan/! !
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True!story:!I!was!named!after!the!Archangel!Michael.!When!I!was!born,!a!name!for!me! had!yet!to!be!decided!upon.!My!grandmother,!noting!my!birthdate!was!the!archangel’s! feast!day,!suggested!“Michael.”!It!stuck.!It!hasn’t!gotten!me!any!free!lunches!or!anything,! but!when!you!spend!your!entire!childhood!in!a!parochial!school!system!and!you!are! named!after!the!angel!who!took!out!Satan!in!the!Book!of!Revelation,!you!walk!the!halls! with!a!certain!swagger.! In!Mr.$Kaplan,!a!delightful!comedy!making!its!Toronto!premiere!at!the!Toronto!Jewish! Film!Festival,!the!titular!character’s!first!name!is!Jacob.!He!was!named!after!Jacob!of!the! Old!Testament;!that’s!the!same!Jacob!who!wrestled!with!a!being!many!believe!to!be!the! Angel!of!God,!and!whose!name!was!changed!by!God!from!Jacob!to!Israel.! Mr.!Kaplan!(Héctor!Noguera),!now!80!years!old,!has!carried!with!him!the!weight!of!his! name!throughout!his!life,!and!he!feels!he!has!never!lived!up!to!it.!Despite!his!50Kyear! marriage!and!a!beautiful!family,!that!weight!is!never!heavier!than!when!he!finds!himself! without!a!driver’s!license!due!to!the!parking!lot!fenderKbender!that!led!to!the!eye!exam! that!exposed!his!vision!problems.!This!namesake!of!a!religious!hero!becomes!reduced!to! being!dependent!on!rides!from!family,!or!from!family!friend!and!disgraced!exKcop! Wilson!(Néstor!Guzzini)!…!until!Mr.!Kaplan!has!an!epiphany.!
His!granddaughter!mentions!during!an!innocuous!!conversation!an!old!German!man! who!owns!a!bar;!she!and!her!friends!refer!to!that!man!as!“The!Nazi.”!Kaplan!dismisses!it! at!first,!but!after!a!news!report!reveals!that!another!Nazi!was!captured!elsewhere!in!the! world,!Kaplan!turns!amateur!sleuth!and!starts!following!the!bar!owner.!Without!a! license,!Kaplan!must!rely!on!Wilson!to!help!him!get!around.!His!young!friend!and!driver,! having!formal!police!training,!assists!Kaplan!on!his!quest!to!capture!the!German!and! transport!him!from!Uruguay!(where!they!live)!to!Israel,!where!he!will!stand!trial!for!his! war!crimes.! The!last!thing!I!expected!from!Mr.$Kaplan,!the!funny!creation!of!writer/director!Álvaro! Brechner,!was!a!buddy!picture.!Then,!once!I!realized!I!was!getting!a!buddy!picture,!I! certainly!didn’t!expect!to!get!one!with!terrific!humor!and!considerable!emotional!depth.! The!film!starts!out!as!a!humorous!mediation!on!unfulfilled!destiny!and!an!assessment!of! selfKworth,!with!a!wonderful!opening!sequence.!Kaplan!and!his!wife!arrive!at!a!wedding! reception!where!their!names!are!not!on!the!guest!list,!so!they!are!denied!entry.!It!turns! out!to!have!been!a!simple!oversight,!but!it!reduces!them,!and!more!so!him!as!the!alpha! male.!Already!in!a!fragile!mental!state,!Kaplan!overreacts!to!a!conversation!that!includes! his!admission!that!he!cannot!swim,!so!he!attempts!to!jump!off!the!high!diving!board!at! the!country!club!where!the!reception!is!taking!place.!The!whole!sequence!not!only! smartly!and!funnily!sets!up!Kaplan’s!driver’s!license!conflict,!it’s!also!a!great!illustration! of!how!director!Brechner!understands!visual!humor.! As!the!film!progresses,!Brechner!continues!to!show!his!directorial!prowess!for!comedy.! He!uses!certain!zooming!and!panning!devices!that!have!been!used!in!countless!buddy! action!pictures!and!thrillers!before,!but!never!to!be!taken!seriously!here.!Because! Kaplan!is!a!man!who!is!overreaching!to!begin!with,!the!gag!is!that!the!shots!are! overreaching!too.!They!work!every!time.! Then,!as!Wilson!becomes!more!involved,!and!the!investigation!is!less!about!him!just! driving!and!more!about!him!actively!participating,!a!backstory!on!him!is!offered!that! adds!great!pathos!to!his!character.!It!also!gives!Wilson!more!than!just!a!sidekick!role;! the!character!has!real!skin!in!the!game,!and!the!film!expands!beyond!being!about! Kaplan’s!destiny!fulfillment!mission!and!includes!Wilson’s!shot!at!redemption.!The! laughs!continue!throughout!as!both!men!have!familial!ramifications!for!their!actions,! and!just!about!every!bit!of!it!is!entertaining.! The!third!act!caps!off!this!wonderful!film!with!a!twist!I!didn’t!see!coming,!yet!one!that! never!feels!contrived.! There!are!no!bad!performances!in!Mr.$Kaplan,!but!the!film!is!unquestionably!owned!by! Noguera,!with!a!great!turn!by!Guzzini.!Nidia!Telles!as!Kaplan’s!wife!and!Nuria!Fló!as!his! granddaughter!also!give!fine!performances.! I!know!what!it’s!like!to!be!named!after!a!major!biblical!player,!and!while!it!hasn’t! weighed!on!me!the!way!it!has!weighed!on!Jacob!Kaplan,!well,!let’s!just!say!I’m!not!80! yet.!I!suppose!it!could!still!happen.! Mr.$Kaplan$(TJFF$Review)$Movie$review$ 8/10$
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A!Fuller!Life!(TJFF!Review)! By!:!Michael!Nazarewycz!|!May!11,!2015! http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/aKfullerKlife/! !
! There’s!been!a!recent!trend!with!documentaries!to!use!the!memoirs!of!the!late!and!the!famous!as! a!primary!information!source.!That!trend!involves!celebrities!reading!the!memoirs,!diaries,!and!other! writings!of!the!famously!departed.!In!2013’s!Love,$Marilyn,!actresses!including!Glenn!Close,!Viola! Davis,!Uma!Thurman,!and!Marisa!Tomei!speak!words!written!by!the!iconic!Marilyn!Monroe.!From! earlier!this!year,!Listen$to$Me$Marlon!uses!audio!recordings!of!Marlon!Brando—from!the!actor’s! private!collection—to!offer!a!narrative!as!well!as!get!a!glimpse!inside!the!legend’s!mind.! Now,!making!its!Toronto!premiere!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!comes!A$Fuller$Life,!a! documentary!about!the!late!writer/director!Sam!Fuller.!The!source!for!the!doc!is!Fuller’s!memoir,!A$ Third$Face:$My$Tale$of$Writing,$Fighting$and$Filmmaking.!Conceived!and!directed!by!Fuller’s!daughter,! Samantha,!the!film!gathers!a!collection!of!celebrities!to!read!excerpts!from!that!memoir.! The!list!of!celebrity!readers!is!an!eclectic!one.!Some!were!chosen!because!of!their!work!with!Fuller,! like!the!quartet!of!Robert!Carradine,!Mark!Hamill,!Perry!Lang,!and!Kelly!Ward,!all!of!whom!appeared! in!Fuller’s!The$Big$Red$One!(1980).!Others!were!chosen!for!their!personal!relationships!with!him,!like! longtime!friend!and!actress!Jennifer!Beals.!And!others!still!had!no!direct!connection!to!Fuller,!but!still! seemed!to!“fit,”!like!James!Franco!who,!according!to!Samantha!Fuller,!reminds!her!of!“a!young! Samuel!Fuller!during!his!formative!years.”!Fifteen!celebs!in!all!contribute!to!telling!Fuller’s!story.! That!story!is,!for!the!most!part,!a!highlight!reel!of!his!life.!Entries!include!tales!of!his!youth!in!New! York’s!newspaper!industry,!where!he!went!from!being!a!paperboy!to!the!youngest!crime!reporter!in! the!city;!his!time!as!a!spec!screenwriter!in!Hollywood,!where!he!cranked!out!gritty!thrillers!(like!
1963’s!Shock$Corridor);!and!his!experiences!serving!in!the!Army!in!World!War!II.!(It’s!noted!by! Samantha!Fuller!at!the!start!of!the!film!that!Fuller!is!the!only!person!to!have!stormed!the!beaches!at! Normandy!AND!made!a!film!about!that!fateful!day.)! As!was!the!case!with!Love,$Marilyn,!the!structure!of!this!doc!allows!for!varying!degrees!of!quality!and! interpretation!of!material!based!on!who!is!reading.!I!found!Franco!to!be!rather!uninspired!and!Bill! Duke!(a!terrific!character!actor!whom!I’ve!always!liked)!overselling!it!somewhat.!Everyone!else!is! fine,!with!the!exception!of!actor!Tim!Roth!and!director!Wim!Wenders,!both!of!whom!are!remarkable.! This!is!not!simply!because!of!their!“performances,”!but!also!because!of!the!stories!they!read.!Roth! reads!of!Fuller’s!military!training!(using!live!ammo)!and!the!storming!of!Normandy,!while!Wenders! follows!immediately!with!a!glorious!tale!of!how!Fuller!met!Marlene!Dietrich!at!a!USO!show.!Their! delivery!of!these!points!in!Fuller’s!timeline!are!hypnotic.! It!isn’t!only!the!recitations!that!make!A$Fuller$Life!such!a!compelling!watch.!The!dialogue!is!all! Fuller’s,!having!been!pulled!straight!from!his!memoirs,!and!every!word!of!it!crackles.!The!author!of! the!hardKhitting!novel!The$Dark$Page!never!lost!his!literary!flair,!and!it!pays!off!huge!here.! Also!wellKexecuted!is!Samantha!Fuller’s!direction.!This!film!isn’t!simply!a!collection!of!men!and! women!reading!from!a!book,!of!course.!As!those!readers!read,!footage!culled!from!160!reels!of!Sam! Fuller’s!personal!collection!is!shown.!This!footage!adds!great!weight!to!what!is!being!read.!It!is! combined!with!what!looks!like!bKroll,!so!sometimes!it’s!easy!to!forget!what!is!Fuller’s!footage!and! what!isn’t,!but!the!overall!presentation!is!still!quite!good.! Samantha!Fuller’s!use!of!clips!from!films!written!for!the!screen!by!her!father!is!also!interesting.!The! clips!directly!correlate!to!the!points!in!Fuller’s!life!being!covered!at!the!time!of!the!doc.!It’s! fascinating!to!see!how!heavily!Fuller’s!screenplays!were!drawn!from,!or!influenced!by,!his!personal! experiences!in!journalism!and!war!and!elsewhere.!It’s!so!compelling,!in!fact,!that!a!visit!to!Fuller’s! filmography!feels!in!order.! A$Fuller$Life$(TJFF$Review)$Movie$review$ 7.5/10$
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By:!Norm!Wilner!|!April!30,!2015! http://www.wilnervision.com/?p=5556! ! Even!though!Hot!Docs!is!still!rolling!merrily! along,!I’m!forced!to!shift!my!attention!in! this!week’s!NOW!!to!the!Toronto!Jewish! Film!Festival,!which!gets!underway!tonight! with!a!big!splashy!gala.! I!won’t!be!there!myself,!you!understand.!I’ll! be!out!at!the!Revue!Cinema!to!introduce!a! screening!of!the!original!King$Kong!—! presented!in!a!16mm!print,!complete!with! shorts!from!1933!—!for!this! month’s!Classics!Revue.! Doors!open!at!8:30pm,!with!the!show!starting!at!9pm.!You!know,!if!you’re!in!the! area.!
How!to!forgive!your!Jewish!mother!for!bugging! you!about!your!nose!
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By:!Judy!Maltz!|!May!9,!2015! http://www.haaretz.com/life/artsKleisure/.premiumK1.655502! !
! Get!yourself!a!nose!job.!Straighten!your!hair.!Find!yourself!a!nice!Jewish!boy,!for!God’s!sake,! and!get!married!already.! But!Gayle!Kirschenbaum!will!not!heed!her!mother’s!pleas.!Any!wonder!they!are!constantly! at!each!other’s!throats?! “Look!At!Us!Now,!Mother!”!Kirschenbaum’s!latest!film,!is!a!touching!and!funny!account!of! her!attempt!to!make!peace!with!the!overbearing!and!superKcritical!mother!who!has!caused! her!so!much!misery!and!pain.!It’s!a!journey!that!involves!many!hours!on!the!therapist’s! couch!and!thousands!of!miles!of!travel.! “Do!you!ever!feel!you!were!born!into!the!wrong!family?”!asks!the!awardKwinning!filmmaker! and!television!producer!at!the!start!of!her!featureKlength!documentary,!which!will!be! screened!this!weekend!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival.!Next!week,!“Look!At!Us!Now,! Mother!”!makes!its!way!to!Tel!Aviv,!where!it!will!be!shown!at!the!Docaviv!International!Film! Festival.!It!had!its!international!premiere!at!the!Sarasota!Film!Festival.! Mildred,!the!mother!who!stars!in!this!film,!is!over!90!and!still!going!strong.!“She’s!very! outspoken,!very!smart,!very!politically!incorrect,!but!usually!what!she!says!makes!
tremendous!sense,”!is!how!one!of!her!mahKjongg!partners!describes!her.!“A!piece!of!work,”! says!another.! The!film!makes!use!of!a!vast!archive!of!home!movies!shot!by!Kirschenbaum’s!father,!as!well! as!her!own!recently!discovered!childhood!diaries,!to!tell!the!story!of!this!highly!fraught! motherKdaughter!relationship.!Mildred!is!a!tough!cookie,!and!it!takes!lots!of!prodding!to!get! her!to!bare!bits!of!her!soul.!But!in!the!process,!her!daughter!uncovers!pieces!of!family! history!that!help!explain!her!mother’s!harsh!behavior!and!allow!her!to!put!the!past!behind! her.! “No,!lots!of!people!ask!me!if!it!was!a!cathartic!experience,!but!it!wasn’t!at!all,”!says! Kirschenbaum,!in!a!phone!conversation!from!her!home!in!New!York.!“I!began!reliving!my! childhood,!and!that!was!a!horrific!experience.!I!ended!up!becoming!the!wounded!child! again.!If!I!knew!in!advance!that!making!this!film!would!be!such!a!painful!experience,!I!might! not!have!done!it.”! This!is!not!Kirschenbaum’s!first!personal!documentary.!“A!Dog’s!Life:!A!Dogamentary,”!a! wacky!film!about!her!relationship!with!her!dog,!was!broadcast!on!HBO!and!enjoyed!wide! media!coverage.! Not!that!it!impressed!her!mother.!“After!I!was!interviewed!on!‘The!Today!Show,’”!recalls! Kirschenbaum,!“my!mother!calls,!and!what’s!the!first!thing!she!says?!“Not!‘Hey!Gayle,!you! did!a!great!job.’!No,!the!first!thing!she!tells!me!is!that!I!need!to!take!elocution!lessons! because!I!sound!too!Jewish.!So!I’m!like!‘Mom,!I!am!Jewish.’”! “Look!At!Us!Now,!Mother!”!takes!up!where!she!left!off!with!her!previous!short!documentary! “My!Nose,”!a!filmKfestival!favorite!that!followed!her!mother’s!relentless!campaign!for!her!to! get!a!nose!job.!“Whenever!I’d!show!the!film,!people!would!just!line!up!after!and!tell!me!the! same!things!over!and!over!—!‘I!love!your!nose,!don’t!touch!it,!I!can’t!stand!your!mother,!how! do!you!talk!to!her,!and!let!me!tell!you!my!story,”!Kirschenbaum!says.! Kirschenbaum!eventually!heard!enough!stories!to!understand!she!could!use!her!own! experiences!coping!with!a!difficult!mother!to!help!others.!“I!decided!that!I!wanted!this!next! film!to!be!about!forgiveness,”!she!says.!“I!knew!that!I!had!to!teach!people!how!to!forgive.”! The!nagging,!disapproving!mother!is!not!an!exclusively!Jewish!phenomenon,!as! Kirschenbaum!has!learned.!“I!hear!from!other!cultures!—–!Italian,!Greek!Chinese!—!similar! stories!about!very!dominating!mothers,”!she!says.!“So!I’m!not!sure!if!we’re!the!only!ethnic! group!that’s!cornered!the!market!on!this.”! In!Jewish!and!other!immigrant!cultures,!she!observes,!the!emphasis!on!a!daughter’s! appearance!seems!to!stem!from!a!strong!desire!to!fit!in.!“For!people!like!my!parents,!firstK generation!Americans,!anything!ethnicKlooking!or!ethnicKsounding!is!not!considered!good.! That’s!why!from!a!young!age,!my!mother!was!having!my!hair!professionally!straightened,! and!then!when!my!nose!started!to!grow,!it!was!a!campaign!that!never!ended!for!me!to!get!it! fixed.!Forcing!us!to!look!Anglo!was!a!way!to!protect!us.”! But!there!was!also!a!double!message!being!put!out,!as!Kirschenbaum!notes.!“On!the!one! hand,!everything!Jewish!about!you!is!not!good.!But!on!the!other!hand,!you!absolutely!must! marry!a!Jew.”! “Look!At!Us!Now,!Mother!”!will!be!shown!at!Docaviv!on!Thursday,!May!14!at!8:30!P.M.!and! on!Friday,!May!15!at!6:45!P.M.!
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TJFF!2015:!THE!GOKGO!BOYS,!THE!INSIDE!STORY! OF!CANNON!FILMS! By:!JAMES!HRIVNAK!|!May!7,!2015! http://www.weraddicted.com/tjffK2015KtheKgoKgoKboysKtheKinsideKhistoryKofK cannonKfilms/! !
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Cannon!Films—as!owned!and!operated!by!Menahem$Golan!and!Yoram$ Globus!from!1979!to!1989—was!one!of!the!most!successful!independent!movie! studios,!turning!out!new!films!on!what!seemed!like!on!a!weekly!basis.!As!a! company,!they!were!prolific!in!the!amount!of!films!they!produced.!Yet,!they’re! notoriously!known!primarily!as!purveyors!of!low!budget!schlocky!exploitation! films.!And!still,!Cannon!Films!carries!a!certain!reputation!and,!shall!we!say,!a! certain!cache!among!cinephiles!who!grew!up!in!the!1980s!(which!includes!me).! So!much!so!that!Cannon!Films!was!recently!the!subject!of!not!one! but!two$documentaries!produced!in!2014:!Mark!Hartley’s!Electric$Boogaloo:$The$ Wild,$Untold$Story$of$Cannon$Films!and!Hilla$Medalia’s!The)GoFGo)Boys:)The) Inside)Story)of)Cannon)Films,!the!latter!of!which!screened!yesterday!as!part!of! the!23rd$annual$Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival.!
As!subject!of!an!insideKHollywood!documentary,!there’s!fewer!more! interesting!figures!than!Golan!and!Globus.!Though!what!seems!like!sheer! chutzpah!and!an!unbridled!love!of!the!movies,!Golan!and!Globus!made!careers! out!of!trying!to!give!audiences!what!they!wanted.!Cannon!Films!helped!define! popular!culture!in!the!1980s.!Through!their!films,!they!helped!popularize! breakdancing!(Breakin’,Breakin’$2:$Electric$Boogaloo—both!released!the!same! year!),!ninjas!(Ninja$III:$The$Domination,American$Ninja),!Chuck!Norris!(Delta$ Force,!Invasion$U.S.A.),!Charles!Bronson!(the!Death$Wishsequels),!and!JeanK Cluade!Van!Damme!(Bloodsport)—that’s!a!lot!of!things!from!just!one!company! (they!were!also!responsible!for!other!80sKdefining!products!like!the!Sylvester! StalloneKstarring!moviesCobra!and!Over$the$Top,!and!the!liveKaction!HeKMan! movie!Masters$of$the$Universe.)! In!direct!comparison,!Medalia’s!documentary!isn’t!as!lively!or!as!clipKheavy!as! Hartley’s,!but!The$Go[Go$Boys!makes!for!a!fine!companion!piece.!Her!film!spends! a!more!time!on!Golan!and!Globus’!preKCannon!days!and!upbringing,!as!well!as!on! their!personal!lives.!It’s!surprisingly!statelyKmade!considering!the!salacious! material!of!Cannon!Films.!There!is!still!lots!of!fun!in!The$Go[Go$Boys,!including! one!terrific!anecdote!about!a!waiterKslashKaspiring!actor!that!ends!with!the!most! perfect!cutaway.! It’s!safe!to!say!that!the!majority!of!films!produced!by!Cannon!were!dismissed! (many!rightly!so)!critically,!and!there’s!an!interesting!scene!with!Golan!who! refuses!to!talk!about!his!failures,!saying!he’s!erased!them!from!his!life.!It’s!fair!he! wouldn’t!want!to!drudge!up!sore!spots!in!a!film!about!his!career,!but!it!also! points!to!his!character!and!work!ethic.!Films!like!Over$the$Top!and!Superman$IV:$ The$Quest$for$Peace!were!higherKbudgeted!and!highKprofile!flops!for!Cannon,! though!Golan!never!stopped!to!dwell!or!perhaps!even!learn!from!any!mistakes— he!just!kept!on!making!movies.! Golan!and!Globus!are!fascinating!subjects,!and!Cannon!Films!has!such!a!rich! history—and!is!an!important!piece!of!Hollywood!history—worth!exploring!that!I! wish!The$Go[Go$Boys!went!a!little!more!inKdepth;!at!85!minutes!it!just!barely! scratches!the!surface!(though!it’s!the!about!the!average!length!of!a!Cannon!film,! so!that’s!a!nice!touch).!Yet,!the!film!is!certainly!worth!seeking!out!(as!is!the! Hartley!doc)!for!cinephiles,!or!even!those!who!want!to!see!a!different!side!of! Hollywood!in!a!documentary,!one!that’s!not!so!selfKaggrandizing!or! congratulatory.! The$Go[Go$Boys!screens!again!on!Saturday,!May!9!at!9!p.m.!at!the!ROM!Theatre.! Details!and!ticket!information!can!be!found!here.! And!for!the!record,!Cannon!did!produce!a!handful!of!legitimate!and!criticallyK acclaimed!films!in!John!Cassavetes’!Love$Streams,!Andrey! Konchalovskiy’s!Runaway$Train,!Robert!Altman’s!Fool$for$Love,!JeanKLuc! Godard’s!King$Lear,!Franco!Zeffirelli’s!Otello,!and!Barbet! Schroeder’s!Barfly!among!others.!
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Film!fest!to!end!on!a!delightful!note! By:!Jordan!Adler!|!May!6,!2015! http://www.cjnews.com/news/canada?q=node/139396! ! After!11!days!of!programming,!the! Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!will! end!on!a!high!note,!with!several! films!destined!to!make!audiences! smile!and!laugh.! The$Go[Go$Boys!and!Look$at$Us$Now,$ Mother!!are!two!hilarious! documentaries!focusing!on!fraught! family!relationships.!Meanwhile,!Mr.$ Kaplan,!an!awardKwinning!comedy! from!Uruguay,!will!serve!as!a! delightful!dessert!when!it!closes!the! festival!on!May!10!at!the!Bloor!Hot! Docs!Cinema.! Film!aficionados!should!not!miss!The$Go[Go$Boys:$The$Inside$Story$of$Cannon$Films.! The!doc!tells!the!story!of!two!cousins,!Menahem!Golan!and!Yoram!Globus.!Golan!and! Globus!were!popular!Israeli!filmmakers!who!found!international!success!after!they! moved!to!Los!Angeles!in!the!early!1980s.!! Their!American!studio,!Cannon!Films,!mainly!produced!films!considered!to!be!a! schlocky!alternative!to!more!reputable!mainstream!titles.!Critics!hated!them,!but! audiences!in!the!mood!for!thrills!and!vulgarity!could!not!resist!the!Cannon!output.!! Filled!with!sex!and!violence,!these!movies!were!cheap!to!make!yet!made!a!killing!at! the!box!office.!Some!of!their!biggest!hits!include!Breakin’!and!Bloodsport,!as!well!as! numerous!titles!with!Chuck!Norris!and!Charles!Bronson.! Despite!the!company’s!fate,!watching!Globus!and!Golan!recount!their!biggest! successes!is!a!delight.!The!best!part!of!the!doc!is!at!the!end,!when!the!cousins!sit!in!a! darkened!movie!house,!watching!and!reacting!to!their!biggest!Israeli!and!American! hits.!!
They!earned!the!nickname!“The!GoKGo!Boys”!for!the!speed!they!could!get!a!film!from! the!script!stage!to!the!big!screen.!Filled!with!candid!interviews!with!the!titular! cousins,!the!doc!about!them!is!suitably!fastKpaced.!It!is!also!a!frequently!funny! flashback!to!an!era!of!Hollywood!rarely!seen!on!the!screen.!! The$Go[Go$Boys!screens!at!Empress!Walk!on!May!6!and!the!ROM!Theatre!on!May!9.! (Two!of!the!producers’!biggest!lewd!hits,!Lemon$Popsicle!and!The$Last$American$ Virgin,!also!play!at!the!festival.)!!
! Meanwhile,!screening!on!May!8!(at!the!ROM!Theatre)!and,!more!appropriately,!on! Mother’s!Day!at!Empress!Walk,!is!Look$at$Us$Now,$Mother!!In!the!film,!director!Gayle! Kirschenbaum!explores!her!difficult!relationship!with!her!mother,!Mildred.!It’s!a! poignant!and!hilarious!doc!that!should!resonate!with!Jewish!mothers!and! daughters.!! Kirschenbaum!always!found!her!mom!to!be!mean!and!highly!critical.!Mildred,! meanwhile,!cannot!understand!why!her!daughter!won’t!get!a!nose!job!or!find!a! husband.!! Look$at$Us$Now,$Mother!!is!a!therapeutic!film!of!sorts,!exploring!the!misery!behind! the!women’s!resentment!of!each!other.!Kirschenbaum!shares!painful!journal!entries! from!her!youth!when!her!mother!humiliated!her.!Mildred!also!opens!up!about!her! difficult!childhood!and!her!sadness!after!her!husband!of!more!than!50!years!dies.!! The!dysfunction!could!have!been!too!much!to!bear;!however,!the!director!finds!the! right!mix!between!rudeness!and!tenderness.!Mildred!has!no!filter,!but!although!she! says!some!incendiary!things!that!should!get!big!laughs,!she!has!a!lot!of!good!things! to!say!about!her!director!daughter.!! Although!the!film!loses!a!bit!of!focus!when!it!sprawls!to!examine!other!family! members,!anyone!watching!the!doc!should!be!able!to!relate!to!some!of!the!stories!of!
family!struggle.!Look$at$Us$Now,$Mother!!is!a!deft!blend!of!sharp!comedy!and! observational!drama.!! Both!the!director!and!her!mother!will!be!at!the!screenings,!as!well,!which!should! make!for!a!spirited!postKfilm!discussion.!! Finally,!closing!night!pick!Mr.$Kaplan!–!Uruguay’s!submission!for!the!foreign! language!film!Oscar!–!should!send!audiences!home!happy.!Filled!with!comic!energy! due!to!its!sly!parodies!of!spy!flicks,!it!tells!the!story!of!Jacob!Kaplan!(Héctor! Noguera),!a!Jewish!man!struggling!to!cope!with!old!age.! When!Kaplan!hears!about!a!Nazi!hiding!in!South!America,!he!makes!it!his!personal! mission!to!find!the!war!criminal!and!bring!him!to!Israel!to!be!tried!in!court.!To!help! him!with!this!task!is!Wilson!Contreras!(Néstor!Guzzini),!Kaplan’s!bumbling!driver! who!used!to!be!a!police!officer.! The!two!men!make!for!an!inspired!comic!pairing!and!the!film!often!moves!in! unpredictable!directions!as!Kaplan!comes!ever!closer!to!capturing!the!shifty!Julius! Reich.!Writer/director!Álvaro!Brechner!has!a!knack!for!creating!memorable!comedy! setKpieces,!including!a!suspenseful!scene!on!a!diving!board!(as!Kaplan!cannot!swim)! and!a!dizzying!dream!sequence.!! It!doesn’t!boast!a!lot!of!slapstick,!but!there!are!some!cheeky!sight!gags!and!deadpan! reaction!shots,!as!well!as!much!witty!banter!between!Noguera!and!Guzzini.! Gorgeously!lensed!and!terrifically!acted,!Mr.$Kaplan!is!a!wonderful!film!about! second!chances.! !
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Everyday!gay!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival! and!The!Other!War! By:!Ryan!English!|!May!1,!2015! http://www.dailyxtra.com/toronto/artsKandKentertainment/everydayKgayKatKtheK torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalKandKtheKwarK103482! !
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“The$Other$War!alludes!to!the!war!taking!place!away!from!the!battlefield,!the! fight!for!a!normal!life!in!an!area!that’s!always!in!some!state!of!bloodshed!—! the!war!for!the!right!to!personal!happiness,!in!a!place!that!relentlessly! demands!individual!sacrifice,”!explains!filmmaker!Tamar!Glezerman.! While!Glezerman’s!brilliant!film!has!been!making!the!rounds!at!film!festivals! around!the!world!since!2006,!audiences!in!Hogtown!will!be!treated!to!a! screening!at!Toronto’s!2015!Jewish!Film!Festival.!The$Other$Wartells!the!story! of!lovers!Elli!(Keren!Berger)!and!Naama!(Hen!Yanni)!as!they!pal!around!Tel! Aviv!during!the!2006!Lebanon!War,!known!in!Israel!as!the!Second!Lebanon! War.! “The!story!takes!place!during!a!specific!war!in!Lebanon,!but!Israel!is!always!at! war,!whether!it’s!in!the!more!dramatic,!and!reported!wars!and!escalations,!or!
in!the!continuous!military!task!of!maintaining!the!daily!occupation!of!the! West!Bank,”!Glezerman!says.!“War!is!a!part!of!the!IsraeliKJewish!society!in! every!possible!way!and!in!all!walks!of!life,!as!Israel!has!mandatory!army! service.!Everybody!either!participates,!knows!someone!who!participates,! knows!a!victim!or!is!one.! “The!army!is!held!in!very!high!regard,!as!is!one’s!commitment!to!it.!It!is!a! profoundly!patriotic!and!militaristic!society.!During!the!second!Lebanon!war,! I!found!the!emotional!toll!of!this!predicament!on!my!immediate!surroundings! quite!devastating!and!compelling.!The!circumstances!crystallized!what! I!perceived!to!be!an!interesting!example!of!the!conflict!between!one’s!identity! as!a!citizen!and!one’s!identity!as!a!human!being.!I!have!to!disclaim,!however,! that!constant!war!means!something!completely!different!to!the!Palestinians! in!the!territory!controlled!by!Israel,!and!although!this!particular!films!looks!at! the!JewishKIsraeli!society,!I!feel!uncomfortable!not!to!acknowledge!that!when! commenting!on!the!topic.”! What’s!most!charming!about!Glezerman’s!film!—!which!clocks!in!at!just!43! minutes!with!credits!—!is!the!banality!encountered!by!its!lead!characters!as! they!crisscross!the!terrain!of!everyday!life;!familyKbound!Elli!helps!plan!her! sister’s!wedding!as!Naama!spends!her!evenings!in!local!gay!bars!and!does!her! best!to!cope!with!her!budding!wanderlust.!In!The$Other$War’s!virtual!absence! of!drama,!it!has!achieved!a!cinematic!rarity!by!relying!on!the!direction!and! stunning,!understated!performances!of!its!actors.!!!!! Glezerman!says!this!defining!feature!of!the!film!was!not!accidental.!“I! think!The$Other$War!deals!with!LGBT!relationships!in!the!simple!sense!that!it! portrays!characters!that!are!gay,!and!it’s!really!not!a!big!deal,!and!they!just! deal!with!life,!with!its!love!and!heartbreak,!just!like!everyone!else,”! Glezerman!says.!!“They’re!two!women,!they’re!a!couple,!and!nobody!cares.!I! think!that!may!be!an!important!representation!for!people!to!watch.!The!film! has!been!watched!by!tens!of!thousands!of!people!in!places!like!Pakistan!and! Saudi!Arabia,!and!that!makes!me!very!happy.!But!all!and!all!the!film!doesn’t! deal!with!gay!issues!as!much!as!it!just!deals!with!gay!people,!or,!as!Liz! Feldman!said!so!well,!‘I!had!lunch!this!afternoon,!not!gay!lunch.!I!parked!my! car;!I!didn’t!gay!park!it.’”!! The!Other!War! Wednesday,$May$6,$6pm$ Innis$Town$Hall,$2$Sussex$Ave,$Toronto! tjff.com! ! !
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The!GoKGo!Boys:!The!Inside!Story!of!Cannon!Films! (TJFF!Review)! By:!Michael!Nazarewycz!|!May!6,!2015! http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/theKgoKgoKboysKtheKinsideKstoryKofKcannonK films/! !
! Another!piece!of!history!is!screening!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!only!this! time!it’s!personal!(at!least!for!me).!Where!other!films!have!offered!tales!of!Jewish! history!I’ve!heard!or!read!about!(or!perhaps!lived!through!to!a!certain!extent),!this! documentary!offers!history!I!like!to!think!I!helped!make.!How?!Countless!VHS! rentals!in!the!decade!of!my!youth:!the!glorious!1980’s.!Making!its!Toronto!première! is!Hilla!Medalia’s!The$Go[Go$Boys:$The$Inside$Story$of$Cannon$Films.! Menahem!Golan!was!the!skinny!kid!in!school!who!got!picked!on!all!the!time,!so!he! turned!to!amateur!moviemaking!to!set!himself!apart!from!the!others.!When!he! screened!his!first!film!for!free,!no!one!showed.!When!he!screened!it!again,!he!offered! a!penny!to!every!person!who!came!out.!He!packed!the!place.!A!calling!was! answered.! FastKforward!to!1960’s!Tel!Aviv!and!Golan!is!in!the!moviemaking!business.!One!day! his!uncle!calls!him!with!a!problem.!Golan’s!first!cousin,!Yoram!Globus,!is!a!whiz!with! numbers!but!an!undisciplined!student.!Globus’!father!calls!Golan!and!asks!for!help,! so!Golan!tells!his!uncle!to!send!his!younger!cousin!to!Tel!Aviv.!It!turns!out!Globus!is! a!natural!on!the!finance!side!of!moviemaking.!!A!partnership!is!born.!
The!duo!go!on!to!have!hits,!they!learn!from!their!misses,!and!they!eventually! becomethe!filmmaking!force!in!Israel.!When!they!produce!a!megaKhit!in!Lemon$ Popsicle,!they!know!it’s!time!to!invade!Hollywood.!The$Go[Go$Boys:$The$Inside$Story$ of$Cannon$Films!looks!at!the!meteoric!rise!of!Golan/Globus,!pauses!to!bask!in!its! heyday,!and!then!covers!its!precipitous!fall.! As!a!nostalgia!piece!for!film!buffs!who!were!raised!in!the!“Be!Kind,!Rewind”!era,! this!is!a!terrific!film.!Not!only!does!it!cover!the!studio’s!amazing!history,!it!contain! countless!clips!from!the!Cannon!library:!a!collection!that!boasts!’80s!staples! like!New$Year’s$Evil,The$Last$American$Virgin,!King$Solomon’s$Mines,!American$Ninja,! and!all!the!Chucks!(Bronson!and!Norris)!you!can!wave!a!loaded!weapon!at.!Also! working!for!it!is!that!the!film!is!jammed!with!news!footage!about!Cannon!from!the! era.!This!footage,!wellKchosen!by!Medalia!and!wellKintegrated!by!editor!Daniel!Sivan,! really!puts!the!viewer!in!the!era!and!allows!for!an!entire!decade!to!be!experienced!in! less!than!90!minutes.! Medalia!also!does!well!to!capture!the!excitement!and!entrepreneurial!feel!of!the! time.!Cannon’s!approach!to!filmmaking!was!pedalKtoKtheKfloor;!if!a!film!pitch!was! good!enough,!the!machine!went!to!work!and!the!movie!got!made,!with!a!latherK rinseKrepeat!process!that!reached!a!point!where!Cannon!was!producing!more!films! in!one!year!than!some!studios!would!produce!in!ten.!This!also!lent!to!the!company’s! demise,!however,!as!so!much!effort!was!focused!on!generating!new!content,!the! content!they!were!in!the!middle!of!making!was!never!properly!shepherded.! As!a!documentary,!the!film!is!shaky.!Medalia!is!wise!to!spend!brief,!efficient!time!on! the!early!Israeli!days!of!Golan!and!Globus,!but!her!coverage!of!Cannon’s!demise! ironically!falls!victim!to!a!pedalKtoKtheKfloor!approach.!There!is!a!point!in!the! timeline!when!the!company’s!midas!touch!fails!them,!when!their!business!model!can! no!longer!bear!the!weight!of!rising!production!costs.!It’s!here!the!film!accelerates! much!too!quickly.!The!split!of!these!two!giants!of!Hollywood—for!whom!the!Cannes! Film!Festival!was!nicknamed!the!Cannon!Film!Festival—is!barely!detailed,!and!the! breakdown!of!the!relationship!almost!feels!like!it!was!a!singular!moment,!not!a! gradual!degradation.!The!postKCannon!lives!of!Golan!and!Globus!are!also!mostly! staccato!items—bulletKpoints!that!give!the!viewer!the!idea!of!what!happened! instead!of!telling!the!story!of!what!happened.!There!is!real!drama!in!all!of!this,!but! Medalia!doesn’t!capture!it.! The!other!major!deficiency!of!the!film!is!how!the!extended!Golan/Globus!family!was! impacted!by!the!cousins’!work!ethic,!unforgiving!schedule,!and!ultimate!collapse.! Several!family!members,!including!nowKgrown!children,!are!featured,!but!their! recollections!are!reduced!to!a!handful!of!soundbites!that!fail!to!resonate.! Overall,!The$Go[Go$Boys:$The$Inside$Story$of$Cannon$Films!is!an!enjoyable!watch! highlighted!by!great!clips,!a!terrific!story!of!the!first!time!Golan!met!JeanKClaude!Van! Damme,!an!unintentional!series!of!impersonations!of!Golan!that!everyone!seems!to! do!(and!do!well),!and!a!wonderful!trip!down!memory!lane.! The$GoLGo$Boys:$The$Inside$Story$of$Cannon$Films$(TJFF$Review)$Movie$review$ 6.5/10$
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TJFF!2015:!Orange!People!
By:!Michael!Nazarewycz!|!May!7,!2015! http://waytooindie.com/news/orangeKpeopleKtjffK2015/! !
! Making!its!Canadian!Premiere!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!is!Orange$People.!Hanna!Azoulay! Hasfari,!one!of!the!film’s!stars,!also!wrote!the!script!and!this!film!marks!her!directorial!debut.! This!drama!focuses!on!three!generations!of!Moroccan!Israeli!women.!Zohara!(Rita!Shukrun)!is!the! matriarch!and!something!of!a!psychic.!She!sits!outside!her!home!and!people!pay!her!to!“dream”!of! what!their!future!will!be.!Her!daughter,!Simone!(Esti!Yerushalmi),!appears!to!have!this!gift!as!well,! although!she!calls!it!narcolepsy!and!takes!medication!for!it.!Zohara’s!sister,!Fanny!(director!Hasfari),! is!the!family’s!black!sheep,!having!been!gone!for!16!years;!she!shows!up!unannounced.!Zohar,! Simone’s!daughter,!is!a!high!school!student!who!does!not!have!the!gift…at!least!not!yet.!Rounding!out! the!family!is!Simone’s!husband,!Jackie!(Yoram!Toledano),!a!police!officer.! At!its!core,!Orange$People!is!a!redemption!tale.!Zohara,!who!was!a!child!bride!in!an!arranged! marriage!a!long!time!ago,!has!the!greatest!need!for!redemption!not!only!because!what!she!is!facing!is! the!most!serious!of!everyone’s!ordeals,!but!because!she!doesn’t!have!much!time!left!on!this!earth.! Simone’s!shot!at!redemption!is!making!a!success!out!of!the!small!restaurant!she!owns,!a!task!made! more!difficult!when!Russian!competition!opens!across!the!street.!For!Fanny,!redemption!is!needed! for!transgressions!that!occurred!16!years!earlier.!Zohar,!the!teen,!has!no!need!for!redemption,!but! she’s!certainly!learning!what!it!looks!like.! Hanna!Azoulay!Hasfari’s!sophomore!screenplay!and!freshman!directorial!debut!is!a!rough!outing.!She! has!a!good!story!foundation!and!a!keen!eye!for!blocking!and!framing!shots,!but!she!struggles!to!fully! develop!her!ideas.!This!not!only!hinders!the!story,!it’s!also!harmful!to!the!characters.!By!the!film’s! closing!credits,!not!enough!substance!was!left!onKscreen!to!make!us!care!how!it!ends.! !
! Loose!Cannons!Special!#1:!Interview!with!GoKGo! Boys!Director!Hilla!Medalia! By:!Dorkshelf!Staff!|!May!1,!2015! http://dorkshelf.com/2015/05/01/looseKcannonsKspecialK1KinterviewKwithKgoKgoK boysKdirectorKhillaKmedalia/! !
! B!movie!and!action!cinema!fans!rejoice!!The!Loose!Cannons!podcast!is!now!on!the! Dork!Shelf!network.! What’s!Loose!Cannons,!you!ask?!The!concept!is!pretty!simple:!it’s!a!podcast!where! two!dudes!(Mathew!Kumar!andJustin!Decloux)!have!committed!to!watching!every! single!Cannon!film!(see!the!full!list!here)!that’s!available!and!watchable!in!any!form! and!to!then!talk!about!them!for!about!a!half!hour.!From!Joe!to!Breakin’$2:$Electric$ Boogaloo$and!beyond,!from!softcore!schlock!like!Inga!and!oddities!like!Fando$ y$Lis,$to!bona!fide!action!classics!like!Death$Wish$II,Delta$Force!and!Bloodsport,!these! two!brave!souls!are!jumping!into!the!deep!end!of!low!budget!cinema!all!for!our! entertainment.! And!we’re!celebrating!the!arrival!of!the!Loose!Cannons!podcast!with!a!very!special! interview.!The!Loose!Cannons!recently!spoke!with!filmmaker!Hilla$Medalia,!the! director!of!the!documentary!The)GoFGo)Boys:)The)Inside)Story)of)Cannon) Films.$The!doc!tells!the!story!of!Cannon!Films!owners!Menahem!Golan!and!Yoram! Globus,!the!two!IsraeliKborn!cousins!who!powered!the!independent!movie!studio!to! incredible!heights!in!the!late!1970s!and!early!80s.!Take!a!listen:! ! Download$the$MP3$directly$HERE.! To$have$new$episodes$delivered$as$they’re$released,$subscribe$on$iTunes.!
The$Go[Go$Boys!is!set!to!play!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!on!May!6!and!May!8.!For!ticket! and!screening!information!visit!the!TJFF!website!here.!
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Go!to!the!Toronto!Comic!Arts!Festival,!see! a!SimpsonsKinspired!play!and!eight!other!things!to! do!this!week! By:!Linda!Landau!May!4,!2015! http://www.torontolife.com/informer/bestKbets/2015/05/04/goKtorontoKcomicK artsKfestivalKseeKsimpsonsKinspiredKplayKeightKthingsKweek/! ! Pay$tribute$to$fallen$stars$at$the$Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival! In!the!past!year,!the!Jewish!community!has!lost!some!of!its!most!indelible!icons,!including!Mike! Nichols,!Joan!Rivers!and!Leonard!Nimoy.!Each!one!gets!an!archival!screening!at!this!week’s!Toronto! Jewish!Film!Festival,!as!do!Twilight$Zone$creator!Rod!Serling!and!the!Canadian!character!actor!Al! Waxman.!Also!on!our!mustKsee!list:!Hebrew$Superheroes,$about!the!rise!of!Israeli!comics;!The$ Kindergarten$Teacher,$a!Cannes!hit!about!a!woman!who!becomes!obsessed!with!her!prodigal!student;! and!Irwin$and$Fran,$an!acerbic!documentary!about!the!standKup!satirist!Irwin!Corey.!To!Sunday!May! 10.!$9–$14.!Various$venues,$416[324[9121,$tjff.com.!
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! Q&A:!Director!Hilla!Medalia!Talks!“THE!GOKGO! BOYS:!THE!INSIDE!STORY!OF!CANNON!FILMS”! By:!Chris!Alexander!|!May!1,!2015! http://www.fangoria.com/new/qaKdirectorKhillaKmedaliaKtalksKtheKgoKgoKboysKtheK insideKstoryKofKcannonKfilms/! !
! Tel!AvivKbased!documentarian!Hilla!Medalia’s!THE!GOKGO!BOYS,!a!critically!acclaimed! look!at!the!wild!lives!of!Cannon!Films!bigwigs!Menahem!Golan!and!Yoram!Globus,!has! its!Canadian!premiere!next!Wednesday,!May!6!(it!also!plays!May!9)!at!the!Toronto! Jewish!Film!Festival,!and!FANGORIA!spoke!to!Medalia!to!mark!the!occasion.! The!Toronto!fest!(purchase!tickets!and!see!the!full!lineup!here)!uses!Jewish!culture!as! its!obvious!foundation,!but!veers!into!unexpected!programming!directions,!especially!in! regards!to!its!championing!of!classic!and!contemporary!genre!films.!Thus!it’s!a!perfect! match!for!THE!GOKGO!BOYS:!THE!INSIDE!STORY!OF!CANNON!FILMS,!a!more!cinematic! companion!to!Aussie!director!Mark!Hartley’s!splashier!ELECTRIC!BOOGALOO:!THE! WILD,!UNTOLD!STORY!OF!CANNON!FILMS.!While!the!latter!picture!is!certainly!a! fantastic,!clipKfilled!party!loaded!with!celebrities!and!stories!both!hilarious!and!hideous,!
THE!GOKGO!BOYS!has!something!Hartley’s!work!lacks:!the!cooperation!and!copious!new! interview!footage!of!Golan!and!Globus!themselves!! The!IsraeliKborn!moguls!came!to!Hollywood!full!of!dreams,!and!essentially,!for!a!brief,! beautiful!period!of!time,!owned!Tinseltown!and!were!fixtures!at!Cannes.!Their!recipe! was!to!simply!pump!out!as!many!loud,!violent!and!trashy!midKbudget!action,!fantasy! and!horror!films!as!they!could,!giving!work!to!many!legendary!stars!and!filmmakers,! getting!major!distribution!around!the!world!and!creating!a!sort!of!subgenre!unto! themselves;!they!were!AIP!with!an!Uzi.! Of!course,!like!many!great!things!in!life,!the!Cannon!saga!didn’t!come!to!a!happy!ending:! the!company!disbanded!and!Golan!and!Globus!acrimoniously!separated.!But!Medalia’s! beautifully!made!and!truly!wonderful!THE!GOKGO!BOYS!is!both!a!celebration!of!weird! cinema!and!a!love!letter!to!a!kind!of!independent,!ambitious!and!largerKthanKlife! creative!spirit!that!has!sadly!ebbed!in!recent!years.! FANGORIA:!From!a!narrative!standpoint,!putting!this!documentary!together,!did!you! see!it!as!an!immigrant!story,!primarily?! HILLA$MEDALIA$(pictured$right):!It!was!interesting:! When!I!first!met!Golan!and!Globus,!there!were!two! things!I!noticed!right!away!that!drew!me!into!this!story.! One!was!the!relationship!between!them.!I!wanted!to! meet!them!together!that!first!time!because!I!wanted! both!of!them!on!board!for!the!film.!I!would!ask!them! something,!and!it!would!be!a!oneKhour!argument!about! the!answer;!it!was!hilarious.!I!thought!this!dynamic! between!them!was!fascinating.!The!other!thing!was!the! overall!story!of!these!two!guys!from!this!little!town!in! Israel!who!had!a!dream!to!make!it!in!Hollywood,!and! just!went!out!there!and!did!everything!they!could!and! became!so!big.!I’m!not!a!huge!fan!of!their!movies,!but!I! came!into!making!this!film!from!that!point!of!view;!I! was!more!interested!in!this!other!side.!I!had!a!screening! in!Pittsburgh,!and!people!came!with!photo!albums!of! themselves!with!Menahem!and!Yoram!and!the!stars!of!the!movies.!I!think!THE!GOKGO! BOYS!appeals!to!both!types!of!people.!I!was!interested!not!so!much!in!the!films!but!the! filmmakers’!journey.! FANG:!Do!you!see!it!as!a!bit!of!a!tragedy!as!well?! MEDALIA:!I!think!it’s!sad,!because!it!was!like!a!divorce.!It’s!about!their!relationship,!and! in!a!way!it’s!like!a!love!story:!They’re!together!and!then!they!split.!There!are!other! elements!I!find!sad;!Menahem!really!lost!everything.!The!good!thing!is!that!this!film! actually!brought!him!and!Yoram!to!Cannes!again,!and!it!was,!in!a!way,!closing!the!circle! for!him.!It!was!very!unfortunate!for!him;!he!really!didn’t!have!any!money,!and!he!was! sitting!in!his!house!writing!all!these!scripts.! FANG:!Toward!the!last!quarter!of!the!film,!there’s!an!interview!with!Golan!where!he! gets!his!back!up!to!some!degree!when!asked!about!his!failures,!which!he!refuses!to! acknowledge…!
MEDALIA:!One!of!the!things!I!say!in!the!film!is!that!I!can!see!how!Menahem!was!getting! old,!and!that!was!actually!one!of!the!later!interviews!they!did.!Not!the!last!one,!but!the! one!before!the!last.!Menaham!was!very!optimistic,!and!I!think!that!was!how!he!got!his! drive.!He!was!like,!“OK,!we!failed,!doesn’t!matter;!let’s!move!forward.!Always!look! forward.”!Seeing!him!always!looking!at!the!positive!side!and!always!looking!ahead!was! very!inspiring.! Still,!one!of!the!challenges!I!had!was!that!they!obviously!had!a!lot!of!failures,!and! Menahem!would!never!talk!about!them.!It!took!me!some!time!until!I!felt!comfortable! enough!to!confront!him,!and!he!got!upset.!On!one!hand,!he!was!screaming!at!me!and! speaking!to!me!in!that!very!Menahem!style!of!being!harsh!and!inKyourKface,!but!on!the! other!hand,!he!wouldn’t!tell!me!something!like,!“What!do!you!know,!you’re!so!young,! you!haven’t!done!anything.”!He!wouldn’t!say!anything!to!really!insult!me!all!the!way.!He! would!say,!“Why!do!you!care,!why!do!you!want!to!know!so!much?!I!don’t!want!to!talk! about!it;!we!didn’t!have!any!failures.”!He!was!really!strong!about!not!wanting!to!discuss! it.! $ FANG:!How!long!did!you!spend!with! them?! MEDALIA:!I!think!it!was!about!three! years.!It!was!a!real!process,!because! even!when!I!got!them!to!sign!off!and! go!on!this!journey!with!me,!it!then! took!me!six!months!to!interview! Yoram!the!first!time.!He!never!wanted! to!be!interviewed,!even!though!he! really!wanted!the!film!to!happen.!It’s! interesting,!because!when!you!look!at! all!the!art!and!material,!you!always!see! Menahem;!Menahem!is!everywhere.! There!is!so!little!of!Yoram.! FANG:!You!see!this!in!a!lot!of!creative! partnerships:!One!is!the!largerKthanK life!character,!and!the!other!is!quietly! pulling!the!strings!in!the!back.!You! said!you!consider!this!a!kind!of!love! story.!Did!you!develop!affection!for! both!men!by!the!end!of!this!journey?! MEDALIA:!Yeah,!I!spent!a!lot!of!time!with!them,!and!you!develop!a!relationship!with!the! people!you!work!with!and!their!families.!I!got!very!close!to!them,!and!that’s!important! when!you!make!a!film;!you!need!to!truly!know!and!understand!them,!and!keep!the! people!you’re!shooting!close!to!you!so!they!can!open!up.! FANG:!If!you!have!something!scripted,!you!know!when!to!stop.!But!when!you’re!making! a!documentary,!especially!one!that!covers!this!span!of!time!and!this!much!history,!how! do!you!know!when!the!film!is!complete?!
MEDALIA:!It!was!a!little!bit!like!a!feature!where!I!did!exhaustive!research,!from!meeting! and!talking!to!people!to!reading!and!watching!archives.!I!didn’t!know!much!about!their! story!to!the!extent!I!know!now,!so!I!had!to!learn!a!lot.!At!first,!I!learned!everything!and! then!I!kind!of!wrote!the!script.!I!had!to!make!a!lot!of!decisions!because,!for!example,! when!they!came!to!America,!they!didn’t!just!one!day!take!a!plane!and!leave;!they!went! one!time!to!do!one!project,!then!they!went!back!to!Israel.!In!the!film,![addressing!that]! didn’t!work,!so!basically!I!had!to!make!a!decision!that,!“OK,!now!they’re!going!to! America,!and!we!are!not!going!to!talk!anymore!about!anything!that!happens!afterwards! in!Israel.”!So!I!did!treat!it!a!little!bit!like!a!feature.! As!far!as!knowing!where!to!stop,!for!this!movie!I!didn’t!shoot!so!much.!I!created!a!list!of! people!I!knew!I!wanted!to!interview!based!on!the!main!points!within!the!narrative!I! wanted!to!tell—and!then,!of!course,!some!people!were!easier!to!get,!and!others!I! couldn’t.!JeanKClaude!Van!Damme!took!three!years,!and!I!got!him!at!the!last!moment.! Literally—I!had!to!reopen!the!film!to!put!in!his!interview!right!before!we!premiered.! FANG:!Thank!God!you!got!him—that!was!a!vital!piece!of!the!puzzle.! MEDALIA:!I!had!the!story,!but!I!needed!him,!because!it’s!so!different!when!he!and! Menahem!both!tell!it!rather!than!just!Menahem.!Van!Damme!was!a!big!part!of!their! saga,!because!they!really!discovered!him.! FANG:!Have!you!seen!ELECTRIC!BOOGALOO?! MEDALIA:!Yes,!I!have.! FANG:!Is!there!any!animosity!between!the!two!of!you?!I!mean,!they!are!very!different! movies—very!complementary,!in!fact.!Two!sides!of!the!same!coin.! MEDALIA:!I!don’t!feel!any!animosity,!and!I!don’t!think!it’s!a!problem!that!there!is! another!film.!I!do!believe!that!if!I!was!directing!his!movie,!I!would!go!for!a!different!end,! but!I!was!not!upset!about!it,!because!I!think!it!was!good!for!my!film.!Everyone!who’s! going!to!watch!ELECTRIC!BOOGALOO!is!probably!going!to!want!to!know!what!the!film! is!that!premiered!at!Cannes,!so!I!was!not!upset!in!any!way.!It’s!very!different,!and!it! appeals!to!a!wider!audience.!Mark’s!film!is!more!attractive!for!those!who!are!Cannon! fans!or!Van!Damme!fans.! FANG:!How!has!becoming!a!mother!changed!your!work!ethic!and!your!perspective!on! being!an!artist?! MEDALIA:!I!have!to!tell!you,!it!has!changed!my!life,!and!I!see!things!differently.!My!baby! is!2!now;!I!finished!DANCING!IN!JAFFA!on!a!Friday,!then!on!Saturday!I!gave!birth,!then! right!after!that!I!did!the!onKline!and!mix,!and!four!weeks!later!we!were!at!Tribeca.!Eight! months!later,!I!had!a!film!at!Sundance!called!WEB!JUNKIE,!and!five!months!after!that!I! had!THE!GOKGO!BOYS,!then!at!the!following!Sundance!I!had!CENSORED!VOICES,!which! was!also!in!Berlin.!So!since!she!was!born,!I!have!definitely!been!more!productive.!It’s!a! great!thing!for!your!career,!but!you!also!have!to!figure!out!how!to!balance!and!manage! your!time.!It!definitely!helped!me!put!things!more!in!perspective.!When!we!are! filmmakers,!those!are!our!babies!and!we!take!things!so!hard.!She!helped!me!balance!and! see!things!more!in!proportion.!
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MARK!WIGMORE'S!TOP!5!K!WEEKEND!OF!MAY!1! By:!Mark!Wigmore!!|!May!1,!2015! http://www.jazz.fm/index.php/onKairKmainmenu/theKarts/11899KmarkKwigmoreK topK5KmayK1! ! Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival$ April$30$L$May$10! You!have!to!love!the!tagline!for!this!fest!“Only!the!films!need!to!be!Jewish!to!get!in”.! Right!through!next!weekend!TJFF!screenings!continue!at!the!Varsity,!the!Carlton,! Cineplex!Cinemas!Empress!Walk!and!a!few!others.!This!weekend!features!a!free! screening!and!talk!on!Saturday!about!the!Twilight!Zone.!1:30pm!at!the!ROM!the!fest! will!show!“Walking!Distance”,!one!of!the!finest!episodes!in!the!series!that!plays!with! time!travel.!! !
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TJFF!2015!REVIEW:!ONCE!IN!A!LIFETIME! By:!Jordan!Adler!|!May!4,!2015! http://thetfs.ca/2015/05/04/tjffK2015KreviewKlifetime/! !
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A!determined!teacher,!Anne!Gueguen!(Ariane!Ascaride),!tries!to!help!a!pack!of! disobedient!highKschool!students!aim!higher.!The!teens,!from!a!variety!of! faiths!and!backgrounds,!are!unmotivated!to!learn!and!may!not!graduate!as!a! result.!To!help!instill!curiosity!and!empathy!in!them,!Anne!enlists!her!class!in! a!contest.!The!students!must!complete!a!project!on!child!victims!of!Nazi! concentration!camps.! Based!on!a!true!story,!Once$in$a$Lifetime!is!a!film!with!grand,!noble! intentions.!However,!it!falls!incredibly!short!of!its!emotional!goals.!A!story! about!innerKcity!kids!confronting!the!harsh!realities!of!the!Shoah!has!room!for! profound!depth.!However,!the!screenplay!has!predictable!story!beats.!We! learn!little!about!the!teens;!as!a!result,!when!the!characters!begin!to!strive!
academically,!too!little!of!it!matters.!Meanwhile,!it!rarely!rings!true!when!the! misfit!characters!miraculously!improve!their!behaviour.! There!are!signs!that!the!film!could!have!been!much!more.!Several!of!the!teen! actors!give!resonating!turns,!even!if!many!of!their!characters!get!the!barest!of! backstories.!A!few!powerful!moments,!including!a!scene!with!Holocaust! survivor!Léon!Zyguel,!manage!to!teach!without!preaching.!However,!too!much! of!the!plotting!is!forced,!flattening!what!should!be!a!poignant!story!about! learning!from!the!past.! IS!ONCE$IN$A$LIFETIME!ESSENTIAL!FESTIVAL!VIEWING?! Unfortunately,!no.!The!true!story!is!inspiring,!but!its!execution!on!the!screen! lacks!power!and!sensitivity.! ONCE!IN!A!LIFETIME!SCREENING!TIMES! !
Tuesday,!May!5,!2015!–!6:00!pm!–!Bloor!Hot!Docs!Cinema!
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Friday,!May!8,!2015!–!12:30!pm!–!Cineplex!Cinemas!Empress!Walk!
! More!About!Once!in!a!Lifetime! ONCE$IN$A$LIFETIME!TRAILER! ! !
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Events!on!My!Radar!in!May…! May!4,!2015! http://momwhoruns.com/eventsKonKmyKradarKinKmay/! !
Currently!I’m!busy!watching!as!many!films!as!I!can!at!the! Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!which!is!taking!place!till!May! 10th.!I’ve!watched!the!first!three!episodes!of!the!Israeli!hit!TV! Series!“Hostages”!and!will!be!back!for!more!!!Seeing!as!I’ve!just! returned!from!Israel…this!is!the!perfect!festival!for!me.!! !
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TJFF!2015:!Hebrew!Superheroes! By:!Michael!Nazarewycz!|!May!3,!2015! http://waytooindie.com/news/hebrewKsuperheroesKtjffK2015/! !
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Like!they!say,!timing!is!everything.!Just!as!the!superhero!blockbuster!Avengers:$Age$of$Ultron!takes! over!theaters!around!the!globe,!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!swoops!in!like!a!caped!crusader!to! offer!the!ultimate!counterKprogram!to!the!bigKbudget,!big!studio!offering.! Making!its!North!American!premiere!is!Hebrew$Superheroes,!from!directors!Asaf!Galay!and!Shaul! Betser.!This!documentary,!clocking!in!at!a!lean!54!minutes,!offers!a!rare!look!at!the!history!of!Israeli! comics!and!their!creators.! Loaded!with!appearances!from!historians,!artists,!writers,!and!accented!by!a!variety!of!animated! scenes,!Hebrew$Superheroes!begins!its!story!in!1936,!when!only!kidKtargeted!comic!fare!existed.!This! lone!option!continues!successfully!for!decades,!but!other!artists!and!writers!are!driven!to!take!the! medium!in!other!creative!directions.!Most!were!influenced!by!mainstream!U.S.!superhero!comics!or! inspired!by!groundbreaking!titles!like!Art!Spiegelman’s!Maus.!These!artistic!creators!talk!onKscreen! about!their!work,!offering!a!great!personal!touch!to!the!documentary.! The!film’s!main!issue!though,!is!that!it!lacks!a!centeral!narrative.!While!the!directors!do!a!good!job! establishing!the!(mostly)!linear!timeline!and!assembling!the!talent!to!present!their!information,!what! they!offer!is!simply!that:!information.!One!creator’s!experiences!are!followed!by!another’s!and!so!on,! but!the!least!common!denominator!connects!them;!there’s!never!a!sense!of!something!bigger.!The! result!of!the!docuemtnary!isn’t!a!history!story,!it’s!the!history’s!resume,!and!the!bulletKpoint!feel!of! the!presentation!slows!the!film!to!a!frustrating!halt.!
! Closer!to!the!Moon!(TJFF!Review)!
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By:!Michael!Nazarewycz!|!May!3,!2015! http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/closerKtoKtheKmoon/! !
! As!part!of!Way!Too!Indie’s!ongoing!festival!coverage,!I!recently!had!the!opportunity!to! screen!Chuck$Norris$vs.$Communism,!a!Hot!Docs!2015!entry.!The!excellent!documentary! focuses!on!actual!events!that!took!place!in!1980s!Romania.!Screening!at!the!2015! Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!comes!another!RomaniaKset!film!with!historical! significance—only!this!time!it’s!a!dramatization!of!history,!not!a!documentation!of!it,! and!the!timeline!shifts!from!the!1980s!to!the!late!1950s.!The!film!is!Nae!Caranfil’sCloser$ to$the$Moon.!
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During!World!War!II,!Jews!in!Romania!joined!the!antiKNazi!resistance!organized!by!the! Communist!Party!with!the!expectation!that!they!would!enjoy!freedom!once!the!Nazis! were!defeated.!After!the!war,!Communism,!not!freedom!spread,!and!while!some! members!of!the!resistance!went!on!to!become!influential!members!of!Romanian!society,! even!that!would!be!temporary.!Closer$to$the$Moon,!based!on!a!true!story,!looks!at!a! collection!of!friends!who!joined!the!resistance!and!went!on!to!bigger!things.!Then!they! decided!to!rob!a!bank.! That!gang!is!led!by!Max!(Mark!Strong),!a!highKranking!police!official,!and!includes! history!professor!Iorgu!(Christian!McKay),!journalist!Razvan!(Joe!Armstrong),!and!
scientist!Dumi!(Tim!Plester).!Rounding!out!the!group!is!Alice!(Vera!Farmiga),!the!lone! female!and!a!political!science!expert.! Their!heist,!cleverly!disguised!as!a!film!shoot,!is!witnessed!by!a!crowd!of!mesmerized! passersKby,!including!Virgil!(Harry!Lloyd),!a!waiter!at!a!nearby!restaurant.!Virgil! becomes!so!enamored!by!the!film!shoot!that!he!goes!into!the!Romanian!motion!picture! business.!A!year!later,!his!first!directorial!gig!is!a!propaganda!film!that!opens!with!the! sentencing!of!the!gang!he!thought!was!filming!a!fake!robbery,!not!actually!committing!a! real!one.!The!gang!is!sentenced!to!death.!Virgil!is!then!charged!with!filming!a!complete! recreation!of!the!robbery—starring!the!actual!gang—but!one!that!falsifies!most!of!what! happened!in!the!name!of!pushing!the!Communist!agenda.!In!the!process,!Virgil! befriends!Alice,!and!their!relationship!becomes!key!to!much!more.! Director!Caranfil,!who!also!wrote!the!screenplay,!chooses!to!present!Closer$to$the$ Moonas!a!dark!comedy,!and!there!are!times!this!approach!works!well.!The!gang!display! excellent!chemistry!when!they’re!together,!from!highKminded!debates!to!carousing!with! prostitutes,!it’s!all!done!with!political!discourse.!With!an!alpha!male,!a!smart!and!sexy! dame,!highKquality!supporting!members,!a!wellKplanned!caper,!and!always!a!good!time,! they’re!not!resistance!veterans,!they’re!the!Shabbat!Pack.!Filming!the!robbery! reenactment,!a!notion!so!preposterous!that!it!could!only!be!based!in!reality,!is!also! perfect!for!a!comedic!take.!All!of!this!is!fantastic.! The!film!struggles,!though,!when!it!expands!beyond!the!gang.!A!recurring!gag!involving! the!drunkenness!of!a!legendary!Romanian!film!director!(Allan!Corduner)!is!tired!from! the!first!flat!joke,!and!the!inclusion!of!Virgil’s!landlords,!an!old!Jewish!couple!with!levity! to!their!parts,!seems!to!be!set!up!from!the!first!scene!to!serve!as!a!key!moment!at!the! end!of!the!film.!There!are!also!forced!threads!(to!call!them!subplots!would!be!to!give! them!too!much!credit)!involving!Max’s!wife!and!her!brother.!A!pair!of!romances!and! unexpected!melodrama!involving!Alice!also!serve!as!convenient!plot!points!that!distract! from!the!overall!story.! These!things!not!only!hinder!the!better!parts!of!the!film,!they!prevent!an!interesting! conceit!from!finding!life.!Amidst!the!politics!and!propaganda,!one!Communist!official,! Holban!(Anton!Lesser),!yearns!to!know!why!the!gang!stole!the!money.!No!one!else!cares! about!this.!They!stole!something!they!didn’t!need,!knowing!the!possible!result,!and!the! not!knowing!the!motive!behind!it!gnaws!at!Holban.!He!even!reaches!the!point!where!his! obsession!jeopardizes!the!film!he!has!been!charged!with!producing.!This!story!could! have!been!a!great!counterbalance!to!the!gang’s!antics,!and!Lesser!is!marvelous!in!the! role,!but!it!gets!lost!in!the!noise!of!the!filmmaker’s!other!dalliances.! In!addition!to!Lesser,!performance!standouts!include!Lloyd!and!Farmiga,!but!the!film!is! carried!on!the!shoulders!of!Strong,!who!is!more!than!up!to!the!task!of!playing!the!rebelK turnedKcopKturnedKcriminal,!with!a!motivation!to!risk!his!life!that!he!makes!you!want!to! get!in!line!to!support.! Part!heist!flick!and!part!history!lesson,!Closer$to$the$Moon!is!best!viewed!as!an! entertaining,!albeit!flawed,!entry!in!the!subKsubKgenre!of!films!about!the!aftermath!of! WWII.! Closer$to$the$Moon$(TJFF$Review)$Movie$review$ 6/10$
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Haven!(TJFF!2015)! By:!Michael!Nazarewycz!|!May!3,!2015! http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/haven/! !
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War!is!frequently!used!by!filmmakers!not!as!the!subject!of!a!film!or!even! its!primary!setting,!but!as!a!driving!force!for!other,!more!personal,! conflicts.!Such!is!the!case!ofHaven,!from!firstKtime!writer/director!Amikam! Kovner.!The!story!takes!place!in!the!shadow!of!the!Second!Lebanon!War,! and!the!film!makes!its!Canadian!Premiere!at!the!2015!Toronto!Jewish!Film! Festival.! Because!of!Hezbollah’s!attacks,!residents!of!northern!Israel,!are!forced!to! flee!south!for!their!lives.!Two!of!those!residents!are!Motti!and!Keren!(Oshri! Cohen!and!Rotem!ZissmanKCohen,!respectfully),!a!young!married!couple!in! their!20’s!with!a!baby!on!the!way.!They!find!refuge!with!Boaz!and!Yali! (Nevo!Kimchi!and!Lana!Ettinger),!a!slightly!older!couple!(late!30’s)!who! live!in!a!nice!apartment!and!who!are!kind!enough!to!take!in!strangers.! There!are!small!conflicts!one!might!expect!from!such!a!living! arrangement—conflicts!that!mildly!disrupt!the!life!of!the!older!couple:! Motti!smokes,!he!leaves!beard!clippings!in!the!sink,!he!prefers!to!eat!
Kosher,!etc.!In!fact,!Motti’s!religious!conviction!is!about!the!most! significant!difference!between!him!and!Boaz!(the!wives!remain!neutral)! until!talk!turns!to!politics.!This!is!when!tensions!flare,!as!the!younger!man! would!prefer!Israel!take!a!more!aggressive!position!in!the!war,!while!the! older!man!would!rather!avoid!conflict!entirely.!Suddenly!an!apartment! that!was!big!enough!to!temporarily!house!four!people!becomes!a!little! more!cramped,!and!the!close!quarters!and!unsettled!atmosphere!leave! open!the!possibility!for!other!precarious!situations!to!occur.! Writer/director!Kovner!creates!great!foundation!early!in!Haven.!He! quickly!establishes!the!conflict!between!the!males!not!only!with!overt! differences!(young/old,!devout/secular,!conservative/liberal),!but!he! includes!subtle!things!that!help!contribute!to!the!tension.!Kovner!is!also! clever!to!leverage!war!reporting!as!televisedKaroundKtheKclock!fuel!on!the! conflict!fire.! However,!once!the!first!act!draws!to!a!close,!cleverness!takes!a!back!seat!to! completion.!There’s!an!acceleration!of!events!and!emotions!that!occurs! where!characters!move!from!Point!A!to!Point!E!without!ever!stopping!at! the!points!in!between.!It’s!frustrating!to!watch,!because!when!the! characters!reach!their!final!destinations,!it’s!completely!understandable! that!that’s!where!they!are!supposed!to!end!up.!However,!they!don’t!put!in! the!effort;!they!are!simply!placed!there.!The!biggest!victim!in!this!is!the! audience,!which!is!denied!the!pleasure!of!watching!the!characters!travel! the!fullKlength!of!the!road.! Exacerbating!that!frustration!is!the!film’s!lean!74Kminute!runtime.!Kovner! wastes!little!time!on!frivolity,!and!what!time!he!does!spend!there!is!an! enjoyable!break!from!the!tension.!But!surely!an!extra!10K15!minutes!of! additional!scenes!could!have!been!use!to!develop!these!relationships!more! organically.! While!there!are!a!few!bit!parts,!this!is!a!fourKperson!film!(one!that!would! adapt!well!to!the!stage),!and!each!do!an!excellent!job!in!their!roles.!Leading! the!cast,!though,!is!Lana!Ettinger!as!Yali.!The!experienced!actress!has! competing!character!types!to!play!against!in!her!three!roomies,!not!to! mention!her!reflective!solo!scenes,!and!she!plays!well!against!them!all.!It’s! thanks!to!her!and!the!rest!of!the!foursome!that!film!remains!compelling!in! spite!of!its!storytelling!flaws.! Haven$(TJFF$2015)$Movie$review$ 5/10$ !
! TORONTO!JEWISH!FILM!FESTIVAL!2015! By:!Greg!Klymkiw!|!May!2,!2015! http://klymkiwfilmcorner.blogspot.ca/2015/05/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK 2015.html! ! !
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Hirsch!(2015)! Dir.!Noam!Gonick! Starring:!Louis!Negin! ! Review)By)Greg)Klymkiw! ! John!Hirsch!was!one!of!the!world's!most!important!artists! and!I!can!think!of!no!greater!tribute!than!Noam! Gonick's!Hirsch,!a!lovely,!expressionistic!docuKfantasy! created!in!the!grand!tradition!of!Winnipeg's!vital!prairie! postKmodernist!aesthetic.!Hirsch!is!credited!with!founding! the!professional!regional!theatre!company,!the!Manitoba! Theatre!Centre!(MTC)!as!well!as!revitalizing!both!CBC! drama!and!the!Stratford!Festival.!In!particular,!his!work! with!MTC!had!a!huge!impact!upon!theatre!worldwide!by! providing!a!model!for!regional!theatre!companies!to!aspire! to!and!follow.! ! Though!Gonick's!films!often!find!themselves!focusing!upon! cutting!edge!outsiders!in!decidedly!cutting!edge!fashion,! here!he!brings!his!unique!filmmaking!voice!to!a!tale!that!is! as!gentle!and!elegiac,!as!it!is!profoundly!imaginative!and!deeply!moving.!(And!Hell,!one!can't!get! more!outside!the!box!and!cutting!edge!than!a!subject!like!John!Hirsch.)!Gonick!frames!this!tribute!to! the!grand!impresario!in!a!fictional!setting!in!which!a!group!of!children!find!themselves!exploring!an! old!attic!filled!with!the!late!Hirsch's!memorabilia.!One!of!the!older!boys!suggests!the!attic!is!haunted! by!Hirsch's!ghost,!but!he's!quick!to!suggest!that!it's!a!benevolent!spirit.!A!younger!lad!gets!an! opportunity!to!place!a!set!of!headphones!on!and!listen!to!a!reelKtoKreel!recording!of!final!radio! interview!Hirsch!gave!before!he!died!from!AIDSKrelated!complications!at!age!59.! ! As!we!hear!Hirsch!deliver!a!history!of!his!life!and!philosophies,!the!children!are!infused!with!the!
overwhelming!creative!spirit!of!the!attic!and!soon,!Hirsch's!words!accompany!a!phantasmagorical! transformation!in!which!the!space!becomes!a!magical,!creative!playground!of!puppets,!red!curtains,! gorgeous!models,!train!sets!and!lantern!projections!springing!to!life.! ! We!learn!about!Hirsch!escaping!Europe!to!Canada!whilst!his!mother,!father!and!brother!perish!in! Auschwitz!and!then,!his!decision!to!settle!in!Winnipeg,!a!place!so!far!away,!nestled!so!deeply!within!a! physically!enormous!country,!that!it's!the!only!place!he!feels!he!will!be!safe.!With!only!distant! relatives!left,!he!creates!his!own!family,!his!own!community!of!likeKminded!souls,!discovers!an! amateur!little!theatre,!learns!everything!he!can!about!the!world!of!the!dramatic!arts!until!finally,!he! establishes!Canada's!first!professional!regional!theatre!company.!Its!quality!and!reputation!moves! across!borders!and!soon,!many!of!the!EnglishKspeaking!world's!greatest!actors,!directors,! playwrights!and!technicians!are!tripping!over!themselves!to!work!at!the!MTC.! ! The!magic!Hirsch's!spirit!creates!is!infectious!K!so!much!so!that!the!children!find!themselves! immersed!in!a!world!of!complete!makeKbelieve.!And!so!are!we,!yet!the!play!is!always!tempered!with! Hirsch's!lively!storytelling.!The!filmmaking!is!at!the!highest!levels!of!craft!and!the!filmmaker!has! surrounded!himself!with!a!bright,!rich!team!of!artists!to!render!gorgeous!design!(in!all!areas),! exquisite!lighting!and!camera,!layered!sound!and!every!bell!and!whistle!imaginable!to!create!this! indelible!tapestry!which!betrays!the!film's!(noKdoubt)!meagre!budget.!Gonick!builds!a!gorgeous,! bright,!bold!world!of!contrasts!and!eventually,!the!events!of!the!film!cascades!into!a!gentle!pillow! fight!which,!in!and!of!itself,!transforms!into!a!swirling,!beauteous!kaleidoscope!of!wonder!and!joy.! ! Like!that!kid!who!escaped!the!Holocaust!so!many!years!ago,!clutching!onto!a!suitcase!filled!only!with! his!puppet!theatre!and!toys!of!sheer!makeKbelieve,!we!can!rejoice!in!both!Hirsch's!story!and!his! lasting!spiritual!influence!upon!these!young,!creative!minds.!Hirsch's!voice!is!beautifully!rendered!by! one!of!Canada's!greatest!living!actors,!Louis!Negin!(last!seen!as!Marv,!the!Bath!Meister,!amongst!a! cornucopia!of!roles!in!Guy!Maddin's!The$Forbidden$Room).!Gonick!casts!a!delicious!spell!with!this! imagined!interview!which!acts!as!an!epitaph!of!inspiration,!a!film!which,!in!11!minutes,!is!a!perfect! gem!worthy!of!the!lasting!impression!and!memory!of!the!late!Maestro!John!Hirsch.! ! ! ! Via!Negin's! extraordinary!voice! performance,!Hirsch's! final!words!in!the!film! inspire!copious!tears.! They!are!thus:! ! "To$create$sense$out$of$ chaos,$all$the$labyrinths,$ all$the$funhouses,$ghost$ castles,$cellars,$the$attics,$ the$moors$and$mountains$ and$swamps,$all$these$ begin$to$form$themselves$ into$a$landscape$one$is$compelled$to$go$back$and$examine."! ! We!are!grateful!Gonick!has!been!compelled!to!offer!this!landscape!for!us!to!always!go!back!to!and! examine!the!joy!Hirsch!infused!in!generations!of!audiences,!then,!as!in!now,!as!in!the!future.!I!suspect! that!somewhere!out!there,!Mr.!Hirsch!feels!likewise.! ! THE$FILM$CORNER$RATING:$*****)5)Stars! !
! ! Censored$Voices!(2015)! Dir.!Mor!Loushy! ! Review)By)Greg)Klymkiw! ! Censored$Voices!might!be!one!of!the!most!profound!antiKwar!films!made!in!recent!years.!Though!the! backdrop!is!the!1967!Arab窶的sraeli!Six!Day!War,!the!picture!brilliantly!transcends!all!contemporary! controversies,!acting!simply!and!poetically!as!a!testament!to!the!madness!of!all!war!and!the!reality! that!it's!the!"people"!who!suffer!as!much,!if!not!more!than!the!armed!forces.! ! A!few!weeks!after!the!war,!writers!Amos!Oz!and!Avraham!Shapira!conducted!a!series!of!interviews! (on!reelKtoKreel!tape)!with!numerous!Israeli!soldiers.!These!tapes!were!suppressed!and/or!heavily! redacted!by!the!Israeli!government!for!over!40!years!until!filmmaker!Mor!Loushy!accessed!the! unexpurgated!audio!to!listen!intently!to!these!young!men,!to!hear!their!thoughts!on!what!they'd!just! been!through.! ! Blending!news!footage,!archival!materials!and!using!the!audio!tapes!as!narrators,!Loushy!provides!a! shocking,!surprising!and!deeply!moving!experience.!Tracking!down!some!of!the!original! interviewees,!all!now!old!men,!Loushy!combines!the!aforementioned!with!gorgeously!lit/composed! shots!of!these!former!soldiers!K!listening!silently!to!their!own!voices!from!1967.!Their!voices!from! back!then,!reveal!the!unexpected.!Their!faces!reveal!all.! ! This!profoundly!and!decisively!victorious!war!is!how!Israel!laid!claim!to!Gaza,!the!Golan!Heights,!the! Sinai!Peninsula!and!the!West!Bank.!Decimating!the!enemy's!military!forces!was!a!veritable!cakewalk,! but!the!real!war!endured!by!the!Israeli!soldiers!turned!out!to!be,!at!least!for!many!of!them,!a!much! more!haunting,!tragic!and!frustrating!experience!than!the!fields!of!battle.! ! In!the!historic!interviews,!we!hear!men!K!young!men!some!40+!years!ago!K!who!are!deeply!saddened,! confused,!conflicted,!disappointed,!if!not!outright!shocked!that!they!found!themselves!at!war!with! civilians.!It's!as!if!they!were!frontKline!pawns,!but!not!as!cannon!fodder!as!so!many!young!soldiers!in! war!are.!While!the!trauma!is!still!fresh!in!their!youthful!minds,!we!hear!devastating!stories!of!nonK military!personnel!being!gunned!down,!beaten,!tortured,!corralled!and!forced!to!leave!their!homes.! ! The!soldiers,!it!seemed,!were!no!longer!fightingKmen,!but!glorified!cattle!herders.!
! In!reality,!they!were!not!soldiers,!they!were!occupiers.! ! The!men!are!expected!to!rejoice!over!the!return!of!many!historical!places!to!Israel,!but!they!can't.! They!are!privy!to!the!suffering!of!innocent!people,!even!forced!to!be!the!instruments!of!the! dehumanizing!process!of!destabilizing!and!forcing!tens!of!thousands!of!people!to!flee!and!become! refugees.! ! As!one!of!the!men!states,!this!has!nothing!to!do!with!God!and/or!The!Torah.!These!are,!after!all,! physical!structures!which!have!been!won.!There's!nothing!in!Judaic!culture!about!the!holiness!of!a! place.!It's!the!human!spirit!and!God!that!are!Holy.! ! So!many!of!these!stories!are!heartbreakers!K!especially!since!director!Loushy!leads!us!into!the!film! with!the!happy,!hopeful!sense!of!statehood!and!the!determination!of!a!people!to!reclaim!what!was! once!theirs!so!many!millennia!ago.!The!skill,!training!and!superiority!of!the!Israeli!armed!forces!is! simply!a!forgone!conclusion.!The!strategy!and!surprise!Israel!employed!is!also!a!thing!of!beauty! (albeit!a!terrible!beauty).!In!fact,!we!get!a!sense!that!the!war!is!a!masterstroke!of!military!genius!and! might.!It's!all!the!shining!stuff!of!good,!old!fashioned!boys'!adventure.!The!qualities!of!the!sublime! dissipate!quickly,!however.! ! The!questions!many!of!the!men!ask!do!indeed!resonate!in!a!contemporary!context.!They!wonder,!so! long!ago,!how!a!nation!(Israel)!constantly!under!attack,!surrounded!by!enemy!states!can!ever!really! and!truly!be!a!nation?!Alternately,!others!feel!that!a!nation!which!must!occupy!in!a!kind!of!perpetuity! can!also!never!truly!be!a!nation.! ! Hearing!these!sweet,!young!men!facing!such!complex!moral!dilemmas!so!soon!after!a!victory!they! should!be!celebrating,!forces!them!(and!us)!to!confront!realities!that!have!always!been!at!the!core!of! war.!To!hear!these!voices!juxtaposed!with!actual!footage!from!the!period,!but!most!evocatively,! against!the!silent!faces!of!the!old!men!who!listen!to!the!sound!of!their!own!voices!has!a!strong! element!of!poetic!tragedy!coursing!through!the!entire!film.! ! Though!the!current!conflicts!between!Israel!and!Palestine!can't!be!ignored!in!the!context!of!Censored$ Voices,!Loushy!seems!far!more!interested!in!capturing!a!reality!that!ultimately!faces!all!of!us,! especially!once!we!recognize!and!accept!that!a!Six!Day!War,!a!60Kday!war!or!a!sixKyear!war!K!at!any! time,!any!where!K!is!still!war!and!that!the!true!casualties!of!war!are!the!innocent!on!both!sides!of!the! equation.! ! Hearing!the!story!of!Arab!men!K!civilians,!no!less!K!standing!with!their!hands!raised!in!the!hot!sun!for! hours!on!end!would!be!despairing!enough,!but!to!hear!that!they've!been!filling!their!shoes!with!their! own!urine!in!order!to!have!something!to!drink,!is!infused!with!the!kind!of!sorrow!we,!as!an!audience,! can!never!forget.!Clearly,!the!soldiers!don't!forget!this!either,!as!they!recount!how!these!same!Arab! men,!learning!they'll!be!given!fresh,!cool!water,!collapse!in!front!of!the!soldiers,!kissing!their!feet!in! gratitude!as!they!also!retch!and!vomit!upon!the!soldiers'!boots.!This!sequence!(and!so!many!others! like!it)!grind!our!collective!faces!into!the!realities!of!both!war!and!nationhood.! ! Occupation!is!not!nationhood.!It's!merely!the!residual!blight!of!war!K!one!in!which!we!are!all!guilty!of,! and!as!such,!a!party!to!the!inherent!shame!of!it!all.! ! THE$FILM$CORNER$RATING:$*****)5)Stars! !
! ! Dough!(2015)! Dir.!John!Goldschmidt! Starring:!Jonathan!Pryce! ! Review)By)Greg)Klymkiw! ! Oy!!A!perfect!movie!here!is!in!store!for!all!the!Bubbies!and!Zadies!in!the!audience.!God!of!Abraham! knows,!my!own!late!Mother,!rest!her!soul,!would!have!loved!this!movie.!(And!actually,!I!suspect!the! Zadies!won't!be!too!thrilled!with!it,!but!they!will!acquiesce!to!their!husbandly!duties!to!accompany! their!spouses!to!this!one.)! ! Dough!is!a!perfectly!dull!and!competent!movie,!probably!best!enjoyed!on!a!small!screen!where! expectations!are!much!lower.!A!60Ksomething!widowed!baker!(Jonathan!Pryce)!keeps!his!doors!open! in!the!old!neighbourhood!which!is!rapidly!changing!so!much!that!he's!losing!all!his!regular!customers! to!death!or!retirement!to!old!folks!homes!in!burbs!that!are!far,!far!away.!When!his!longtime!bakery! assistant!moves!on!to!bigger!money!at!a!rival!bakery,!our!curmudgeonly!old!hero!is!in!desperate! need!of!a!new!apprentice!baker.!Well,!as!luck!would!have!it,!the!kindly!African!immigrantKlady!of!the! Muslim!persuasion!who!sweeps!his!floors,!desperately!wants!her!son!to!find!a!job!so!he'll!no!longer! be!tempted!by!a!life!of!crime.!More!luck!abounds!when!Sonny!Boy!is!up!for!a!job!with!a!local!drug! dealer.!However,!the!dealer!requires!the!lad!to!have!a!fullKtime!"day!job"!to!act!as!a!cover.!Well,!isn't! this!all!just!peachy.! ! Thank!the!Lord!that!Jonathan!Pryce!is!in!this!movie!and!doesn't!embarrass!himself!too!much!during! these!sickeningly!twee!and!predictable!proceedings.! ! To!add!further!blessings!to!this!situation,!the!young!lad!of!the!dopeKdealing!Muslim!persuasion,! accidentally!drops!a!whack!of!wackyKtabakky!into!the!bread!dough.!My!God,!is!this!a!sensation.! Jonathan!Pryce's!bakery!becomes!popular!indeed.!All!the!usual!conflicts!and!tribulations!spin!into! motion!and!eventually,!everything!works!out!perfectly,!especially!the!divides!twixt!Jew!and!Muslim,! youth!and!old!age!and!individuality!versus!conformity.! ! It's!enough!to!inspire!Peter,!Paul!and!Mary!to!traipse!into!the!cinema!and!lead!the!assembled!in!a! rousing!rendition!of!Kumbaya.!Excuse!me!whilst!I!look!for!an!air!sickness!bag.! ! THE$FILM$CORNER$RATING:$**)2)Stars! ! !
! Requiem$For$a$Heavyweight!(1956)! Dir.!Ralph!Nelson! Scr.!Prd.!Rod!Serling! Starring:!Jack!Palance,!Keenan!Wynn,!Kim!Hunter! ! Review)By)Greg)Klymkiw! ! When!Rod!Serling,!the!Jewish!kid!from!Syracuse,!New! York!became!the!King!of!Live!Television!Drama! for!Playhouse$90!in!the!50s!(and!later,!the! immortal!Twilight$Zoneand!Night$Gallery),!his!primary! interest!was!telling!twoKfisted,!sociallyKconscious!tales! of!men!on!the!battleground!of!life.!Decidedly!twoKfisted! was!his!script!Requiem$for$a$Heavyweight.! ! Solidly!directed!by!Ralph!Nelson,!Serling!etched!the! story!of!boxer!Mountain!McLintock!(Jack!Palance),!a! former!contender!for!Heavyweight!Champion!of!the! World!who!is!so!punchKdrunk!that!the!Boxing! Commission!doctor!informs!his!manager!Maish!(Keenan! Wynn)!that!he!can’t!allow!Mountain!to!fight!anymore.! Maish!is!devastated.!He’s!secretly!placed!a!bet!against! Mountain!with!the!mob,!betting!his!boy!will!fall!in!the!third.!Alas,!for!Maish,!Mountain!takes!seven! rounds!of!punishment!and!Maish!is!into!the!mob!for!thousands!of!dollars.! ! Mountain!is!at!wit’s!end;!boxing!has!been!his!whole!life.!When!he!visits!an!employment!office!he! pours!his!guts!out!to!a!sympathetic!job!counsellor!(Kim!Hunter)!who!sincerely!believes!Mountain!can! contribute!to!society!working!with!kids!in!the!field!of!athletics.! ! Maish,!however,!has!other!plans!for!our!hero.!He!decides!to!commit!Mountain!to!a!series!of!pathetic! wrestling!matches.!It’s!easy!money,!but!hardly!a!dignified!way!for!a!former!heavyweight!contender!to! earn!a!living.! ! Thanks!to!both!Serling’s!brutal!dialogue!and!Jack!Palance’s!visceral,!moving!performance,!Requiem$ for$a$Heavyweight!is!extremely!harrowing.!Mountain!faces!a!life!drowning!his!sorrows!in!booze!and! trading!exaggerated!fight!tales!with!other!punchKdrunk!(and!just!plain!drunk)!former!boxers.!We’re! forced!into!Mountain’s!perspective!as!he!peers!through!a!beer!glass!into!a!mirror!that!shows!how!the! rest!of!his!life!could!be!spent.!It’s!a!story!of!exploitation,!loyalty!and!finally,!seeking!a!way!out,!and!so! doing,!finding!both!redemption!and!a!new!future.! ! As!dark!as!it!is,!Serling!deftly!wends!his!way!to!an!ending!replete!with!hope!–!it’s!neither!cheap,!nor! shoehorned.!It’s!perfectly!natural,!and!for!once,!we!get!a!story!that!has!its!cake!and!eats!it!too!–! dragging!us!through!muck,!but!subtly!pointing!to!a!glimmer!of!a!new!life.!There’s!definitely!a!slight! ambiguity!to!it,!but!by!the!end,!we’re!grateful!that!Serling!has!not!drowned!the!heavyweight!in! complete!and!total!despair.! ! There!is,!at!least,!a!chance!to!clamber!out!of!the!pit,!and!that,!ultimately,!is!worth!its!weight!in!gold.! ! THE$FILM$CORNER$RATING:$*****)5)Stars! !
! ! The$Go$Go$Boys:$The$Inside$Story$of$Cannon$ Films!(2014)! Dir.!Hilla!Medalia! Starring:!Menachem!Golan,!Yoram!Globus! ! Review)By)Greg)Klymkiw! ! Golan!and!Globus!were!one!of!Israel's!most!successful! and!beloved!filmmaking!forces.!After!a!series!of! successful!domestic!films!(Myself,!I!was!always!a!fan!of! their!delightfully!cheesy!trifle,!the!1974!musical!version! of!Kazablan),!the!lads!moved!into!pure!exploitation! cinema!with!their!company!Cannon!Films.! ! With!stars!like!Chuck!Norris,!Jean!Claude!VanDamme,! Charles!Bronson!and!Dolph!Lundgren,!these!guys!ruled! action!cinema!throughout!the!1980s!(as!well!as!other! genre!hybrids!like!teen!musicals!and!sex!comedies).! Somewhere!in!there,!they!actually!made!a!terrific!picture! called!Runaway$Train!with!Jon!Voight,!but!this!was! surely!an!aberration.! ! Medalia's!straightforward!documentary!charts!the! dynamic!duo's!early!beginnings,!their!glory!years!and! eventually!their!decline!and!eventual!split.!Both!men!are! terrific!subjects,!offering!plenty!of!great!stories!about!the! movie!business!and!since,!like!the!best!teams,!there's!a!fire!and!water!element!to!them,!we're!subject! to!both!humour!and!sadness.! ! And!yes,!there's!a!melancholy!to!the!film's!final!third,!but!it's!genuinely!moving!and!the!film!offers!a! unique!inside!glimpse!into!the!actual!personalities!of!two!men!who!held!the!world!in!the!palms!of! their!hands!and!eventually!watched!it!slip!away.! ! THE$FILM$CORNER$RATING:$***)3)Stars! ! ! ! Forbidden$Films!(2014)! Dir.!Felix!Moeller! ! Review)By)Greg)Klymkiw! ! Felix!Moeller!who!brought!us!the!interesting,!though! occasionally!paintKbyKnumbers!documentary!Harlan$–$In$the$ Shadow$of$Jew$Sßss,!is!back!with!this!expansion!on!the! themes!he!previously!explored!in!his!film!biography!of!the! notorious!Veit!Harlan!who!generated!one!of!the!most!vile! pieces!of!antiKsemitic!cinema!in!Nazi!Germany.!Here,!the! focus!widens!to!include!many!other!forms!of!Nazi!film! propaganda.!We!learn!how!much!of!the!nitrate!stock! elements!are!contained!in!a!bunkerKlike!vault!to!protect! them!from!both!sabotage!and!the!potential!of!the!highly! flammable!materials!to!level!several!city!blocks.!!
! The!films,!in!other!words,!are!incendiary!K!in!more!ways!than!one!K!as!Moeller's!documentary!proves.! Most!of!the!movies!are!banned,!but!many!of!them!have!been!getting!special!moderated!showings!and! Moeller!includes!interviews!with!a!variety!of!academics!and!captures!a!rich!variety!of!the!moderated! conversations!in!theatres!where!horrendous!films!like!The$Eternal$Jew!are!shown.!There!are!also! detailed!analyses!of!how!the!Nazi!propaganda!works!throughout!a!myriad!of!films!K!not!just!antiK semitic,!but!antiKcommunist,!antiKPolish,!antiKBritish,!etc.! ! Supported!with!generous!clips,!there's!plenty!of!eyeKopening!material,!but!like!Moeller's!previous! work,!there's!not!much!in!the!way!of!voice!or!personality!to!his!presentation!of!the!subject.!It!feels! like!a!competent!TV!documentary!on!a!very!important!issue.!Someday!I!hope!we!get!a!truly!great! filmmaker!to!generate!an!epic!documentary!on!this!period!of!propaganda!K!something!that!could! have!the!oomph!and!scope!of!Martin!Scorsese's!brilliant!documentaries!on!cinema!like!A$Personal$ Journey$with$Martin$Scorsese$Through$American$Movies!and!My$Voyage$To$Italy.! ! Until!then,!Forbidden$Films!will!have!to!suffice.! ! THE$FILM$CORNER$RATING:$***)Three)Stars! !
! ! A$Fuller$Life!(2013)! Dir.!Samantha!Fuller! Starring:!James!Franco,!Bill!Duke,!Monte!Hellman,!Joe!Dante,!Wim!Wenders,!William!Friedkin,! Jennifer!Beals,!Constance!Towers,!Buck!Henry,!Tim!Roth,!Mark!Hamill,!Kelly!Ward,!Perry!Lang,! Robert!Carradine,!! ! Review)By)Greg)Klymkiw! ! I've!always!loved!Samuel!Fuller,!but!it!wasn't!until!the!TIFF!Cinematheque!unveiled!a!full! retrospective!of!Fuller's!work!a!few!years!ago!that!I!realized!how!few!of!his!movies!I'd!actually!seen.! Like!a!psychopath!I!bought!tickets!to!every!single!one!of!his!pictures!and!went,!week!after!week!to! bask!in!the!glory!of!this!genuine!maverick.!I!remember!that!as!the!retrospective!of!20+!films! ploughed!on,!many!of!the!screenings!were!more!sparsely!attended!than!the!opening!weekend! of!Shock$Corridor!and!The$Naked$Kiss.! ! I'd!look!around!at!every!screening!and!soon!got!to!recognize!a!few!faces!K!a!select!few!who,!like!me,! were!there!for!every!single!film.!Soon,!we'd!acknowledge!each!other!with!silent!nods.!We!were!the! Chosen!Few!K!those!who!sat!there!for!every!film!and!thought!about!all!the!assholes!at!the!opening! weekend.!It!was!as!if!we!collectively!sneered!at!those!inaugural!packed!houses!and!thought,!"Yeah,!
any!asshole!can!come!see!Shock$Corridor!and!The$Naked$Kiss,!but!where!in!the!fuck!are!you!for!Dead$ Pigeon$on$Beethoven$Street?! ! Or!Verboten!?! ! Or!The$Crimson$Kimono?! ! Yeah!sure,!many!of!you!assholes!came!back!for!The$Big$Red$One!reconstruction!andPickup$on$South$ Street,!but!you're!not!here!for!Merril's$Marauders!or!The$Baron$of$Arizona!or!his!two!greatest! pictures,!Park$Row!and!Steel$Helmet.! ! You!assholes!! ! We!are!The!Chosen.! ! You're!not!! ! A$Fuller$Life!is!pretty!much!a!dream!come!true,!a!complete!and!total!joy!for!the!Fuller!Chosen.!It! begins!with!a!prologue!in!Sam's!magical!cluttered!office!as!his!daughter,!director!Samantha!Fuller,! slings!an!old!army!rifle!over!her!shoulder!and!slowly!carries!her!lithe!form!(Yup,!she's!a!babe!)! through!the!dusty!rows!of!books,!papers!and!memorabilia!to!tell!us!what!treats!are!in!store!for!us.! They!all!sound!great,!but!the!one!dog!bone!for!us!FullerKloving!dogfaces!to!chew!on!is!the!news!that! Samantha!found!100!reels!of!16mm!film!under!a!desk!in!the!office,!all!of!which!feature!neverKbeforeK seen!footage!Fuller!shot!on!the!front!lines!as!an!infantryman!during!World!War!II.! ! Samantha!ends!her!sweet!prologue!informing!us!that!every!word!from!here!on!in!will!have!been! written!by!"Sam!Fuller,!my!Dad!"! ! And!it's!a!wonderful!journey.!Samantha!has!gathered!together!an!amazing!group!of!Fuller!colleagues! and!admirers!to!read!carefully!selected!passages!from!Sam's!magnificent!autobiography!"A!Third! Face:!My!Tale!of!Writing,!Fighting!and!Filmmaking".!His!glorious!writing!is!accompanied!by!a!rich! bonanza!of!film!clips!as!we!hear!the!tale!of!the!feisty!little!Jewish!kid!who!grew!up!on!the!mean! streets!of!New!York!where,!from!age!12,!he!became!a!paperKhawker,!then!copy!boy!and!finally,!at!age! 17,!the!youngest!crime!reporter!in!the!history!of!journalism.! ! He!broke!a!myriad!of!amazing!stories!and!once!he!went!freelance,!he!was!able!to!travel!America!and! write!stories!about!a!myriad!of!topics,!including!the!insanely!brave!act!of!attending!a!secret!Ku!Klux! Klan!meeting!in!the!deep!South!K!not!the!safest!place!for!a!young!man!of!the!Jewish!persuasion.!We! learn!how!he!ground!out!pulp!novels!and!screenplays,!then,!gave!up!a!mounting!career!in!Hollywood! to!answer!the!call!to!arms!during!World!War!II.! ! At!age!29,!he!enlisted!in!the!infantry!where!he!became!a!regular!"dogface"!in!the!Big!Red!One.!He!was! older!than!most!recruits,!but!he!survived!the!most!harrowing!experiences!in!a!variety!of!missions! throughout!Africa,!Sicily,!Belgium,!Czechoslovakia!and!Normandy.!Yes,!Normandy,!for!God's!sake.! Sam!Fuller!was!on!the!beaches!during!DKDay!and!even!more!horrifically,!he!was!present!for!the! liberation!of!a!concentration!camp!wherein!his!film!footage!became!some!of!the!most!important! work!to!detail!the!atrocities!of!the!Nazis!(the!fictional!rendering!of!this!in!The$Big$Red$One!is!still!one! of!the!most!deeply!moving!sequences!in!all!of!film!history).! ! Highly!decorated!with!the!Bronze!Star,!the!Silver!Star!and!the!Purple!Heart,!Fuller!went!back!to! Hollywood!and!began!to!direct!pictures.!23!pictures!in!16!years!!Astounding!!Here!he!favoured!low! budget!work!to!keep!tampering!to!a!minimum.!His!work!is!never!less!than!electric!K!it's!visceral,! pulpy!and!infused!with!a!kind!of!reality!and!life!experience!that's!seldom!been!matched!in!the! cinema.! !
The!cherry!on!the!ice!cream!sundae!that!is!A$Fuller$Life!are!the!many!evocative!readings!of!Sam's! words.!A!handful,!like!James!Franco!and!Robert!Carradine,!fall!a!touch!short!K!but!My!God!!K!the! readings!of!Bill!Duke,!Mark!Hamill!and!Kelly!Ward!are!extraordinary.!Happily,!the!readings!of! women,!Jennifer!Beals!and!Constance!Towers,!blow!us!away!completely!and!it's!nice!having! filmmakers!like!Joe!Dante,!Monte!Hellman!and!William!Friedkin!offer!their!verbal!styling!to!the!mix.! !
! ! Samantha!covers!these!readings!with!imagination!and!aplomb.!She's!her!father's!daughter,!all!right.! These!are!no!mere!offKcamera!readings,!but!gorgeously!shot!and!cut!sequences!in!Sam's!office.!For! me,!her!work!during!the!Bill!Duke!sessions!is!especially!gripping.!(So!many!of!Sam's!screenplays! went!unmade.!My!dream!is!that!Samantha!will!someday!make!many!of!them!a!reality.!My!other! dream!is!that!in!another!life!I'd!have!married!her,!but!I!digress.)! ! By!the!end!of!the!film,!it!beats!me!if!any!of!it!will!work!for!nonKFuller!fans!K!I!think!and!hope!it!will,! but!for!the!Chosen,!I!can!guarantee!that!A$Fuller$Life!is!everything!one!would!ever!ever!want.! ! I'm!convinced!Sam!himself!would!be!deeply!proud!of!his!little!girl.! ! Hell,!I!know!I!would!be.! ! THE$FILM$CORNER$RATING:$****)4)Stars! ! The$2015$Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival$is$one$of$the$coolest$events$in$the$city$and$I$urge$you$to$attend$as$ many$pictures$as$possible.$For$further$info,$visit$the$festival's$website$HERE.! !
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TJFF!2015:!Dancing!Arabs! By:!Michael!Nazarewycz!!|!April!30,!2015! http://waytooindie.com/news/tjffK2015KdancingKarabs/! !
! ! Opening!the!2015!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!is!director!Eran!Riklis’!sublime!film! about!the!glory!of!young!love,!the!challenge!of!religious!identity,!and!the!despair! caused!by!an!unforgiving!geopolitical!climate:!Dancing$Arabs.! ArabKborn!Eyad!(Tawfeek!Barhom)!has!been!afforded!the!chance!to!attend!the! prestigious!Jerusalem!Arts!and!Science!Academy,!but!the!opportunity!is!bittersweet.! While!he!will!receive!the!best!education!available,!he!will!also!be!the!rare!Arab!in!a! school!full!of!Israelis.!That!“new!kid”!conflict!normally!prevalent!in!teenage!settings! is!exponentially!worse!in!this!geographic!environment,!and!at!this!point!along!the! global!timeline.!Then!along!comes!the!beautiful!Naomi!(Daniel!Kitsis),!an!Israeli! student!who!catches!the!outcast’s!eye.!Eventually!a!strong!love!blossoms!between! the!two,!albeit!one!kept!secret!because!of!their!religious!differences.!The!challenges! their!relationship!faces!because!of!those!differences,!coupled!with!how!Eyad!is! treated!by!everyday!Israelis,!drive!him!to!reassess!what’s!most!important!to!him:!his! past!or!his!future.! Most!impressive!about!Dancing$Arabs!is!how!director!Riklis!strikes!a!deft!balance! among!the!compelling,!competing!issues!affecting!Eyad,!all!while!making!terrific! adjustments!to!tone!throughout.!Romance,!humor,!hatred,!pathos,!and!even!war! might!seem!like!competing!forces,!but!Riklis,!working!from!Sayed!Kashua’s!script,! uses!those!forces!to!complement,!rather!than!combat,!each!other.!This!creates!an! environment!where!the!story!can!richly!unfold,!and!where!character!actions!are!not! jarring!events,!but!rather!measured!decisions.!Simple!moments!are!this!film’s!secret! weapons,!and!the!accumulation!of!them!translates!into!a!glorious!film.!
! COVER!STORY:!The!Canadian!Shoah!film!that! almost!never!got!made!! By:!Bill!Gladstone!|!April!29,!2015! http://www.cjnews.com/news/coverKstoryKcanadianKshoahKfilmKalmostKneverKgotK made! !
! Having!survived!the!war!disguised!as!a!Christian!child!in!NaziKoccupied!Poland,!Jack! Kuper!arrived!in!Canada!in!1947!and!soon!began!writing!the!story!of!his!dramatic! wartime!ordeal!in!Yiddish.!But!the!woman!in!the!Jewish!family!that!was!taking!care! of!him!seemed!disinterested!in!hearing!it,!so!he!stopped!writing!it.! Eventually!Kuper!mastered!English,!worked!as!a!graphic!designer!at!the!CBC,!made! many!TV!commercials,!formed!the!film!company!Kuper!Productions,!and!wrote!a! bestselling!biography,$Child$of$the$Holocaust!(1967).!! Remarkable!for!appearing!at!a!time!when!commercial!publishing!houses!were! taking!on!relatively!few!HolocaustKthemed!manuscripts!and!the!subject!was!widely! regarded!as!taboo,!Child$of$the$Holocaust!received!wide!distribution!across!the!
EnglishKspeaking!world!and!was!translated!into!eight!languages.!A!postwar! sequel,!After$the$Smoke$Cleared,!came!out!in!1994.! Turns!out!that!Kuper!had!told!much!the!same!story!in!an!earlier,!allKbutKforgotten! teleplay,!Sun$In$My$Eyes,!which!the!CBC!produced!in!1959!and!aired!!–!twice,!in! response!to!popular!demand!–!in!early!1960.!Directed!by!Harvey!Hart!and!featuring! a!young!Al!Waxman!in!one!of!his!earliest!starring!roles,!Sun$In$My$Eyes$is!being!given! a!free!public!screening!at!this!year’s!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival.!(Innis!Town!Hall,! May!9,!1:30!p.m.)! During!a!recent!interview!in!his!Forest!Hill!home,!Kuper!explained!that!he!wrote!Sun$ In$My$Eyes!after!he!had!commented!at!a!CBC!meeting!that!so!many!productions!were! “just!frivolous!plays!about!nothing,”!and!someone!dared!him!to!write!a!better!play.! “I!said,!‘I!will,’!and!I!went!home!and!began!writing,”!he!recalled.! The!initial!response!to!his!script!was!anything!but!warm.!The!first!CBC!producer!he! told!about!it!dismissed!him!and!the!script!without!even!looking!at!it.!He!had!a! breakfast!meeting!with!CBC!drama!critic!Nathan!Cohen,!who!was!equally!dismissive.! Others!were!more!sympathetic,!“but!nobody!wanted!to!do!it,”!Kuper!said.!“This! would!have!been!about!1955.!Everywhere!I!went,!people!said,!‘We’ve!already! done!The$Diary$of$Anne$Frank!and!the!war!is!over,!so!get!on!with!it.”! Kuper!had!no!trouble!getting!other!teleplays!produced!at!the!CBC.!For!his!play!Lost$ in$the$Crowd,!he!changed!the!Jewish!characters!to!nonKJewish!characters!–!Polish! Christians!living!on!Toronto’s!Queen!Street!–!and!it!sold!without!a!problem!and!was! well!received.!“Paddy!Chayefsky!was!doing!exactly!the!same!thing!at!the!time.!You! simply!changed!the!Jews!to!nonKJews,!because!you!could!sell!only!so!many!Jewish! stories.”! But!another!script!that!featured!Jewish!characters,!It$Happened$in$Kensington$ Market,!was!also!summarily!rejected.!“They!got!back!to!me,!and!they!said,!‘We! already!have!a!play!for!Passover,’”!Kuper!said.!As!for!Sun$In$My$Eyes,!one!producer! seriously!urged!him!to!change!the!locale!so!that!it!takes!place!among!the!Eskimos!in! the!Arctic,!thereby!making!it!a!Canadian!subject.!Kuper!even!adapted!the!script!for! radio,!only!to!be!told,!“The!war!is!over,!it’s!time!to!forget!and!move!on.! “People!didn’t!want!to!talk!about!the!Holocaust!–!it!was!like!talking!about!cancer.!It! made!people!very!uncomfortable,!and!all!I!wanted!to!do!was!talk!about!it.”! Fortunately,!a!producer!who!was!impressed!with!Kuper’s!other!works!asked!to!see! a!copy!of!the!script,!loved!it,!and!bought!it!the!next!day.!Production!ensued!within!a! few!months.!Because!of!restrictions!in!videotape!editing!capabilities,!the!play!was! shot!in!a!studio!with!several!cameras,!interiors!as!well!as!exteriors,!one!scene!after! another!as!though!it!was!a!live!production.! “You!couldn’t!go!on!location!somewhere.!Everything!was!done!in!the!studio,”!Kuper! said.!“You’d!have!to!write!it!like!that,!too,!so!it!would!work.!You!couldn’t!have!a! character!dressed!in!a!certain!way,!and!in!the!next!shot,!he’s!dressed!differently.! There!wasn’t!enough!time.!You’d!have!to!write!another!scene!in!between!to!give!him! time!to!change!costumes.”!!
Kuper!admits!he!altered!the!story!to!suit!the!medium.!! “Although!it!says!at!the!beginning!that!the!story!you!are!about!to!see!is!true,!I!took! liberties,”!he!said.!! “The!true!story!is!in!my!book;!that’s!how!it!happened!and!I!didn’t!have!to!play!with! it.!But!in!a!play,!you!need!the!dramatic!curve,!the!dramatic!angle!to!it.”! How!does!he!feel!now!that!TJFF!is!presenting!a!public!screening?!“It!feels!wonderful,! especially!when!I!think!back!on!the!struggle!that!I!had!producing!this,”!said!the! veteran!producerKdirector,!who!has!agreed!to!provide!an!introduction!to!the! screening.! Presented!as!part!of!a!series!of!Waxman!films,!Sun$In$My$Eyes!also!ties!into!the! TJFF’s!“archival!film”!track.!Other!titles!include!director!David!Troster’s!1984! documentary!Spadina,!about!Toronto’s!famous!downtown!Jewish!district!in!its!last! throes;!the!Rod!Serling!series,!which!features!The$Twilight$Zone’s!creator’s!rarely! screened!works,!including!In$the$Presence$of$my$Enemies!and!Requiem$for$a$ Heavyweight;!Laura$Adler’s$Last$Love$Affair,!which!is!being!screened!in!memory!of! the!late!Israeli!director!Avraham!Heffner,!and!several!others.!! For$more$details,$Error!)Hyperlink)reference)not)valid.! K!See!more!at:!http://www.cjnews.com/news/coverKstoryKcanadianKshoahKfilmK almostKneverKgotKmade#sthash.3rXoQRbn.dpuf! !
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Bartali!e!gli!ebrei!–!Apr!28,!2015!(Art!&! Entertainment)! April!28,!2015! http://www.omnitv.ca/on/en/videos/4202847221001/! !
! A!Toronto!un!film!che!rievoca!l’impegno!del!grande!ciclista,!Gino!Bartali,!per!salvare! gli!!
! MANY!FACETS!OF!JEWISH!IDENTITY!IN!TJFF! By:!Janine!MessadiĂŠ!!|!April!28,!2015! http://www.lexpress.to/archives/15260/! ! Unifying!event!for!the!Jewish! community!and!film!fans!from!all!walks! of!the!Jewish!Film!Festival!in!Toronto! (!TJFF!)!returns!for!its!23rd!year,!with!a! selection!of!110!films!from!18!countries,! illustrating!the!diversity!of!views!and! experiences!of!Jewish!filmmakers!from! around!the!world.!With!a!living!will!to! show!films,!exclusive,!Jeremiah!Abessira,! programmer!at!the!festival,!met! by!L'Express!explains!that!"the!selection! of!films!is!done!meticulously!with!this!desire!to!go!in!search!new!film!gems,! exposing!different!visions!of!filmmakers!around!the!world!who!seek!to!uncover!the! many!facets!of!Jewish!identity.!"!With!2!first!international,!4!North!American! premieres!and!46!Canadian!premieres,!programming!includes!awardKwinning! dramas,!light!comedies,!psychological!thrillers,!biographies!of!artists!and!excellent! documentaries!about!the!great!Jewish!history.Among!the!must:!Because$I$was$a$ painter!Christophe!Cognet!(FranceKGermany,!2013),!a!film!that!leads!an!unpublished! survey!of!the!works!carried!out!clandestinely!in!Nazi!camps,!Holocaust,$forgotten$in$ history!,!Veronique!LagoardeKSegot!(France!2014),!a!remarkable!work!of! investigations!and!film!archives!overlap!on!Russian!forgotten!the!Holocaust;!and! punchy!An$Untold$Diplomatic$Hitsory:$France$and$Israel$since$1948!Camille! Clavel.!(France!2014).!With!many!archival!images!and!unique!interviews!with!Israeli! President!Shimon!Peres,!former!Foreign!Minister!Hubert!Vedrine!and!Theo!Klein! lawyer,!Clavel's!film,!which!deals!with!events!so!time!K!from!1948!to!today!K!to! identify!the!often!complex!and!tumultuous!relations!between!France!and!Israel,!and! also!the!issues!and!sometimes!hidden!interests!of!both!countries.!.!Historians!and! journalists!also!come!enlightened!by!their!analyzes,!the!chronology!of!events!"A! diplomatic!history,!Untold!is!probably!the!best!documentary!ever!made!on!the! relations!between!France!and!Israel;!it's!a!film!that!teaches!us!a!lot!and!that!brings!a! certain!context!to!the!recent!tragedy!surrounding!Charlie$Hebdo$"!says!Jeremiah! Abessira.!According!to!him,!"we!also!have!two!different!looks!on!Zionism:!the! powerful!documentary!The$Zionist$IdeaJoseph!Dorman!and!Oren!Rudavsky,!which! reflects!on!67!years!of!shared!ideals;!and!Atlit!of!Shirel!Amitay,!a!more!personal! approach!to!modern!Zionism,!a!film!where!the!characters!are!torn!between!the!
country!they!cherish,!and!the!country!where!they!reside.!"!The!director!will!be!in! Toronto!for!the!occasion.!Opening$and$closing!With!the!film!Borrowed$Identity$[$ Dancing$Arabs!.,!by!Israeli!director!Eran!Riklis,!which!opens!the!festival!this! Thursday,!April!30!This!film,!screened!at!Varsity!cinema!in!the!presence!of!the! filmmaker,!discusses!the!complex!lives!of!Israeli!Arabs.Eran!Riklis,!as!20%!of!Arab! Israelis,!here!tells!the!story!of!his!people,!marked!by!endless!conflict.!Borrowed$ Identity$[$Dancing$Arabs,$(My$Sonin!French)!is!the!adaptation!of!two!novels!by!Israeli! writer!Arabic!Sayed!Kashua:!The$Arabs$also$dance!and!the$second$person!.!With! geopolitical!backdrop,!the!Lebanon!war!in!1982!and!the!Gulf!War!in!1991,!the!film! Riklis!advanced!very!realistic!way!instead!of!Arab!minorities!in!the!State! Hebrew.!Mr.$Kaplan!(UruguayKSpainKFrance!2014),!director!Álvaro!Brechner,!was! chosen!to!close!the!festival!on!May!10,!this!time!at!the!Bloor!Hot!Docs!Cinema.!This! dramatic!comedy!tells!the!story!of!Kaplan,!a!man!that!nothing!differentiates!his! other!Jewish!friends!who!fled!Europe!for!South!America!because!of!the!Second! World!War.!However,!reaching!the!age!of!70!has!a!strange!effect!on!him.!He!refuses! to!accept!that!he's!getting!old!A$hundred$films!Between!the!opening!film!and!the! closing!film,!108!others!will!challenge!and!seduce!moviegoers.!Among!them:!Orange$ People$(People$Orange)!Hanna!Azoulay!Hasfari,!a!colorful!history!of!Moroccan!life!in! Israel!today,!offering!a!unique!look!at!the!Sephardic!culture.!FranceKIsrael! 2014!Once$in$a$Lifetime$(The$Inheritors)!by!French!director!MarieKCastille!MentionK Schaar.!Inspired!by!a!true!story,!this!social!drama,!deeply!human,!takes!us!to!the! Lycée!Léon!Blum!of!Creteil,!where!a!teacher!(!superbly!played!by!Ariane!Ascaris),! decided!to!pass!a!national!history!contest!to!its!lowest!second!class.!This!meeting! will!transform.France!2014.!To$Life$(to$life)!of!JeanKJacques!Zilberman,!was!inspired! by!the!reunion!of!his!mother,!a!survivor!of!Auschwitz,!with!two!former!companions! in!misfortune,!fifteen!years!after!the!liberation!of!the!camps.France!2014.!The$ Kindergarten$Teacher!,!Nadav!Lapidun,!is!a!moral!and!complex!tale!about!obsession! of!a!teacher!to!one!of!her!students,!a!boy!of!5!years!of!exceptional!talent.!IsraelK France,!2014!Dough!,!British!director!John!Goldschmidt,!featuring!Jonathan! Pryce.!This!film!takes!us!into!the!East!End!of!London,!which!tries!to!survive!an! ancient!Jewish!bakery,!until!a!young!Muslim!trainee!made!accidentally!fall!cannabis! in!the!dough,!which!will!increase!sales!!Biographical$Films!Among!the!fifteen! biopics!K!all!unique!K!of!musicians,!poets,!writers!who!have!left!their!mark!in!history! and!culture,!there!a:!Bialik:$King$of$the$Jews!by!Israeli!director!Yair!Qedar,!Chaim! Nachman!Bialik!on!elected!national!poet!of!Israel,!at!the!age!of!30!years!and! affectionately!known!as!The!King!of!Jews.!Write$down,$I$am$an$Arab!of!Ibtisam! Mara'ana!Menuhin,!Mahmoud!Darwish,!one!of!the!leading!figures!in!the!Palestinian! poetry.!The!TJFF!will!also!honor!five!dead!celebrities!there!are!not!very!long,! projecting!films!that!make!them!a!tribute.!These!are!films!about!Menahem!Golan,! Bess!Myerson,!Mike!Nichols,!Joan!Rivers!and!Leonard!Nimoy.!The!projections!are! made!in!ten!theaters,!including!this!year's!brand!new!Amphitheatre!Toronto!French! Alliance.!It!it!has!nearly!120!Jewish!film!festivals!around!the!world:!TJFF!is!in!second! position,!Toronto!is!an!important!city!in!the!cinema!level,!but!above!all!thanks!to!the! vitality!of!the!Jewish!community!and!festival,!all!communities!passionately! moviegoers!!
! Dancing!Arabs!and!The!Kindergarten!Teacher! By:!Jordan!Adler!|!April!28,!2015! http://www.cjnews.com/pastKnews?q=node/139145! ! Two!of!the!hottest,!most!anticipated!titles!at! this!spring’s!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!deal! with!unique!students!and!their!tumultuous! experiences!at!Jewish!schools.! Dancing$Arabs,!based!on!a!bestselling!novel!by! Sayed!Kashua,!tells!the!story!of!a!brainy! Palestinian!teen!who!gets!a!scholarship!to!a! prestigious!Israeli!academy.!The$Kindergarten$ Teacher,!from!awardKwinning!director!Nadav! Lapid,!is!about!a!lonely!teacher!and!the! prodigal!pupil!she!yearns!to!nurture!and!inspire.! While!Dancing$Arabs!opens!the!festival!on!April!30,!The$Kindergarten$ Teacher!(playing!May!5!at!Empress!Walk!and!May!9!at!Innis!Town!Hall)!is!more!of!a! mustKsee.!Regardless,!both!are!strong!Israeli!dramas!that!are!well!worth!your!time.! The!dancing!Arabs!of!the!former’s!title!are!a!reference!to!how!Arab!citizens!in!Israel! must!constantly!dodge!social!and!political!obstacles.!The!drama!focuses!on!the! teenage!Eyad!(Tawfeek!Barhom)!in!the!late!1980s!and!early!1990s.!His!father,!Salah! (Ali!Suliman),!is!proud!of!his!son!for!being!accepted!into!a!top!Israeli!high!school.! “I!want!you!to!be!better!than!them,”!Salah!tells!his!son,!referring!to!the!Israelis,!“in! every!way!”! Soon!after!his!arrival!at!the!academy,!though,!Eyad!realizes!he!is!the!only!Arab!in!his! class.!He!tries!to!hide!his!past!in!an!attempt!not!to!offend!or!attract!unwanted! attention.!Tension!arises!when!he!begins!a!romantic!relationship!with!Naomi! (Danielle!Kitzis),!a!Jewish!student!whose!parents!would!never!approve!of!Eyad.! Dancing$Arabs!is!the!latest!film!from!director!Eran!Riklis!(Lemon$Tree,!Zaytoun),!and! the!drama!benefits!from!a!uniformly!terrific!cast.!Barhom,!a!relatively!unknown,! anchors!the!film.!He!is!especially!magnetic!in!the!scenes!when!Eyad!directly! confronts!the!school’s!stereotyping!of!Israel’s!enemies.!
Kashua,!who!based!the!novel!on!some!of!his!own!experiences!in!Israel,!also!penned! the!screenplay.!The!film!benefits!from!his!sharp!observations!of!how!alienated! Arabs!feel!in!the!land.!Some!of!the!best!scenes!in!Dancing$Arabs!are!between!Eyad! and!Jonathan!(Michael!Moshanov),!a!Jewish!friend!with!muscular!dystrophy.!The! two!boys!bond!over!their!outsider!status!at!school.! While!the!film!has!some!pointed!social!commentary!about!JewishKArab!relations,! Eyad!too!rarely!voices!his!anger.!One!gets!the!feeling!that!Riklis!and!Kashua!dulled! some!of!the!novel’s!more!provocative!moments.!! Regardless,!Dancing$Arabs!is!a!wellKacted!drama!that!should!resonate!with! audiences!looking!for!an!honest!depiction!of!ArabKIsraeli!life.! Meanwhile,!for!Torontonians!looking!for!something!more!daring,!The$Kindergarten$ Teacher!will!likely!be!one!of!the!festival’s!most!talkedKabout!films.!It!deserves! comparison!with!the!best!films!from!artKhouse!directors!JeanKPierre!and!Luc! Dardenne!(Two$Days,$One$Night).!! A!hit!at!the!Cannes!Film!Festival!last!year,!Nadav!Lapid’s!drama!focuses!on!Nira! (Sarit!Larry),!a!kindergarten!teacher!bored!with!her!job!and!her!husband.!However,! when!she!finds!out!that!a!new!student,!fiveKyearKold!Yoav!(Avi!Shnaidman),!can! recite!original,!startlingly!good!poetry,!she!tries!to!mentor!the!young!prodigy.! Lapid’s!film!begins!as!an!inspirational!drama!and!slowly!morphs!into!an!unsettling! thriller.!Larry!gives!a!tour!de!force!performance.!Even!though!her!character! becomes!increasingly!hard!to!like,!her!layered!performance!ensures!one!can! understand!her!sadness!and!sympathize!with!Nira’s!journey.! Meanwhile,!the!young!Shnaidman!is!outstanding!in!his!film!debut:!natural,!nuanced! and!completely!believable.!Despite!the!kindergarten!setting,!the!film!contains!nudity! and!sexual!content,!and!is!not!suitable!for!children.! Much!of!the!film’s!success!is!due!to!its!realist!esthetic.!Cinematographer!Shai! Goldman!shoots!much!of!the!film!by!placing!the!camera!on!the!same!level!as!the! children!in!Nira’s!class.!Told!from!this!perspective,!the!story!becomes!more! intimate.!These!closeKup!observations!bottle!up!both!the!playfulness!and!the!raw! emotions!in!the!classroom,!making!it!difficult!to!look!away.! At!other!times,!we!look!at!the!world!from!Yoav’s!point!of!view.!When!he!swings! upside!down!in!the!playground,!we!notice!the!overwhelming!beauty!of!the!sky!and! trees!he!sees.!The!purity!and!innocence!of!these!moments!contrast!with!the!stark! realism!of!the!scenes!from!Nira’s!perspective,!showing!the!distance!between!the! characters.! Lapid!and!his!crew!drain!many!of!the!sets!–!the!classroom,!Nira’s!apartment!–!of! colour.!This!allows!for!Yoav’s!powerful!poems!to!have!more!vitality,!since!he! projects!them!in!such!sad,!empty!rooms.! Many!will!be!disturbed!and!surprised!by!some!of!the!plot!turns!in!the!film’s!second! half.!The!ending!should!spark!a!lot!of!conversation.!The$Kindergarten$Teacher!is! hypnotic,!thoughtKprovoking!filmmaking.!!
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Hot!Docs!looks!back,!as!well!as!forward! By:!Jason!Anderson!|!April!23,!2015! http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2015/04/23/hotKdocsKlooksKbackK asKwellKasKforward.html! !
Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival:!Eager!to!commandeer!the!few! downtown!screens!not!occupied!by!Hot!Docs,!the!TJFF! launches!its!23rd!edition!with!the!local!premiere!ofDancing$ Arabs,!director!Eran!Riklis’!new!drama!about!teens!in!an!Israeli! prep!school.!Riklis!will!be!on!hand!for!a!Q&A!at!the!TJFF’s! opening!gala!at!the!Varsity!on!April!30!at!8!p.m.!The!TJFF’s! typically!generous!slate!of!chosenKpeopleKthemed! programming!runs!until!May!10!—!more!picks!in!next!week’s! Projections.! ! !
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Today!in!Toronto:!Jay!Leno,!Vintage!Crawl,!Jewish!Film! Fest,!TPW,!Juiceboxxx,!Women!in!Rock,!Last!Gang! By:!Aubrey!Jax!|!April!30,!2015! http://www.blogto.com/radar/2015/04/today_in_toronto_jay_leno_vintage_crawl_j ewish_film_fest_tpw_juiceboxxx_women_in_rock_last_gang/! ! Film:!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival! !
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TJFF!heads!to!the!Twilight!Zone!and!beyond! By:!Jordan!Adler!|!April!17,!2015! http://cjnews.com/arts/tjffKheadsKtwilightKzoneKandKbeyond! ! !
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The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!returns!this!spring!to!project!bold!new!works!from! around!the!world!onto!the!big!screen,!yet!a!lot!of!attention!will!go!to!programs!from! the!small!screen.! The!festival,!which!runs!April!30!through!May!10,!will!cater!to!audiences!hoping!to! bingeKwatch!some!of!the!most!exciting!new!television!shows,!as!well!as!enjoy! retrospective!series!about!“King!of!Kensington”!Al!Waxman!and!Rod!Serling!of!The$ Twilight$Zone!fame.!! “[Serling]!was!one!of!those!early!TV!makers!that!really!wanted!to!draw!attention!to,! in!the!immediate!postwar!years,!the!Holocaust,”!says!Stuart!Hands,!the!festival’s! director!of!programming.!!
“When!he!did!The$Twilight$Zone,!that!was!just!another!way!to!engage!with!issues! like!racism.!He!wasn’t!allowed!to!do!it!in!a!more!realist!mode,!so!he!did!it!with! science!fiction.”! The!festival!will!screen!In$the$Presence$of$Mine$Enemies!an!episode!of!Playhouse$ 90!that!Serling!wrote!about!a!family!living!in!the!Warsaw!Ghetto,!on!May!2.!! The!next!day,!Serling’s!EmmyKwinning!TV!movie!A$Storm$in$Summer,!about!a! friendship!between!a!Jewish!deli!owner!and!an!AfricanKAmerican!boy,!will!also!be! screened.!Serling’s!daughter,!Anne,!will!introduce!the!screenings!and!speak!about! her!father.!! A!series!on!the!Jewish!writer/director!would!not!be!complete!without!a!Twilight$ Zone!episode.!The!festival!will!play!Walking$Distance,!considered!one!of!the!series’! best!hours,!on!May!2!as!a!free!screening.! Among!other!smallKscreen!sensations,!the!muchKlauded!Israeli!thriller!Hostages!will! be!shown.!The!TJFF!will!be!screening!all!10!of!its!episodes,!although!in!two!parts:! the!first!five!episodes!on!May!1!and!3,!the!last!five!episodes!on!May!7!and!10.That! show!inspired!a!CBS!drama!of!the!same!name!with!Toni!Collette!and!Dylan! McDermott.! Also,!fans!of!the!Golden!GlobeKwinning!series!Transparent!should!not!make!plans!for! the!evening!of!May!9.!The!comedyKdrama,!starring!Jeffrey!Tambor!as!the!patriarch! of!a!Jewish!family!who!comes!out!as!transgender,!will!show!four!episodes!at!Canada! Square!that!night!and!feature!a!talk!from!Rabbi!Susan!Goldberg,!a!consultant!for!the! series.! “The!Jewish!elements!of!the!show!are!quite!crucial,”!Hands!tells!The$CJN.!“We’re! trying!to!show!the!different!ways!that!Jewish!identity!and!Jewish!selfKexpression!can! take!form.”! This!23rd!edition!of!the!festival!will!spotlight!Al!Waxman,!the!Canadian!film!and! television!titan!who!died!in!2001.!! Fans!of!King$of$Kensington,!which!starred!Waxman!as!convenience!store!owner! Larry!King,!will!want!to!be!at!the!Royal!Ontario!Museum!on!May!2.!After!showing! three!of!the!comedy’s!best!episodes,!series!creator!Perry!Rosemond!and!stars! Rosemary!Radcliffe!and!Jayne!Eastwood!will!lead!a!discussion!with!the!audience.! On!May!9,!Waxman!fans!may!also!want!to!check!out$Sun$in$My$Eyes,!a!littleKseen! 1960!drama!that!aired!on!the!CBC.!In!his!acting!debut,!Waxman!played!a!Jewish!man! confronting!the!horrors!of!life!in!NaziKoccupied!Poland.! “It!must!be!the!first!Canadian!TV!attempt!to!deal!with!the!persecution!of!Jews!by!the! Nazis,”!Hands!says!of!that!drama.!! Of!course,!there!are!still!films!at!this!festival,!which!has!a!lineup!of!110!titles!from!18! countries.! The!festival!opens!April!30!with!the!premiere!of!Dancing$Arabs,!a!new!drama!from! Israeli!director!Eran!Riklis!(Lemon$Tree).!Riklis!will!be!in!attendance!at!the!Varsity!
that!evening.!The!film!is!based!on!a!semiKautobiographical!novel!from!Sayed!Kashua,! about!an!ArabKIsraeli’s!experience!at!a!Jewish!boarding!school.!! The!closing!night!title,!Mr.$Kaplan,!has!already!premiered!to!critical!and!audience! adoration!around!the!world.!The!comedy!is!about!a!76KyearKold!man!trying!to! capture!a!German!man!he!believes!is!a!runaway!Nazi.! “We!don’t!get!many!films!from!Uruguay,”!Hands!says!of!Mr.$Kaplan.!“It’s!a!strong!and! very!funny!film.”! Meanwhile,!documentary!titles!will!focus!on!subjects!as!wideKranging!as!Israeli! action!movie!producers!Menachem!Golan!and!Yoram!Globus,!iconoclastic!American! comic!Irwin!Corey!and!author!Isaac!Bashevis!Singer.!The!nonKfiction!film!about! Singer!is!told!from!the!perspective!of!his!team!of!more!than!40!female!translators!–! none!of!whom!spoke!Yiddish.!! Other!nonKfiction!titles!will!explore!the!history!of!Israeli!comic!books,!as!well!as! banned!Nazi!propaganda!reels.!The!1984!documentary$Spadina,!which!played!to!a! full!house!at!last!year’s!festival,!will!screen!again!on!May!2!due!to!popular!demand.! “This!year,!we!have!a!lot!of!films!dealing!with!blackKJewish!relations,”!Hands! tells!The$CJN.!! Among!those!titles!is!Rosenwald,!a!documentary!about!early!20thKcentury! philanthropist!Julian!Rosenwald!and!his!efforts!to!build!schools!for!AfricanK American!communities!in!the!southern!United!States.!The!film!comes!from!director! Aviva!Kempner!(The$Life$and$Times$of$Hank$Greenberg).!! Rosenwald!is!one!of!31!festival!titles!directed!by!women,!which!Hands!says!is!a! record.!! “For!years,!you’ve!had!women!documentary!filmmakers!but!rarely!have!you!had!a! lot!make!narrative!features,”!he!says.!“This!year,!we!have!six!narrative!features! directed!by!Israeli!women.”! Some!of!those!femaleKled!titles!include!Once$in$a$Lifetime,!an!inspirational!French! film!about!innerKcity!kids!doing!a!project!on!Nazi!concentration!camps.!That!film,! from!director!Marie!Castille!MentionKSchaar,!will!receive!the!Micki!Moore!prize,!for! best!narrative!feature!from!a!woman!director.!! Director!Veronique!LagoadeKSegot,!meanwhile,!will!pick!up!the!David!A.!Stein!award! for!best!documentary.!Her!film,!Shoah:$The$Forgotten$Souls$of$History,!is!comprised! of!newsreel!footage!and!looks!at!how!Soviet!cameramen!who!shot!this!material! deleted!the!mention!of!Jewish!victims.! Other!hot!titles!Hands!recommends!include!Orange$People,!a!drama!that!deals!with! Israel’s!Moroccan!community,!and!The$Price$of$Sugar,!a!melodrama!about!Jewish! slave!owners!in!18th!century!Suriname.!! American!indie!hit!Deli$Man,!which!features!appearances!from!Toronto’s!Zane! Caplansky!and!Cheryl!Morantz,!will!also!screen!on!May!10.! !
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!to!Honor!Rod! Serling;!Anne!Serling!to!Appear! By:!Fangoria!Staff!|!April!13,!2015! http://www.fangoria.com/new/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalKtoKhonorKrodKserlingK anneKserlingKtoKappear/! !
! The!2015!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!(running!April!30th!to!May!10th)! always!manages!to!massage!some!amazing!genre!friendly!content!into!their! programming.!Last!year,!they!brought!both!noted!author!and!horror!historian! Dr.!Mikel!Koven!in!to!lecture!and!spotlighted!the!films!of!Larry!Cohen,!and! this!year,!they!take!patrons!on!a!journey!of!sight,!sound!and!of!mind!as!they! celebrate!the!legacy!of!the!iconic!writer,!humanist!and!founder!of!TV’s! immortal!series!THE!TWILIGHT!ZONE,!the!inimitable!Rod!Serling.! With!“Rod!Serling:!The!Mensch!of!the!Twilight!Zone”,!TJFF!is!offering!fans!the! chance!to!see!some!of!Serling!most!rarelyKscreened!works,!introduced!by!his!
daughter,!writer!Anne!Serling,!!who!will!also!offer!a!more! personal!!portrait!!of!the!celebrated!writer.!Featured!in!the!programming!will! be!Serling!penned!pictures!and!programs!like!IN!THE!PRESENCE!OF!MINE! ENEMIES,!THE!LONER,!THE!MAN!IN!THE!FUNNY!SUIT,!REQUEIM!FOR!A! HEAVYWEIGHT!and!one!of!the!most!beloved!TZ!episodes!from!the!show’s! first!season,!the!Gig!YoungKstarring!WALKING!DISTANCE.! WALKING!DISTANCE!will!be!introduced!by!Anne!Serling!and!will!feature!a! postKscreening!Q&A!moderated!by!FANGORIA’s!Chris!Alexander.!Preceding! the!screening!of!WALKING!DISTANCE,!Anne!will!be!presenting!an!intimate! portrait!of!her!late!father!called!ROD!SERLING:!THE!BOY,!THE!MAN,!THE! WRITER,!THE!FATHER.!Through!a!combination!of!readings,!film!clips!and! slides,!!she!discusses!her!father’s!work!and!humanity!!from!childhood!to! wartime!trauma!to!his!iconic!TWILIGHT!ZONE!and!NIGHT!GALLERY! series.!!She!also!explores!the!experiences!that!informed!!his!deep!!seated! concern!!for!humanity!and!shares!what!it!was!like!growing!up!with!him,!all!to! reveal!the!man!behind!the!image.! Before!becoming!a!full!time!writer,!author/poet!Anne!Serling!was!an!early! childhood!!teacher!with!a!Bachelor!of!Arts!degree!in!education!from!Elmira! College.!Anne’s!poetry!has!been!published!in!The!Cornell!Daily!Sun!and! Visions!and!most!recently!released!her!memoir,!!“As!I!Knew!Him:!My!Dad!Rod! Serling”,!which!won!the!2014!Silver!Falcon!!Award!for!Best! Memoir/Biography.!!She!has!just!completed!her!first!novel,!AFTERSHOCKS! For!ticket!and!festival!information!visit!www.TJFF.com.! !
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The!CHCH!Community!Calendar! http://www.chch.com/events/! ! ! !
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THE!JEWISH!FILM!FESTIVAL!IN!TORONTO!(TJFF)! The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!they!are!committed!films!that!give!chills!and!make! you!laugh.!The!stories!are!universal;!Whatever!your!nationality!or!religion.!Then! with!a!(e)!friend!(e)!and!get!ready!popcorn!entertainment.! The!Jewish!Film!Festival!in!Toronto!shows!you!the!best!short!and!feature!films!and! documentaries!from!around!the!world!on!the!themes!of!culture!and!Jewish! identity.!This!Festival!is!dedicated!to!the!use!of!film!for!its!contemporary!popular! value!and!accessibility!to!reflect!the!Jewish!community.! The!TJFF!an!opportunity!to!raise!awareness!of!cultural!diversity!to!the!Jewish! people!of!all!backgrounds!and!thus!present!films!in!their!original!language!with! subtitles!in!English,!in!an!effort!to!break!down!barriers!and!racial!stereotypes,! cultural!and!religious.! More!than!150!films!will!be!screened!with!these!six!films!in!French!with!subtitles!in! English! ! Atlit!(Meet$at$Atlit)!,!directed!by!Shirel!Amitai!(Israel!/!France,!2014)! ! THE!ART!DEALER!(The$Antique$dealer)!,!directed!by!Franรงois!Margolin!(France)! ! TO!LIFE!(To$Life)!,!directed!by!JeanKJacques!Zilbermann!(France)! ! AN!UNTOLD!DIPLOMATIC!HISTORY:!ISRAEL!AND!FRANCE!SINCE!1948!(France$ facing$Israel)!,directed!by!Camille!Clavel! ! ONCE!IN!A!LIFETIME!(The$Inheritors)!,!directed!by!MarieKCastille!Mention!Schaar! (France,!2014)! ! BELLE!AND!SEBASTIAN!(Belle$and$Sebastian)!,!directed!by!Nicolas!Vanier!(France,! 2014)! ! !
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The!23rd!Annual!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival! By:!Classical!!Staff!|!April!30,!2015! http://www.classical963fm.com/events/theK23rdKannualKtorontoKjewishKfilmK festival/! ! Date/Time! Date(s)!K!April!30,!2015!K!May!10,!2015! 12:00$am! The!New!Classical!FM!is!an!“Official!Radio!Sponsor”!of!!The)23rdAnnual)Toronto)Jewish)Film) Festival! It’s!a!cinematic!exploration!of!Jewish!life,!history!and!culture!through!film!representing!18!different! countries!and!over!110!films.!!April$30$to$May$10$at$venues$throughout$Toronto.$! For!more!information!visit:!tjff.com.!
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CULTURE!IN!CINEMA:!PROGRAMMING!FOR!THE! PEOPLE! By:!William!Brownridge!|!April,!2015! http://thetfs.ca/article/cultureKcinemaKprogrammingKpeople/! !
Another!way!cinephiles!win!in!the!city!of!Toronto!and!its!surrounding!areas!are!film!festivals.!There! are!dozens!of!film!festivals!in!the!city!now,!focusing!on!every!aspect!of!film!you!can!imagine.!There! are!too!many!to!name!(and!more!come!and!go!every!year),!but!some!of!the!larger!festivals!include!the! Reel!Asian!Film!Festival,!the!European!Union!Film!Festival,!the!imagineNATIVE!Film!and!Media!Arts! Festival,!aluCine!Latin!Film!+!Media!Arts!Festival,!Brazil!Film!Fest!and!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film! Festival.!That’s!really!just!scratching!the!surface!of!what!the!city!has!to!offer,!but!the!cultural! programming!that!Cineplex!offers!gives!fans!a!chance!to!see!films!from!around!the!world!on!an! ongoing!basis.!
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50!things!to!do!this!spring!in!Toronto!2015! By:!Staff!|!April!3,!3015! http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2015/04/50_things_to_do_this_spring_in_toro nto_2015/! ! Spring!events!and!activities!are!particularly!tantalizing!this!year!after!the!vicious! winter!we!narrowly!survived.!Now's!the!time!to!make!the!most!of!the!weather.! Toronto's!arts,!culture!and!food!scenes!kick!into!high!gear!over!the!next!few!months,! and!there's!plenty!to!do!outdoors.!Spring!is!a!great!time!to!get!out!and!enjoy!the!city.! Fill$up$on$film$before$the$summer$arrives! For!the!film!buff!there's!a!slew!of!festivals!that!will!give!you!a!night!out!at!the! cinema.!Some!options!include!The!Toronto!Silent!Film!Festival!(April!9!to!14),!The! Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival! (April!30!to!May!10)!and!the!Inside!Out!LGBT!Film!Festival!(May!21!to!31).! !
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Images!heralds!spring!film!festival!season:! Projections! By:!Jason!Anderson!|!April!2,!2015! http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2015/04/02/imagesKheraldsK springKfilmKfestivalKseasonKprojections.html! ! Images$Festival:!What!with!TIFF!Kids,!Cinefranco,!Hot!Docs!and!the!Toronto!Jewish! Film!Festival!all!about!to!dominate!local!screens,!April!is!second!only!to!September! when!it!comes!to!the!most!ludicrously!busy!times!in!Toronto’s!filmKfest!calendar.! This!week!sees!the!arrival!of!two!more.!
Hollywood'North'Magazine$ TJFF$and$More! By:!The!Editor!|!March!16,!2015! http://hnmag.ca/festivals/tjffKandKmore/! !
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The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!has!announced!it!will!open!with!A$Borrowed$ Identity$(aka$Dancing$Arabs)!on!April!10th!and!close!with!Mr.$Kaplan!on!May! 10th.! A$Borrowed$Identity!is!directed!by!acclaimed!Israeli!filmmaker!Eran!Riklis.!It! centres!on!Eyad,!an!ArabKIsraeli!boy!accepted!to!a!prestigious!Jewish!boarding! school!in!Jerusalem.!Understandably,!this!is!a!difficult!situation!for!him!in! terms!of!language,!culture,!and!his!own!identity.!The!story!is!based!on!Sayed! Kashua’s!novel!Dancing$Arabs.! On!a!lighter!note,!the!closing!night!presentation,!Mr.$Kaplan,!is!a!comedy,! though!with!an!underlying!seriousness.!Uruguayan!filmmaker!Álvaro! Brechner!tells!the!story!of!76KyearKold!Jacob!Kaplan,!who!feels!his!life! drawing!to!a!close!and!wants!to!achieve!something!great!before!the!end! comes.!!His!“opportunity”!presents!itself!as!a!local!tavern!owner!nicknamed! “the!Nazi.”!Mr.!Kaplan!sets!out!to!capture!the!Nazi,!but!the!results!of!his!quest! are!more!comic!than!heroic.! Find!out!more!about!the!TJFF!here!at!its!official!site.!
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Every!Film!Festival!in!Toronto:!all!35!of!them! By:!Curt!|!March!5,!2015! http://indiefilmto.com/everyKfilmKfestivalKinKtorontoKallK20KofKthem/! ! Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival$(link)$ Jewish!Film!Festival!of!Toronto!where!you!sing,!dance!and!film!it!! Eligibility$ Must!deal!in!subjects!of!Jewish!history!and!culture! Location$ 19!Madison!Avenue! Toronto,!Ontario,!Canada!M5R!2S2! Deadline$ March!26,!2015.! HowLTo$Apply$ http://form.zonefestival.com/?k=tjff_f1! !
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival! May!1,!2015! http://www.toronto.com/events/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK2/! ! Overview! The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!returns!to!Toronto!in!2015.!This!event!has!a! mandate!to!showcase!films!by!established!and!emerging!Jewish!talent!from!around! the!world.!Films!include!shorts,!feature!length!films,!animated!movies!and! documentaries.! !
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The!23rd!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival! http://www.media.wireservice.ca/event/23rdKtorontoKjewishKfilmKfestival/! ! April$30$L$May$10$ The!2015!Toronto!Jewish!Film! Festival!takes!place!from!April!30th! until!May!10th!and!features!world! premieres,!North!American! premieres,!an!awards!show!and!over! 100!films!from!around!the!world!with! themes!of!Jewish!culture!and!identity.! For!more!information!on!the!2015! Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!including! show!times,!theatre!locations!and! tickets!please!see!the!event!website.!
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Ent!&!the!City:!May!4K11,!2012! By:!News!Staff!|!May!4,!2015! http://www.citynews.ca/2012/05/04/entKtheKcityKmayK4K11K2012/! ! This!city!has!something!different!to!do!every!night.!Here!are!some!picks!to!help!navigate!the! social!jungle!that!is!Toronto.! Movies! May$3L13$ Toronto$Jewish$Film$Festival$ Various$Locations$ Various$Times! The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!is!an!example!of!how!versatile!the!filmKloving!community! is!in!Toronto.!We!love!our!films!from!all!walks!of!life!and!this!festival!is!a!great!example!of! how!various!cultural!groups!use!the!medium!of!film!to!tell!a!variety!of!stories.!Not!only!is! the!festival!an!excellent!and!insightful!look!at!Jewish!culture,!it!also!offers!other!great! programming,!such!as!the!Sound$of$Movies:$Masters$of$the$Film$Score,!which!celebrates!the! lives!and!work!of!Jewish!composers!who!have!created!music!for!the!movies.! Cost:$$8$and$up$ More:$www.tjff.com!
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Discover!Jewish!Films!at!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film! Festival!2015! By:!Anonymous!|!April!22,!2015! http://www.bloorannex.ca/newsKevents/discoverKjewishKfilmsKtorontoKjewishK filmKfestivalK2015! ! From!May!4K!10,!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!screens!14!films!at!the!Bloor!Hot! Docs!Cinema!(506!Bloor!St.!W.),!including!Raise$the$Roof,!Theodore$Bikel:$In$the$ Shoes$of$Sholom$Aleichem,!and!many!more.!Enjoy!watching!a!diverse!mix!of! documentaries!and!shorts!from!around!the!world!on!themes!of!Jewish!culture!and! identity.!Special!guests!will!be!in!attendance!at!select!screenings.! Don’t!miss!the!23rd!edition!of!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!featuring!films!that! will!educate,!stimulate,!entertain!and!inspire!! Full!schedule!and!tickets:!http://ow.ly/LYxei!
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TJFF!2015!REVIEW:!FORBIDDEN!FILMS! By:!Jordan!Adler!|!May!6,!2015! http://thetfs.ca/2015/05/06/tjffK2015KreviewKforbiddenKfilms/! !
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During!the!time!of!the!Third!Reich,!Germany!made!close!to!1,200! feature!films.!Around!300!of!those!titles!were!banned!as!propaganda,! while!40!of!those!are!still!restricted!to!audiences!today.Forbidden$ Films!looks!at!two!sides!of!a!longKstanding!debate,!about!whether!or!not! these!inflammatory!films!should!remain!banned.!Director!Felix!Moeller! goes!to!screenings,!film!classes!and!libraries!to!explore!how!today’s! audiences!react!to!these!infamous!titles.! Forbidden$Films!is!an!eyeKopening!and!thoughtKprovoking!look!at!the! power!of!propaganda!films.!Moeller!and!the!scholars,!teachers,! filmmakers!and!viewers!he!interviews!rarely!agree!about!whether!these! films!should!remain!forbidden.!On!one!hand,!the!films!have!prime!
educational!value!about!a!dark!period.!On!the!other!hand,!watched!in!a! certain!context,!some!audiences!may!embrace!the!stereotypes!and! repugnant!messages!the!stories!promote.!The!director!even!interviews!a! neoKNazi!who!praises!these!provocative!films!as!“truth.”! Nevertheless,!this!is!not!a!dry,!academic!essay!film.!Moeller!includes! clips!from!several!of!these!banned!titles,! including!Homecoming!and!Jew$Süss.!Those!two!films!remain!two!of! Germany’s!biggest!grossers!of!all!time,!perhaps!due!to!their!nationalist! fervour!and!antiKSemitic!content.!As!we!watch!these!clips,!we!become!a! part!of!the!complex!debate!about!whether!these!films!should!remain! censored!or!be!preserved!as!historical!documents.! IS!FORBIDDEN$FILMS!ESSENTIAL!FESTIVAL!VIEWING?! Yes.!This!is!an!intelligently!made!documentary!that!should!spark!a!lot!of! discussion.!Meanwhile,!much!of!the!banned!material!should!be! fascinating!to!watch!on!a!big!screen.! FORBIDDEN!FILMS!SCREENING!TIMES! !
Thursday,!May!7,!2015!–!6:00!pm!–!Innis!Town!Hall!
! More!About!Forbidden!Films! FORBIDDEN$FILMS!TRAILER!
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Toronto Jewish Film Festival (1) By: Sheldon Kirshner | April 11, 2015 http://sheldonkirshner.com/toronto-jewish-film-festival-1-2/
The annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival , far and away the premiere cultural event in Toronto’s Jewish community, runs from April 30 to May 10. This year’s edition offers a great selection of 110 feature films, documentaries and shorts from 18 countries.
A!preview:! Nazi!Germany’s!propaganda!minister,!Joseph!Goebbels,!understood!the!allure!of!film,!calling!it!a! powerful!tool!to!harness!public!opinion.! Working!on!that!assumption,!Goebbels!encouraged!the!captive!German!film!industry!to!churn!out! movies!for!the!masses.!During!the!Third!Reich,!Germans!had!their!pick!of!1,200!freshlyKminted! feature!films,!some!of!which!were!purely!propagandistic.!After!Germany’s!defeat!in!World!War!II,! the!Allies!banned!300!of!the!most!pernicious!ones.!Today,!40!are!still!under!lock!and!key.! Felix!Moeller’s!fascinating!documentary,!Forbidden$Films,!examines!several!of!them!and!gives! critics!free!rein!to!discuss!the!pros!and!cons!of!releasing!them!to!the!public!without!restrictions.! During!the!Nazi!interregnum,!German!movies!were!extremely!popular!in!Germany!and! throughout!much!of!Europe.!Movie!goers!flocked!to!theaters!to!watch!an!assortment!of!films,!from! thrillers!to!comedies.!The!exclusively!propaganda!films,!which!reversed!reality,!were!antiKBritish,!
antiKBolshevik!and,!of!course,!antisemitic.!Toward!the!end!of!the!war,!with!Germany!reeling,!their! sole!purpose!was!to!lift!sagging!morale.! Germany’s!invasion!of!Poland!spawned!Homecoming,!which!justified!the!aggression,!portrayed! Poles!as!bloodKthirsty!killers!and!glorified!Polish!ethnic!Germans.!In!a!nod!to!Berlin’s!ethnic! cleansing!policy,!a!female!character!rejoices!that!neither!Yiddish!nor!Polish!will!be!spoken!in! Poland!once!the!Nazis!are!victorious.! Under!Goebbels’!watch,!three!vicious!antiKJewish!films!rolled!off!the!assembly!lines!—!Jew$Suss,!The$ Eternal$Jew!and!The$Rothschilds.! ! Poster!of!Jew!Suss! Loosely!based!on!an!18th!century!incident,Jew$ Suss!vilified!Jews!as!exploiters!and!rapists!of!Aryan! women.!In!one!explosive!scene,!Jews!are!compared!to! locusts!“devouring!the!land.”!In!The$Eternal$Jew,! probably!the!crudest!antisemitic!film!ever!made,!Jews! are!likened!to!scurrying,!diseaseKridden!rats.!The$ Rothschilds,$which!is!slightly!more!sophisticated!in! tone,!depicts!the!FrankfurtKbased!Jewish!bankers!as! manipulators!who!profit!from!wars.!“Blood!always! pays,”!says!a!selfKsatisfied!Rothschild.! In!Hitler$Youth$Quex,!a!father!—!a!Social!Democrat!—!is! dismayed!to!learn!that!his!son!has!been!converted!to! the!Nazi!cause.!As!the!film!ends,!thousands!of!German! youths!sing!in!unison!that!they!march!for!Adolf! Hitler.!Uncle$Kruger,!set!in!South!Africa,!is!bitterly!antiK British,!while!The$Red$Terror!is!viscerally!antiKSoviet.!Kolberg,!an!epic,!appeared!in!1945!to!rally! Germans!as!Russian!tanks!converged!on!Germany.! Forbidden$Films!takes!us!to!a!dark!place!and!shines!a!light!on!it.! !***! Belle$and$Sebastian!takes!place!in!NaziKoccupied!France!in!1943.!The!residents!of!St.!Martin,!an! isolated!village!in!the!Alps,!despise!the!Nazis.!Some!are!involved!in!the!smuggling!of!Jewish! refugees!to!nearby!neutral!Switzerland.! Nicolas!Vanier,!the!director,!fleshes!out!this!theme!gradually!as!the!cameras!pan!on!the!mountain! scenery!where!St.!Martin!is!located.!The!mountains!are!majestic!and!aweKinspiring,!full!of!craggy! peaks,!passes,!lakes!and!wild!animals.!
! Belle!is!the!belle!of!the!ball! As!this!pastoral!film!opens,!a!man!and!a!boy!are!on!a!mountain!trek.!Caesar!(Tcheky!Karyo),!a! shepherd,!is!looking!for!the!wolves!that!have!been!devouring!his!sheep.!Accompanying!him!is! Sebastian!(Felix!Bossuet),!his!foster!child.!Caesar!has!told!Sabastian!that!his!mother!is!in!America,! beyond!the!mountains!towering!over!St.!Martin.! The!German!garrison!in!St.!Martin!demands!the!names!of!the!French!guides!who’ve!been! smuggling!“fugitives”!into!Switzerland.!The!Germans!also!demand!free!loaves!of!bread!from!the! local!bakery,!which!is!run!by!Caesar’s!niece,!Angelina!(Margaux!Chatlier).! Sebastian!is!at!the!center!of!the!film.!As!he!wanders!around!the!mountains,!he!befriends!a!wild!and! neglected!dog.!Belle,!his!new!companion,!mauls!a!German!soldier,!prompting!the!Germans!to! launch!a!hunt!for!her.!Sebastian!tries!to!save!Belle.! The!movie!reaches!an!emotional!high!point!as!Ceasar,!Angelina,!Sebastian!and!Belle!guide!three! Jews!through!the!treacherous!wintry!landscape!of!the!Alps,!with!a!band!of!German!soldiers!in!hot! pursuit.! Belle$and$Sebastian!is!a!feelKgood!film.!Belle,!of!course,!is!the!belle!of!the!ball.! ***! Bess!Myerson!made!history!in!1945,!when!she!was!crowned!Miss!America,!the!first!and!only! Jewish!woman!ever!to!hold!this!coveted!title.!In!David!Lenik’s!straightforward!short,Bess$Myerson:$ A$Portrait$of$an$Activist,!she!explains!her!ascendancy!to!fame!and!her!connections!to!the!Jewish! world.!Myerson!was!probably!in!her!late!40s!when!she!was!interviewed.!
! Miss!America!1945!(AP)! Myerson’s!sister,!Sylvia,!encouraged!Bess!to!enter!the!Miss!America!contest.!Sylvia!figured!that!if! her!sister!won,!the!family!could!use!part!of!the!$5,000!prize!to!purchase!a!piano.!The!Myersons! were!workingKclass!people!who!could!not!afford!such!luxuries.!Myerson’s!parents,!Louis!and!Bella,! lived!in!the!Sholem!Aleichem!apartment!complex!in!the!Bronx!and!brought!up!their!children!in!an! intensely!Jewish!and!Yiddish!milieu.! After!winning!the!Miss!America!crown,!Bess!encountered!“great!antisemitism.”!Unfortunately,!she! does!not!elaborate.!Holocaust!survivors!told!Myerson!that!her!ascent!to!celebrity!confirmed!their! hunch!that!they!had!made!the!right!decision!to!settle!in!the!United!States.!This,!she!says,!was!a! source!of!gratification.! Myerson!discusses!the!speeches!she!delivered!in!defence!of!tolerance!and!pluralism,!the!time!she! spent!campaigning!on!behalf!of!Israel!Bonds!and!her!visits!to!Israel.!When!she!met!Golda!Meir!(nee! Myerson),!the!Israeli!prime!minister!quipped,!“You’re!the!Myerson!who!made!me!famous.”! Bess$Myerson!is!quite!interesting,!but!it!often!feels!like!an!Israel!Bonds!promotional!film.! ***! Julius!Rosenwald!(1862K1932),!the!chief!executive!officer!of!the!Sears,!Roebuck!retail!empire,!was! a!great!philanthropist.!In!his!lifetime,!he!donated!$62!million!to!charities.!As!a!member!of!a! historically!persecuted!minority,!he!identified!with!the!plight!of!African!Americans.!Acting!on!his! beliefs,!he!helped!establish!a!network!of!schools!for!blacks!in!the!South.! Aviva!Kempner’s!wellKcrafted!film,!The$Rosenwald$Schools,!tells!this!story!as!it!documents! Rosenwald! ’s!rise!to!fame!as!America’s!most!prominent!retailer.!
! Julius!Rosenwald! Rosenwald!was!a!hardKnosed!businessmen,!but!he!was!also!a!champion!of!civil!rights!in!a!country! where!African!Americans!were!treated!as!secondKclass!citizens.!After!reading!Booker!T.! Washington’s!memoir,!Up$From$Slavery,!he!became!acutely!aware!of!the!manifold!problems! African!Americans!faced!in!Jim!Crow!America.! Having!contributed!substantial!funds!to!build!YMCAs!for!blacks!across!the!United!States,! Rosenwald!agreed!to!invest!in!black!schools.!The!African!American!education!system!was!broken,! being!based!on!the!outmoded!separate!but!equal!principle.!Spurred!on!by!Washington,!Rosenwald! committed!himself!to!improving!the!standard!of!education!in!the!African!American!community.! ***! The!late!Nathan!Handwerker!was!an!American!success!story,!the!founder!of!the!Coney!Island!hot! dog!stand!which!blossomed!into!an!empire/institution.!Famous$Nathan,!directed!by!his!grandson! Lloyd!Handwerker,!is!an!evenKhanded!portrait!of!a!driven!man!who!devoted!himself,!body!and! soul,!to!his!booming!food!business.! In!the!only!taped!interview!he!ever!made,!Handwerker!talks!about!his!life.!He!was!born!in!Poland! in!1892,!the!son!of!an!impoverished!shoemaker!who!sired!seven!boys!and!six!girls.!For!a!while,! Handwerker!toiled!as!a!baker!in!Radom.!A!natural!entrepreneur,!he!immigrated!to!the!United! States!via!Belgium.!He!opened!his!frankfurter!stand!in!1916!and!never!looked!back,!riding!out!the! Depression!by!selling!five!cent!hot!dogs.!
! Nathan!Handwerker! Former!employees!—!waiters,!countermen!and!managers!—!and!family!members!paint!a!mixed! picture!of!Handwerker!as!a!tyrant!and!a!saint.!A!dour!person,!he!was!a!perfectionist!and! workaholic!who!was!parsimonious!with!his!praise.!Tough!and!critical,!he!was!feared!by!his! workers.!Yet!he!was!an!equal!opportunity!employer,!hiring!African!Americans!and!giving!valued! employees!interestKfree!mortgage!loans.!! While!he!provided!relatives!with!jobs,!he!could!be!mean!and!unreasonable.!He!loved!his!children,! but!did!not!shower!them!with!displays!of!affection.!He!encouraged!them!to!join!the!family! business,!but!drove!Sol,!one!of!his!sons,!out!of!it.!He!and!his!wife!were!supposedly!happily!married,! but!according!to!some,!they!constantly!bickered.! Famous$Nathan!delivers!a!nuanced!portrait!of!the!one!and!only!Nathan!Handwerker.! ! Repost:!http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK1/! ! ! ! !
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!(2)! By:!Sheldon!Kirshner!|!April!13,!2015! http://sheldonkirshner.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK2K2/! !
The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!one!of!Toronto’s!biggest!cultural!events,! starts!its!10Kday!run!on!April!30!with!an!eclectic!selection!of!movies!from! around!the!world,!including!Israel.! A$preview:!
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Are!JewishKstyle!delicatessens!a!dying!breed?! It!would!seem!so,!judging!by!the!hard,!cold!statistics!served!up!in!Deli$ Man,$Erik!Greenberg!Anjou’s!affectionate!tribute!to!a!Jewish!culinary! institution.! In!1931,!the!five!boroughs!of!New!York!City!boasted!of!1,55o!kosher!delis.! “There!was!a!deli!at!every!corner,”!says!David!“Ziggy”!Gruber,!a!thirdK generation!deli!owner.!Today,!there!are!probably!no!more!than!150!to!200! delis!in!all!of!the!United!States.! The!deli,!a!German!American!creation,!has!been!in!decline!for!a!number!of! reasons!—!rising!food!costs,!falling!profits!and!changing!tastes!and! demographics.!But!don’t!tell!that!to!Gruber,!the!proprietor!of!Kenny!&!
Ziggy’s!New!York!Delicatessen!in!Houston,!Texas.!One!of!several!deli!men! featured!in!this!highly!entertaining!documentary,!he’s!a!New!Yorker!of! Hungarian!and!Romanian!origin.!A!portly!figure!in!his!midK30s!who! performs!his!job!with!dedication!and!gusto,!he!pops!in!and!out!of!Deli$ Man$like!a!tireless!promoter.!
! Ziggy!Gruber!(Cohen!Media!Group)! Apart!from!Gruber,!we’re!introduced!to!American!and!Canadian! practitioners!of!the!trade!like!Zane!Caplansky,!Norman!Rappaport,!Jack! Mendelson,!Steve!Auerbach,!Yitz!Penciner,!Barry!Orenstein!and!Dennis! Howard.!They!work!very!hard!and!put!up!with!a!finicky!clientele,!but!they! love!what!they’re!doing.! “It’s!a!tough!business,”!says!David!Sax,!the!author!of!Save$the$Deli,! published!a!few!years!ago.! The!deli!as!we!know!it!today!came!into!being!in!New!York!City’s!Lower! East!Side!in!the!1840s.!The!first!deli!men!were!German!Christian!and! German!Jewish!immigrants.!Jews!from!Eastern!Europe!and!Romania! adopted!the!tradition.!By!the!1920s,!delis!had!acquired!a!certain!cachet! and!were!particularly!popular!with!Jewish!entertainers.! Delis!dished!out!Jewish!soul!food!like!smoked!meat,!pastrami!and!tongue! sandwiches,!chicken!and!barley!soup,!cabbage!rolls,!kreplach,!chopped!
liver,!cole!slaw!and!pickles.!The!food,!though!fatty,!was!never!less!than! flavourful!and!filling.! Gruber,!a!talkative!and!charming!fellow!who!was!close!to!his!grandfather,! went!into!the!business!because!he!felt!most!at!home!in!the!hustle!and! bustle!of!a!deli.!“I!wanted!to!perpetuate!the!deli,”!he!says.!“This!was!my! calling.”! The!film!observes!Gruber!cooking,!sweet!talking!customers,!assuring! quality!control,!exercising!with!a!personal!trainer!and!schmoozing!with!his! girlfriend,!Mary,!an!acupuncturist.! Gruber!realizes!that!shifting!trends!may!be!the!enemy.!Since!deli!fare!is! typically!fattening,!more!and!more!Americans!are!avoiding!it.!There!are! only!five!major!delis!left!in!New!York!City,!including!Katz’s!Stage!and! Carnegie.!But!with!enthusiasts!like!Gruber!in!the!mix,!the!deli!may!yet! survive!and!even!prosper.! ***! In!the!movie!Fiddler$on$the$Roof,!Tzeitel,!the!lovely!unmarried!daughter!of! a!Jewish!dairy!farmer!in!czarist!Russia,!belts!out!a!song!of! yearning:!Matchmaker,!matchmaker/make!me!a!match/find!me!a! find/catch!me!a!catch.! Tova,!the!Israeli!matchmaker!in!Dan!Wasserman’s!Do$You$Believe$In$Love?,! would!instinctively!understand!Tzeitel’s!lament.!
! An!Israeli!matchmaker!
“What!are!you!looking!for?”!she!asks!a!client!as!the!film!begins.! “Love,”!he!plaintively!replies.! Another!client!tells!her!he!would!travel!to!the!ends!of!the!world!to!meet! the!right!woman.! In!this!touching!documentary,!Tova,!a!former!hairdresser,!sizes!up!the! needs!of!clients!and!makes!introductions.!A!flintyKeyed!judge!of!character,! she!knows!her!way!around!the!terrain!of!romance.!She!and!her!husband,! Gabi,!have!been!married!for!more!than!40!years!and!they!seem!reasonably! happy.!A!home!movie!of!their!1969!wedding!shows!how!they’ve!physically! changed.! Tova!reminds!the!men!and!women!who!require!her!services!that!no!one’s! perfect!and!that!the!essence!of!a!durable!relationship!is!compromise.! It!would!appear!that!many!of!her!clients!are!disabled.!Yossi!and!Rosana!are! confined!to!wheelchair,!while!Talia!is!blind.!Asi!seems!“normal”!enough,! but!he’s!in!his!40s!and!still!a!bachelor.! Tova!empathizes!with!the!needs!of!the!disabled,!since!she’s!disabled! herself,!having!been!struck!down!by!a!muscular!disease!that!keeps!her!off! her!feet.!“I!don’t!close!the!door!on!anybody!who’s!ableKminded,”!she! says.!True!to!her!philosophy,!she!tries!to!hook!up!Yossi!with!Rosana,!Asi! with!Rosana!and!Talia!with!an!older!man!whose!name!goes!unmentioned.! Tova’s!daughter,!Dolly,!helps!her,!as!does!a!liveKin!Asian!housekeeper,! Sabina,!who!sometimes!looks!as!if!she!would!rather!be!somewhere!else.! Do$You$Believe$In$Love?!is!by!turns!poignant!and!sad.! ***! The!dissolution!of!one!of!the! world’s!oldest!Jewish! communities!is!the!subject!of! Nissim!Dayan’s!The$Dove$Flyer.! This!Israeli!film,!set!in! Baghdad!in!1950,!is!about!the! Amaris,!a!middleKclass!Jewish! family!that!comes!under! intense!pressure!to!leave!Iraq,! their!ancestral!homeland.! Iraqi!Jews!are!increasingly! under!attack!by!Arab!nationalists!due!to!the!creation!of!Israel.!By!the!same! token,!Zionist!organizations!are!coaxing!them!to!emigrate.!
This!is!an!unusual!madeKinKIsrael!movie!because!it!unfolds!almost!entirely! in!Arabic!rather!than!in!Hebrew.!Dayan!opted!for!Arabic!in!the!interests!of! verisimilitude,!and!it!proves!to!be!a!wise!choice.! The!film!starts!with!a!literal!bang.! Iraqi!Jews!are!under!pressure!to!emigrate! Kabi!(Daniel!Gad),!a!young!Iraq!Jew,!is!sitting!at!a!desk!when!he!hears! banging!on!the!door.!Armed!Iraqi!soldiers,!led!by!a!colonel!shouting! antisemitic!curses,!barge!in.!Kabi’s!uncle,!Hazkel,!!is!dragged!into!the! house.!Hazkel!looks!roughed!up!and!frightened.!He’s!been!arrested! because!he’s!supposedly!a!subversive.!The!soldiers!search!for!weapons!but! find!none!as!they!ransack!the!flat.! It!turns!out!that!Hazkel!is!a!Zionist,!a!member!of!“the!movement.”!Zionism! is!a!dirty!word!in!1950s!Iraq.!Iraq!is!invested!in!antiKZionism.!Its!army! intervened!on!the!side!of!the!Palestinians!in!the!1948!ArabKIsraeli!war,!and! now!the!Iraqi!government!is!marginalizing!its!Jewish!citizens.!The!working! assumption!is!that!Iraqi!Jews!are!disloyal.!As!elsewhere!in!the!Arab!world,! Judaism!and!Zionism!are!conflated.! Kabi’s!father,!Salman!(Igal!Noor),!runs!a!men’s!wear!shop!in!old!Baghdad.! He’s!culturally!and!linguistically!Iraqi,!but!his!brother’s!arrest!seems!to! have!altered!his!views.!An!Arab!friend!urges!him!to!remain!in!Iraq,!but! Salman’s!uncertain.!He!may!yet!succumb!to!the!blandishment!of!aliyah.!In! the!meantime,!Salman!enlists!the!help!of!an!Arab!government!official!to! free!Hazkel,!whose!wife,!Rachelle,!has!gone!into!panic!mode.! It’s!clear!that!Iraqi!Jews!are!torn!over!the!issue!of!Zionism.!Some,!like! Hazkal,!are!Zionists.!Still!others!are!communists.!Kabi’s!mother,!as!well!as! a!pigeon!dealer!who!dresses!in!traditional!Arab!garb,!are!Iraqi!to!the!core! and!wish!to!remain!in!Iraq.!They!have!no!desire!to!immigrate!to!Israel.! In!a!pivotal!scene,!a!wealthy!Jewish!family!hosts!the!Iraqi!prime!minister,! Nuri!Said,!in!their!palatial!home!for!dinner.!Said!informs!them!that!Iraqi! Jews!may!legally!leave!Iraq.!“We!Jews!are!part!of!Iraq,”!the!Jewish!elder! protests.!Said!replies!that!he!and!his!family!may!stay!but!that!all!other!Jews! must!go.! Kabi,!having!personally!witnessed!the!exchange,!tells!his!parents!what! happened.!“Two!thousand!years!gone!with!the!wind,”!his!mother!wails.! These!scenes!are!contrived!and!melodramatic,!but$The$Dove$Flyer!skillfully! charts!the!dissolution!of!an!ancient!Jewish!community!in!the!Arab!world.! ***!
Almost!two!months!after!U.S.!forces!invaded!Iraq!in!2003,!an!American! unit!stumbled!upon!a!decayed!treasure!trove!of!Jewish!objects!scattered! around!the!basement!of!Iraq’s!intelligence!agency.!They!had!been! confiscated!from!the!minuscule!Jewish!community!in!1975,!four!years! before!Saddam!Hussein!assumed!full!control!of!the!country.!
! Fragments!from!a!Torah!scroll!recovered!in!Baghdad!in!2003! The!Americans!found!piles!of!books,!documents,!letters!and!Torah!scrolls,! the!oldest!of!which!dated!back!to!the!midK17th!century.!They!were!in! appalling!condition.! What$We$Left$Behind,!a!sixKminute!short!by!David!Langer,!explores!this! topic!fleetingly.!“We!left!so!much!behind,”!says!an!Iraqi!Jewish!woman.! “This!is!our!heritage,!our!culture!and!our!history,!something!to!be!proud! of.”! As!it!turns!out,!some!of!the!artifacts!have!been!restored!to!their!former! glory!at!a!special!laboratory!in!the!United!States.!Still!others!were!buried! because!they!were!beyond!restoration.! The!Iraqi!ambassador!to!the!United!States!pays!“full!respect”!to!the!Jewish! dimension!of!Iraq’s!history.!But!words!alone!cannot!bring!back!what!was! irretrievably!lost.! ! ! Repost:!http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK2/! ! !
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!(3)! By:!Sheldon!Kirshner!|!April!14,!2015! http://sheldonkirshner.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK3K2/! ! The!10Kday!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!starts!on!April!30,!featuring!a!wide! selection!of!movies!from!North!America,!Israel!and!the!rest!of!the!world.!
! A$preview:! “They!were!the!Israeli!Hollywood,”!says!the!film!director!Boaz!Davidson.! First!cousins!Menahem!Golan!and!Yoram!Globus!were!the!founders!and!prime! movers!of!the!Cannon!Group,!the!movie!production!company!they!founded!in!Los! Angeles!the!1980s.! The!pair,!the!first!Israelis!to!become!major!players!in!the!Hollywood!film!industry,! are!profiled!in!Hilla!Medalia’s!The$Go$Go$Boys,$a!comprehensive!documentary! charting!their!rise!and!fall.!At!the!height!of!their!power,!Newsweek!magazine!placed! them!on!its!cover!and!described!them!as!“the!go!go!boys,”!a!reference!to!their! indefatigable!energy.! In!the!midK1980s,!when!they!were!riding!high!and!seemed!like!an!irresistible!force,! Golan!and!Globus!churned!out!movies!like!Blood$Sport!and!American$ Ninja,!employed!actors!such!as!Charles!Bronson,!Chuck!Norris,!JeanKClaude!Van!Dam! and!Sylvester!Stallone!and!bought!movie!theater!chains!in!Europe.! Not!bad!for!two!guys!who!arrived!in!Los!Angeles!with!$500!in!their!pockets.!
! Menachem!Golan,!left,!and!Yoram!Globus! Golan,!who!died!last!year,!was!probably!Israel’s!most!famous!movie!mogul,!having! directed!Eldorado!(his!first!film),!Sallah$Shabtai!(nominated!for!an!Academy!Award! in!the!foreign!film!category),!I$Love$You$Rosa!and!Kazablan.!Though!hardly! masterpieces,!they!were!hugely!entertaining!movies!that!broke!Israeli!box!office! records.! Globus,!14!years!younger!than!Golan,!was!a!50/50!partner!in!Noah!Films.!His!task! was!to!raise!funds!and!basically!keep!the!ship!afloat,!a!job!he!performed!in!stellar! fashion.!They!were!like!a!wellKoiled!machine,!working!seamlessly!and!harmoniously.! “They!completed!each!other’s!sentences,”!Golan’s!son!says.!“They!couldn’t!do! without!each!other,”!his!daughter!observes.! Having!reached!a!glass!ceiling!in!Israel,!they!went!to!Los!Angeles.!Due!to!Israeli! currency!regulations,!they!were!permitted!to!take!only!$500!out!of!the!country.! They!lived!very!frugally,!eschewing!the!ostentatious!lifestyle!of!their!American! peers.!Turning!out!lowKbudget!shlock!films!like!New$Year’s$Evil!and!The$Apple,!they! seemed!destined!to!remain!bottom!feeders.!But$with!Breakin,’!which!cost!$1.2! million!to!make!and!raked!in!a!cool!$56!million,!Golan!and!Globus!broke!through!to! stardom.! Cranking!out!what!critics!demeaned!as!“exploitation”!films,!they!earned!a!fortune!in! just!a!few!short!years.!At!one!juncture,!their!movies!accounted!for!20!percent!of!the! gross!in!the!American!film!market.!Less!well!known!is!the!fact!that!Golan!and!Globus! also!financed!European!art!movies.!Nonetheless,!critic!Gene!Siskel!was!far!from! impressed,!relegating!them!to!the!status!of!“deal!makers”!rather!than!“filmmakers.”! Being!insanely!busy,!neither!Golan!nor!Globus!reserved!quality!time!for!their! respective!families.!As!absente!husbands!and!fathers,!they!reaped!the!whirlwind.!
Their!winning!streak!ended!because!their!formula,!which!was!based!on!volume! rather!than!quality,!did!not!ultimately!work.!Their!films!lost!money!and!soon!they! were!in!debt!to!the!tune!of!$200!million.!Globus,!unable!or!unwilling!to!control! Golan’s!wild!spending!habits,!severed!his!business!ties!with!him.!“We!divorced,”! says!Globus,!who!became!a!major!Hollywood!figure!in!his!own!right.! A!scandal!toppled!Globus!from!his!perch,!however,!and!he!returned!to!Israel,!where! he!founded!a!movie!production!studio.!Golan!went!back!to!Israel,!too,!becoming!an! independent!producer!and!director.! Medalia!tells!the!story!of!their!bumpy!odyssey!exceedingly!well.! ***! Samuel!Fuller!(1912K1997)!was!a!something!of!a!Renaissance!Man!despite!his! limited!education.!He!was!a!crime!reporter!in!New!York!City!and!and!Francisco.!He! wrote!the!pulp!novels!Burn$Baby,$Burn!and!The$Dark$Page.$He!was!a!soldier!in!the! U.S.!infabtry!in!World!War!II.!He!directed!films!running!the!gamut!from!Scandal$ Sheet!and!Street$of$No$Return!to!Park$Row!and!The$Big$Red$One.!
! Samuel!Fuller!in!Hollywood! By!any!measure,!he!was!an!interesting!man,!and!his!daughter!Samantha’s!biopic,!A$ Fuller$Life,!reflects!his!diverse!passions.!The!film!is!based!on!Fuller’s!hardKboiled! memoirs,!excerpts!of!which!are!read!by!a!succession!of!actors,!and!on!scenes!from! his!movies.!Fuller’s!home!movies!are!also!incorporated!into!this!absorbing! documentary.! Raised!by!his!mother!in!New!York!City,!Fuller!sold!newspapers!on!street!corners,! worked!as!a!copy!boy!and!broke!into!reporting!in!the!late!1920s.!His!mother!
thought!he!was!wasting!his!time,!but!he!found!the!newspaper!business!scintillating.! Having!quit!his!job!because!he!could!no!longer!bear!witnessing!executions,!he! travelled!around!the!country!as!a!freelance!writer.! When!a!magazine!story!he!had!written!on!the!Ku!Klux!Klan!was!severely!cut! because!one!of!the!details!seemed!implausible,!he!complained.!The!editor!asked!if!he! could!produce!a!photograph!to!back!up!his!claim.!He!couldn’t.!From!that!point! forward,!Fuller!always!carried!a!camera,!convinced!that!photographs!were!better! conveyors!of!human!emotions!than!words.! Dipping!his!feet!into!Hollywood’s!“seductive!waters,”!Fuller!took!up!screen!writing.! He!considered!Hollywood!a!way!station!en!route!to!an!illustrious!career!in! journalism.! With!the!Japanese!attack!on!Pearl!Harbor,!Fuller!joined!the!army.!To!him,!World! War!II!was!“the!biggest!crime!story!of!the!century.”!Fuller!survived!amphibious! landings!in!North!Africa,!Italy!and!France,!quickly!learning!that!an!infantryman! returns!from!battle!either!wounded!or!crazy.!Neither!of!these!calamities!befell!him.! To!Fuller,!war!was!nothing!less!than!“organized!insanity.”!After!killing!an!enemy! soldier!in!combat,!he!noted!in!his!journal!that!he!had!become!a!“killing!machine.”!In! Czechoslovakia,!he!was!horrified!by!the!sights!in!Falkenau,!a!Nazi!concentration! camp.!But!in!Falkenau,!he!made!his!first!film,!using!a!Bell!&!Howell!camera!his! mother!had!sent!him.!Fuller!was!Jewish,!but!in!this!deracinated!film,!he!utters!not!a! single!word!about!his!Jewishness!or!the!Holocaust.! Thanks!to!a!producer!who!had!faith!in!his!abilities,!Fuller!directed!his!first!feature! film,!I$Shot$Jessie$James,!in!1949.!He!proceeded!to!sign!a!sixKpicture!deal!with!the! mogul!Daryl!Zanuck.!He!should!have!been!happy,!but!Fuller!found!the!“artistic! climate”!in!Hollywood!stifling.!He!considered!himself!an!outsider!and!a!dyedKinKtheK wool!democrat,!and!in!aFuller$Life,!he!expresses!gratification!that!he!was!one!of!the! first!directors!to!hire!African!American!actors!for!intelligent!roles.! While!his!daughter’s!film$immerses!a!viewer!in!his!career!as!a!director,$it!leaves! much!of!his!personal!life!unexplored.!And!so!he!remains!something!of!a!cipher.! ***! The!Polgar!sisters!of!Hungary,!Susan,!Judit!and!Sofia,!are!extraordinary!chess! players.!They’ve!won!international!tournaments!and!beaten!champions!like!Garry! Kasparov!and!Anatoly!Karpov.!In!the!annals!of!chess,!they’re!unique.! The$Polgar$Variant,!a!workmanlike!film!directed!by!Yossi!Aviram,!examines!their! lives!and!achievements.!
! The!Polgar!sisters! Working!on!the!assumption!that!genius!is!learned!rather!than!acquired,!their! parents,!Laszlo!and!Klara,!home!schooled!their!three!daughters,!training!them!to!be! chess!prodigies.!They!were!subjected!to!a!rigorous!regimen,!and!when!Laszlo!could! no!longer!teach!them!anything!new,!he!hired!trainers!to!upgrade!their!skills.!The! girls!cooperated!beautifully!and!achieved!the!exalted!rank!of!grandmaster.! But!as!the!film!suggests,!there!was!a!price!to!pay.!The!girls!were!more!or!less! insulated!from!the!world.!“They!had!no!childhood!from!the!point!of!view!of!a!normal! person,�!says!a!Russian!chess!whiz!who!helped!coach!them.! During!the!communist!era,!the!Hungarian!government!exerted!pressure!on!the! Polgars!to!enroll!their!children!in!a!regular!school,!a!demand!that!Laszlo!resisted.!In! response,!the!Hungarian!Chess!Federation!left!Susan,!Judit!and!Sofia!off!the!national! team.!Reinstated!for!the!1988!Olympic!Games,!the!girls!performed!brilliantly.!With! the!fall!of!communism,!they!were!free!to!travel!without!restrictions.! The!film!charts!their!evolution!from!adolescence!to!adulthood,!concluding!that!Judit! was!the!best!player!while!Sofia!was!the!most!gifted!one.!All!three!sisters!are!married! today,!living!in!different!countries.!As!The$Polgar$Variant!suggests,!their! international!renown!precedes!them!wherever!they!travel.! ! Repost:!http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK3/ ! !
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!(4)! By:!Sheldon!Kirshner!|!April!15,!2015! http://sheldonkirshner.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK4K2/! ! The!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!one!of!the!best!of!its!kind,!gets!under!way!on!April!30!and! runs!until!May!10.!
! A$preview:! Veronique!LagoardeKSegot’s!Shoah:$The$Forgotten$Souls$of$History,!is!a!hardKhitting!and! important!documentary!about!the!role!of!cinematography!in!Soviet!propaganda!during! World!War!II.! Regarding!cinema!as!a!tool!to!foster!national!unity!and!forge!an!inextricable!bond!between! the!state!and!the!people,!Moscow!dispatched!teams!of!cinematographers!to!the!front! following!Germany’s!invasion!of!the!Soviet!Union!in!June!1941.! Although!the!Red!Army!was!basically!in!retreat!in!the!first!two!years!of!the!war,!the! cinematographers!were!under!strict!orders!to!bring!back!footage!that!would!lift!morale.!The! Soviet!leadership!preferred!positive!images!of!Soviet!heroism,!or!graphic!ones!of!German! corpses!rotting!away!and!the!debris!of!German!tanks!and!artillery!pieces!strewn!on!the! battlefield.!
! A!Soviet!cinematographer!at!work! As!this!divorcedKfromKreality!footage!was!released!to!the!public,!Germany!conducted!a! scorched!earth!campaign,!demolishing!villages,!killing!civilians!and!exterminating!Jews!on! an!industrial!scale.!The!Germans!had!no!problem!filming!graphic!pogroms!in!Ukraine!and! Lithuania,!but!Soviet!cameramen!flinched!from!recording!such!massacres.! In!keeping!with!this!politically!correct!formula,!Soviet!propagandists!described!Jewish! victims!of!Nazi!ethnic!cleansing!as!“Soviet!civilians.”!It!was!not!until!2001!that!Moscow! finally!acknowledged!the!33,771!Jewish!victims!of!the!1941!Babi!Yar!pogrom!in!Kiev.! The!war,!the!film!states,!was!a!Soviet!affair!in!which!Jews!per!se!had!no!place.!The!reasons! are!clear.!Moscow!was!loathe!to!admit!that!Soviet!citizens!had!collaborated!in!the!mass! killings!of!Jews.!Nor!did!Moscow!want!to!validate!the!fantastical!Nazi!claim!that!Bolshevism! and!Judaism!were!entwined.! When!the!Red!Army!reconquered!territory!that!had!been!held!by!Germany,!Soviet! cameramen!turned!a!blind!eye!to!Nazi!atrocities!in!which!Jews!had!been!the!chief!victims.! With!Moscow!once!again!demanding!heroic!rather!than!tragic!images,!Soviet! cinematographers!focused!on!courageous!partisans.! The!Jewish!identity!of!Zoia!—!a!partisan!of!valor!who!had!been!hanged!by!the!Nazis!—!was! suppressed,!while!Soviet!newspapers!referred!to!Jews!who!had!been!murdered!by!the!Nazis! as!“peaceful!citizens.”!To!add!insult!to!injury,!crosses!were!planted!on!the!mass!graves!of! Christian!and!Jewish!civilians.! After!the!Red!Army!had!liberated!Auschwitz,!Moscow!trumpeted!the!liberation!in!staged! footage.!Already!infected!by!a!rising!spirit!of!Russian!chauvinism!and!antisemitism,!the! Soviet!Union!chose!to!ignore!the!fact!that!most!of!the!camp’s!victims!had!been!Jewish.! ***! The!piece!de!resistance!of!!Warsaw’s!Museum!of!the!History!of!Polish!Jews!is!a! painstakinglyKbuilt!replica!of!the!ceiling!of!an!18th!century!wooden!synagogue!the!Nazis! destroyed!in!the!town!of!Gwozdziec,!now!in!southern!Ukraine.!The!ceiling,!painted!in!vivid! colors,!is!an!amalgam!of!Hebrew!texts!and!letters!and!real!and!mythic!animals.!It’s!truly! spectacular,!a!thing!of!beauty.!
! The!ceiling!of!the!wooden!synagogue! Its!reconstruction!is!the!subject!of!Yari!Wolinsky’s!Raise$the$Roof,!a!heartKfelt!documentary! that!captures!the!spirit!of!the!project.!It’s!not!only!about!the!arc!of!Jewish!history!in!Poland,! which!is!both!illustrious!and!tragic,!but!about!the!intricacies!of!true!craftmanship.! Construction!of!the!synagogue!began!in!the!1680s,!when!Gwozdziec!was!located!in!the! Polish!Lithuanian!Commonwealth,!a!hotbed!of!Jewish!liturgical!art.!It!would!be!one!of!some! 200!wooden!synagogues!built!throughout!greater!Poland.!During!the!Nazi!occupation,!every! single!one!was!pillaged!and!levelled.! A!few!years!ago,!Barbara!Kirshenblatt!Gimblett!—!a!curator!at!the!museum!and!the! daughter!of!Polish!Jews!who!had!settled!in!Canada!—!hired!an!American!couple!to!rebuild! the!ceiling.!She!chose!Rick!and!Laura!Brown,!specialists!in!the!replication!of!historic!objects! and!artifacts,!because!their!vision!coincided!with!hers.!The!Browns,!who!are!neither!Jewish! nor!Polish,!recommended!that!the!ceiling!of!the!Gwozdziec!shul!should!be!replicated! because!it!had!the!best!documentation.!On!their!suggestion,!a!roof!would!be!added.!
! One!of!the!wooden!synagogues!destroyed!by!the!Nazis! Visiting!Poland,!the!Browns!discovering!that!Jews!had!worked!closely!with!Polish!craftsmen! in!the!construction!of!the!wooden!synagogues.!They!then!proceeded!to!build!a!largeKscale! model!of!it,!complete!with!a!fullKsize!bimah.!In!their!quest!for!authenticity,!they!worked! with!the!tools!and!techniques!of!the!18th!century.! Apart!from!employing!25!professional!timber!framers,!they!used!the!voluntary!services!of! students!from!a!variety!of!countries,!including!Poland.!The!film!charts!their!progress!in! minute!detail,!and!it’s!never!less!than!interesting.! It!took!them!two!weeks!to!install!their!masterpiece!of!design,!carpentry!and!architecture!in! the!museum,!which!opened!last!autumn!to!critical!acclaim.!Laura!Brown!is!satisfied!with!the! outcome,!as!she!should!be.!Reconstruction!is!a!hard!and!slow!task!and!requires!teamwork! and!passion.!These!were!the!qualities!that!were!brought!to!bear!to!recreate!the!ceiling!of!a! wooden!synagogue!from!a!vanished!world.! Ivan!Nichev’s!Bulgarian$Rhapsody,!the!final!installment!of!a!trilogy!of!films!on!the!Jews!of! Bulgaria,!takes!place!in!1943!as!Bulgarian!Jews!come!under!increasing!antisemitic!pressure! from!Bulgaria’s!fascist!government.! Aligned!with!Nazi!Germany!in!an!alliance!of!convenience,!Bulgaria!imposed!a!raft!of! restrictions!on!its!50,000!Jewish!citizens,!but!stopped!short!of!deporting!them!to!their! deaths!in!German!extermination!camps!in!Poland.!Bulgaria,!however,!acceded!to!German! demands!to!deport!11,343!Jews!from!BulgarianKoccupied!Thrace!and!Macedonia.!It’s!a! terrible!blot!on!Bulgaria’s!image,!but!at!least!Bulgaria!protected!Jews!of!Bulgarian! nationality.!
! Bulgarian!Jews!were!subjected!to!antisemitic!restrictions! Nichev’s!film!revolves!around!the!friendship!between!two!young!men,!Moni!(Kristiyan! Markarov),!a!Jew,!and!Giogio!(Stefan!Popov),!a!Christian.!They!enjoy!each!other’s!company! and!compete!for!the!affections!of!Sheli!(Anjela!Nedyalkova),!a!fetching!Jewish!woman!from! a!lakeside!resort!in!Thrace.! The!film,!in!the!very!first!scene,!establishes!the!antisemitic!atmosphere!prevailing!in! Bulgaria.!Moni,!a!yellow!Star!of!David!label!affixed!to!his!lapel,!is!rudely!ejected!from!a! crowded!room!by!a!policeman.!The!Jewish!curfew!has!begun,!the!cop!says.! Moni!lives!at!home!with!his!father,!Moise!(Moni!Monoshov),!sister!Mazal!and!grandmother! Fortune.!They’re!acutely!aware!that!the!curtain!is!coming!down!on!the!Jewish!community,! but!they!try!to!carry!on!as!usual.!Mazal!upsets!Moise!when!she!announces!her!intention!to! marry!her!boyfriend,!Isak.!Moise!objects!because!he!wants!a!sonKinKlaw!who’s!a!“man!of! influence.”! The!antiKJewish!motif!returns!in!a!scene!that!unfolds!in!the!Department!of!Jewish!Affairs.! Dannecker,!the!SS!representative!in!Bulgaria,!berates!Belev,!the!Bulgarian!official!in!charge! of!implementing!antisemitic!measures.!“Why!are!things!moving!so!slowly!here?”!he!asks! impatiently.! A!chastened!Belev!proceeds!to!reprimand!an!aide,!asking!why!the!Star!of!David!label!worn! by!Bulgarian!Jews!is!so!small!and!inconspicuous.!Venting!yet!more!steam,!as!Allied!bombs! fall!on!Sofia,!Bulgaria’s!capital,!Belev!blames!Bulgarian!Jews!for!having!embroiled!Bulgaria! in!the!war.! The!Jews!of!Bulgaria!are!not!subjected!to!physical!violence,!but!their!secondKclass!status!is!a! source!of!pain!and!humiliation.!As!an!elderly!Jew!tartly!observes,!the!world!is!divided!into! countries!where!Jews!are!forbidden!to!live!and!where!they’re!refused!entry.! Midway!through!Bulgarian$Rhapsody,!the!police!confiscate!the!radios!of!Jews.!Giogio’s! father,!an!official!in!the!Department!of!Jewish!affairs,!orders!him!to!sever!ties!with!Moni,!but! he!refuses.!Giogio’s!refusal!is!part!of!a!larger!process!of!Bulgarian!refusal!to!comply!with!all! of!Germany’s!demands!with!respect!to!Jews.!Indeed,!Belev!informs!Dannecker!that! thousands!of!Bulgarians!are!opposed!to!antisemitism.! This!may!be!true,!but!some!Jews,!like!Mazal,!have!lost!their!faith!in!Bulgaria.!She!and!Isak! announce!they’ve!booked!passage!on!a!ship!bound!for!Palestine.!
Bulgarian$Rhapsody!exposes!the!tragedy!that!enveloped!the!Jews!of!wartime!Bulgaria.! Nichev!coaxes!fine!performances!from!his!cast,!but!his!film!is!flaccid!in!terms!of!pacing!and! intensity.! Michael!Verhoeven’s!feature!film,!Let’s$Go!,!focuses!on!a!Jewish!family!that!sets!down!roots! in!West!Germany!after!World!War!II.!The!Stegers!are!Polish!Jews!who!found!themselves!in! Germany!in!the!wake!of!the!Holocaust!and!remained!there,!like!thousands!of!Jewish! survivors!from!eastern!and!central!Europe.!
! Jews!passing!as!Germans! Majer!(Maxim!Mehmet)!and!his!wife,!Hela!(Katharina!Nesytowa),!though!traumatized!by! their!mistreatment!during!the!war,!are!determined!to!start!a!new!life!in!the!country!that! persecuted!them.!While!Majer’s!brother!and!his!wife!immigrate!to!the!United!States!for!a! fresh!start,!Majer!and!Hela!open!an!inn!in!a!small!town!in!Bavaria.! They’re!Jews!in!the!privacy!of!their!home!and!among!fellow!Jews,!but!in!public,!they!conceal! their!Jewishness,!pretending!to!be!Germans!and!instructing!their!first!daughter,!Laura,!to!do! the!same.!Laura!grows!up!as!a!conflicted!and!rebellious!person,!marries!a!childhood!friend! and!resettles!in!Los!Angeles.! The!film!shifts!back!and!forth!in!time,!starting!in!1947,!when!Hela!is!pregnant!with!Laura,! and!coming!to!a!close!in!1968,!when!Laura!(Alice!Dwyer)!returns!to!West!Germany!for!her! father’s!funeral.!It’s!apparent!that!Laura!and!her!mother!have!had!a!poor!relationship,! possibly!because!Laura!resents!the!way!in!which!she!was!brought!up.! The!film’s!title!is!a!reference!to!a!phrase!an!American!soldier!used!when!he!liberated!Majer! from!the!Dachau!concentration!camp.! Let’s$Go!!explores!an!issue!in!postwar!German!Jewish!life!that!most!Jews!would!rather!have! swept!under!the!rug.!Thanks!to!Verhoeven’s!directorial!skills!and!a!plausible!cast,!the!film! leaves!us!with!a!lot!to!mull!over.!
! Repost:!http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK4/!
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!(5)! By:!Sheldon!Kirshner!|!April!16,!2015! http://sheldonkirshner.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK5/! ! This!year’s!edition!of!the!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!which!runs!from!April!30!to! May!10,!offers!a!terrific!selection!of!films.!
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A$preview:! Isaac!Bashevis!Singer,!the!great!Yiddish!novelist!and!short!story!writer,!was! an!upKandKcoming!literary!figure!in!Poland!before!he!left!the!country!for!good! in!1935.!He!established!a!readership!after!immigrating!to!the!United!States,! but!to!the!vast!majority!of!American!Jews!who!could!not!read!his!serialized! stories!and!novels!in!the!Forward,$America’s!largest!Yiddish!newspaper,!he! was!still!an!unknown!quantity.! Singer,!a!hustler!and!selfKpromoter,!understood!that!he!could!only!find!an! international!audience,!and!thereby!achieve!real!fame,!if!his!pieces!were! published!in!English.!Singer’s!path!to!celebrity!was!paved!by!a!group!of! English!translators,!nearly!all!of!whom!were!American!Jewish!women.!The$ Muses$of$I.B.$Singer!tells!this!largely!unknown!facet!of!his!career!in!grand!style! through!interviews!with!the!translators!and!file!footage.!
! I.B.!Singer!and!his!translators! Singer’s!first!translator!was!actually!Saul!Bellow,!the!novelist,!who! translated$Gimpel$the$Fool!into!English.!But!Bellow!didn’t!last!long.!Singer’s! novel!attracted!attention!and!sold!well,!but!Singer!was!not!too!happy.!Being! insecure,!he!feared!that!Bellow!would!get!all!the!credit.!He!disengaged!from! Bellow!and!created!a!corps!of!new!translators.! In!his!youth,!Singer!—!a!highly!sexual!person!with!a!vivid!erotic!imagination! —!had!dreamed!of!harems!of!women.!Now,!as!a!struggling!novelist!in!a! strange!new!land,!he!dreamed!of!translators.! Evelyn!Beck!was!a!PhD!student!at!the!University!of!Wisconsin!when!he!Singer! approached!her.!Surprised!and!elated!by!his!request,!Beck!translated!a! number!of!his!short!stories.!Dvorah!Telushkin,!who!worked!for!Singer!for!14! years,!recalls!that!he!was!indefatigable.!Singer!would!say,!“We!will!polish!it! until!it!shines.”! Janet!Hadda,!who!became!Singer’s!biographer,!believes!he!would!not!have! won!the!Nobel!Prize!for!literature!in!1978!had!his!works!been!accessible!only! in!Yiddish.!Hadda!raises!another!important!point!about!him.!She!recalls!that! Singer,!a!married!man,!made!a!pass!at!her!and!that!she!deflected!his!overtures! because!she!had!no!desire!to!sleep!with!a!senior.!Hadda!claims!that!Singer! had!sex!with!quite!a!few!of!his!translators,!but!she!does!does!not!offer!details.!
Singer’s!other!translators,!Florence!Noiville!and!MarieKPierre!Bay,!do!not! mention!this!aspect!of!his!personality.!Nor!does!Doba!Gerber,!Singer’s! proofreader!and!the!person!who!supposedly!inspired!one!of!his!finest! novels,!Enemies:$A$Love$Story.! Singer!loved!his!wife,!Alma,!a!German!Jew!whom!he!met!at!a!Catskills!resort! when!she!was!married!to!another!man.!Alma!must!have!been!quite!a!woman.! She!supported!Singer!when!he!was!living!a!hand!to!mouth!existence,! translated!one!of!his!stories!and!tolerated!his!affairs.!There’s!a!telling!scene!in! the!movie!in!which!she!lovingly!serves!him!tea!or!coffee!as!he!sits!at!his!desk! and!looks!up!at!her!in!gratitude.! As!the!film!points!out,!Singer!was!in!a!serious!relationship!with!a!Jewish! woman!in!Poland.!When!he!emigrated,!he!promised!he!would!send!for!her,! but!never!did.!In!the!meantime,!she!gave!birth!to!a!son!and!brought!him!up!in! Israel.!Singer!reconnected!with!his!son!—!who!translated!some!of!his!stories! into!Hebrew!—!but!not!with!his!exKlover.! ***! If!you!had!been!a!teenager!between!1958!and!1962,!you!probably!would!have! tuned!in!to!the!pop!songs!of!Neil!Sedaka,!the!master!of!the!twoKandKaKhalf! minute!single!record.!During!that!period,!he!and!his!lyricist,!Howie!Greenfield,! wrote!a!string!of!hits!—!Oh!$Carol,!Breaking$Up$Is$Hard$To$Do,!Little$ Devil,!Happy$Birthday,$Sweet$Sixteen!andCalendar$Girl$—$that!sold!a! phenomenal!25!million!copies.!
! But!as!musical!tastes!changed!with!the!emergence!of!rock!n’!roll!bands!like! the!Beatles!and!the!Rolling!Stones,!Sedaka’s!popularity!waned.!Yesterday’s!
celebrity!was!today’s!nonentity.!Forced!to!reinvent!himself,!Sedaka!succeeded! in!making!a!comeback.! George!Scott’s!BBC!bouncy!biopic,!Neil$Sedaka:$King$of$Song,!traces!his!ascent! from!a!boyhood!of!poverty!in!Brooklyn!to!international!stardom.! Sedaka,!the!son!of!a!Sephardic!taxi!driver,!was!to!music!born.!“It’s!my!whole! life,”!he!says.!Recognizing!his!gifts,!his!parents!crimped!and!saved!to!buy!him! a!piano.!The!sacrifice!paid!off.!At!the!age!of!nine,!he!won!a!scholarship!to! Julliard.! He!wrote!his!first!song,!Mr.$Moon,!at!16,!belting!it!out!to!adulation!at!a!school! concert.!He!knew!then!and!there!that!he!wanted!to!be!famous.!Gone!were!the! dreams!of!playing!Chopin!as!a!concert!pianist.!There!were!rejections!as!he! and!Greenfield!struggled!to!break!into!show!business,!but!after!impressing! the!singer!Connie!Francis!with!their!song,!Stupid,$Cupid,!the!boys!were!on! their!way.!Stupid,$Cupid!became!the!first!rock!n’!roll!hit!sung!by!a!female! vocalist.! Sedaka,!an!upbeat!figure,!recalls!these!moments!as!he!plays!his!classics!on!a! piano.! Being!very!close!to!his!mother,!Sedaka!turned!over!his!earnings!to!her.!After! his!career!temporarily!tanked,!he!discovered!that!she!and!her!boyfriend,!his! manager,!had!spent!virtually!every!penny!he!had!earned.!On!the!advice!of!a! new!manager,!Sedaka!attempted!to!recharge!his!fortunes!in!Britain,!where!he! performed!in!men’s!night!clubs.! By!chance,!he!met!the!singer!Elton!John,!who!was!in!the!process!of!forming!a! record!company.!John!liked!Sedaka’s!songs,!and!the!pair!meshed.!Bouncing! back!from!adversity,!he!recorded!three!hits!in!1975!—!Laughter$in$the$ Rain,!Love$Will$Keep$Us$Together!andBad$Blood.!He’s!never!looked!back,! proving!the!old!adage!that!perseverance!pays.! ***! John!Goldschmidt!kneads!Dough!into!a!nice!British!comedy.! His!chief!character,!Nat!Dayan!(Jonathan!Pryce),!is!an!Orthodox!Jewish!baker! who!runs!a!kosher!bakery!in!a!seedy!part!of!town!almost!singleKhandedly.! The!shop!has!been!in!his!family!for!a!century,!but!Dayan!has!no!successor.!His! son,!a!Cambridge!university!graduate,!is!a!lawyer!and!has!no!interest!in!the! bakery.! !
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A!Jewish!baker!and!his!African!apprentice! Dayan,!a!man!of!habit!who’s!roused!at!4!a.m.!by!an!alarm!clock,!works!in! tandem!with!an!assistant.!But!one!day,!he’s!left!high!and!dry!when!his! employee!quits.!He!advertises!for!an!apprentice!to!fill!his!place,!and!Ayyash! (Jerome!Holder)!—!an!African!immigrant!who!sells!cannabis!for!a!drug! pusher!—!turns!up.! Being!desperately!shortKhanded,!Dayan!hires!Ayyash,!but!it’s!not!exactly!a! match!made!in!heaven.!Ayyash,!a!Sudanese!Muslim!whose!patient!mother!is! trying!to!keep!him!on!the!straight!and!narrow,!looks!down!on!Jews.!Dayan! himself!is!wary!of!Muslims.!Against!all!odds,!the!pair!bond.!Ayyash,!a!fast! learner,!impresses!Dayan!with!his!newlyKacquired!skills.!Business!picks!up! tremendously!as!the!bakery!attracts!a!new!type!of!clientele! Maybe!Dayan!won’t!have!to!sell!the!bakery!to!Sam!Cotton!(Philip!Davis),!a! rapacious!and!bigoted!entrepreneur!who!has!big!plans!for!the!building.! Meanwhile,!a!lonely!widow!named!Joanna!Silverman!(Pauline!Collins)! pursues!Dayan,!who’s!still!in!mourning!over!his!wife’s!death.! Dough,!puffed!up!by!a!credible!script!and!an!ensemble!of!appropriatelyKcast! actors,!is!an!amusing!romp!into!the!realm!of!cultural!dissonance.! ! Repost:!http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK5/! ! !
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Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!(6)! By:!Sheldon!Kirshner!|!April!17,!2015! http://sheldonkirshner.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK6/! !
The!10Kday!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival,!one!of!the!largest!of!its!kind!in! the!world,!gets!under!way!on!April!30!with!a!huge!selection!of!movies! from!all!corners!of!the!globe.!
! A$preview:! Zionism!and!Israel!loom!large!at!the!forthcoming!festival,!judging!by! three!films:!The$Zionist$Idea,An$Untold$Diplomatic$History:$France$and$ Israel$Since$1948!and!Haven.! Joseph!Dorman’s!and!Oren!Rudavsky’s!two!hourKplus!documentary,!The$ Zionist$Idea,!is!nothing!if!not!thorough.!It!examines!the!evolution!of!the! modern!Zionist!movement!from!the!1880s!onward!and!the!birth!of!the! Jewish!state!in!1948.! Dorman!and!Rudavsky!try!to!achieve!a!sense!of!balance!and!nuance! through!the!medium!of!interviews!with!Israeli!Jews!and!Palestinian! Arabs,!some!of!whom!are!citizens!of!Israel.!They!throw!in!vintage! photographs!and!file!footage!to!bulk!up!their!film,!which!is!alternatively! informative,!sober,!impassioned!and!didactic.! The!tone!is!set!at!the!very!outset.!
Hillel!Halkin,!an!Israeli!writer!with!a!conservative!bent,!describes! Zionism!as!a!movement!whose!objective!was!to!normalize!Jewish! existence!and!bring!about!a!revolution!in!Jewish!life.!Orly!Noy,!a!leftK wing!peace!activist,!compares!Zionism!to!a!person!who!jumps!out!of!a! burning!building!and!lands!on!someone’s!head.! Hanan!Ashrawi,!a!member!of!the!PLO’s!executive!committee,!takes!up! the!thread!of!Noy’s!argument!with!her!claim!that!Zionism,!for!all!its! material!accomplishments,!failed!because!it’s!oppressive!and!exclusive! with!respect!to!the!Palestinians.! Jumping!back!to!the!late!19th!century,!the!film!notes!that!the!1881! pogroms!in!Russia!prompted!three!Jewish!responses.!Two!million!Jews! immigrated!to!the!United!States.!Still!other!Jews!turned!to!socialism!or! Jewish!nationalism,!of!which!Leo!Pinsker!was!an!ardent!advocate.!In!his! groundKbreaking!volume,!Autoemancipation,!he!wrote,!“Jews!must!exist! as!a!nation.”!
! Theodor!Herzl!in!Basel,!1897! Young!Russian!Jews!burning!with!Zionist!zeal!arrived!in!Palestine,!an! Ottoman!backwater,!and!established!settlements!like!Zichron!Yaakov!in! the!spirit!of!Tolstoyan!idealism.!A!Viennese!journalist!named!Theodor! Herzl,!grappling!with!the!failure!of!Jews!to!integrate!themselves!into! European!society!due!to!endemic!antisemitism,!founded!the!political! Zionist!movement.!Zionism,!deeply!steeped!in!secularism,!was!thus!a!
European!phenomenon,!influenced!and!inspired!by!European! nationalist!movements.! Halkin!makes!a!good!point!in!arguing!that!Zionism!had!an!ambivalent! relationship!with!Judaism,!affirming!yet!rejecting!it.!Meron!Benvenisti,! the!former!deputy!mayor!of!Jerusalem,!says!that!Zionism!attempted!to! create!a!“new!land”!for!a!“new!people.”! The!filmmakers!correctly!call!the!1917!Balfour!Declaration!—!the! seminal!British!letter!which!recognized!the!right!of!Jews!to!a!Jewish! homeland!in!Palestine!—!the!first!international!recognition!of!Zionism.! It!was!a!singular!victory!for!the!Zionist!movement,!notwithstanding!the! fact!that!Jews!comprised!only!six!percent!of!Palestine’s!population.! The!Balfour!Declaration!was!a!wakeup!call!for!its!Arab!inhabitants.! From!that!point!onward,!Palestinian!nationalism!was!at!war!with! Zionism.!Starting!in!the!early!1920s,!bouts!of!organized!Arab!violence! shook!the!Yishuv,!the!Jewish!community! Under!the!British!Mandate,!the!Yishuv!grew!rapidly.!This!was! particularly!true!after!the!rise!of!fascism!in!Europe.!More!than!174,000! Jewish!refugees!arrived!in!Palestine!within!a!three!year!period!after! 1933,!doubling!Palestine’s!Jewish!population.! The!1947!Palestine!partition!plan,!accepted!by!the!majority!of!Jews,!was! rejected!by!the!Palestinians.!The!first!ArabKIsraeli!war!resulted!in!the! flight!of!700,000!Palestinians!from!their!homes,!but!the!film!leaves!the! impression!that!the!Haganah!—!the!main!Jewish!fighting!force!—!was! not!guided!by!an!official!policy!of!expulsion,!but!that!Transjordan’s!Arab! Legion!forcibly!expelled!Jews!from!eastern!Jerusalem.!As!a!result,!there! was!an!implicit!population!exchange,!says!Tel!Aviv!University!professor! Anita!Shapira.! When!the!war!ended,!Israel!had!oneKthird!more!territory!than!it!had! been!entitled!to!under!the!UN!partition!plan.!The!birth!of!Israel!aroused! deep!enmity!in!the!Arab!world,!forcing!hundreds!of!thousands!of!Jews!to! emigrate!from!Arab!lands.!Most!of!them!ended!up!in!Israel.! The$Zionist$Idea!spends!considerable!time!on!the!Six!Day!War!and!its! fallout.!Israel’s!conquest!of!the!West!Bank!—!Judea!and!Samaria!—!was! a!watershed,!giving!Israel!control!of!historic!Palestine.!The!war! unleashed!what!one!Israeli!scholar!describes!as!“redemptive!messianic! forces.”!Gush!Emunim,!which!sought!to!build!settlements!in!the!West!
Bank,!became!the!vanguard!of!Zionism.!Several!of!its!leaders,!including! Yoel!Ben!Nun,!are!interviewed.!
! Jewish!settlers!in!West!Bank! The!Likud’s!victory!in!the!1977!election!is!rightly!assessed!as!the! moment!the!rightKwing!Zionist!Revisionist!movement,!with!Menachem! Begin!at!the!helm,!assumed!power!in!Israel.!Begin,!an!admirer!and! supporter!of!the!settlement!project,!ordered!the!construction!of!dozens! of!settlements!to!prevent!the!emergence!of!a!Palestinian!state.! The!first!Palestinian!uprising!broke!out!in!1987!and!became!a!source!of! concern!to!middleKofKtheKroad!Israelis!such!as!the!writer!and! commentator!Yossi!Klein!Halevi,!an!American!immigrant!who!made! aliyah!in!1982.!The!price!of!maintaining!the!“legitimate!Jewish!claim!to! Judea!and!Samaria”!had!become!intolerable,!he!observes.! Yitzhak!Rabin,!twice!Israel’s!prime!minister,!accepted!partition!as!a! principle!before!and!after!the!signing!of!the!1993!Oslo!accord.!Rabin’s! assassination!at!the!hands!of!Yigal!Amir,!a!farKright!Jewish!nationalist,! exacerbated!the!left/right!schisms!dividing!Israelis!along!ideological! lines.! The$Zionist$Idea!reaches!its!denouement!as!Mordechai!BarKOn,!an!exK Israeli!general,!laments!the!rightward!direction!Zionism!has!taken!since! the!Six!Day!War.!An!old!school!Israeli!patriot!whose!sonKinKlaw!is!a!
Palestinian,!he!expresses!sadness!that!contemporary!Zionism!has! cornered!itself!into!the!belief!that!only!the!Jewish!people!have!a!rightful! claim!to!historic!Palestine.! ***! Until!the!1967!Six!Day!War,!Israel!and!France!were!bound!together!in! an!unusually!close!relationship.!It!all!soured!in!a!welter!of!mutual! recriminations,!proving!the!adage!that!relations!between!nations!are! based!on!interests!rather!than!friendship.!That’s!the!theme!of!Camille! Clavelle’s!weighty!documentary,!An$Untold$Diplomatic$History:$France$ and$Israel$Since$1948.! The!title!is!misleading.!Israel’s!relations!with!France!have!been! documented!in!monographs!and!books!by!a!plethora!of!scholars,!but! this!may!be!the!first!comprehensive!film!on!the!topic.!
! The!Exodus!set!off!from!a!port!in!France! France,!after!the!antisemitic!Vichy!interregnum,!became!a!hub!for!illegal! Jewish!immigration!to!British!Palestine.!Lest!it!be!forgotten,!the!Exodus,! a!ship!filled!with!Jewish!Holocaust!survivors,!set!off!from!the!French! port!of!Sete.! Although!it!had!clear!interests!in!the!Arab!world,!France!voted!for!the! 1947!United!Nations!Palestine!partition!plan,!one!of!33!countries!to!do! so.!In!Clavelle’s!judgment,!France!and!Israel!formed!an!alliance!after! Egypt’s!nationalization!of!the!Suez!Canal!in!1956.!France!calculated!that! the!demise!of!Egyptian!President!Gamal!Abdel!Nasser!would!ensure!a! French!victory!in!the!war!in!Algeria.!
The!military!campaign!against!Egypt!was!planned!by!France,!Britain!and! Israel!in!the!French!town!of!Sevres.!Shimon!Peres,!who!served!as!Israeli! Prime!Minister!David!BenKGurion’s!aide,!discusses!that!meeting.! France’s!relations!with!Israel!deepened!after!the!1956!war.!Apart!from! selling!weaponry!to!Israel,!France!agreed!to!build!an!atomic!reactor!in! Dimona.!“There!was!a!feeling!of!great!friendship!and!closeness,”!says! former!Israeli!diplomat!Paul!Kedar.!
! An!Israeli!army!patrol!in!the!Sinai!Peninsula!in!1956! French!intellectuals!on!the!left,!as!exemplified!by!JeanKPaul!Sartre,! supported!Israel.!And!the!kibbutz!was!regarded!as!a!miracle!in!the! desert.! Charles!de!Gaulle,!France’s!new!president,!loosened!the!bonds,!though! BenKGurion!visited!France!in!1960!and!1961,!When!France!informed! Israel!it!intended!to!end!its!secret!program!of!nuclear!cooperation,! Peres!warned!the!French!foreign!minister!that!he!would!publicize!its! details!and!thereby!embarrass!France.!Cowed!by!the!threat,!France! agreed!to!finish!building!the!Dimona!reactor.! The!incident!was!a!foretaste!of!things!to!come.! On!the!eve!of!the!Six!Day!War,!de!Gaulle!told!Israeli!Foreign!Minister! Abba!Eban,!“Don’t!fire!the!first!shot.”!De!Gaulle,!certain!that!Nasser!had!
no!intention!of!going!to!war,!feared!that!Soviet!intervention!would! spark!a!world!war.!
! Charles!de!Gaulle! Three!days!before!hostilities!erupted,!de!Gaulle!announced!an!arms! embargo.!Five!months!later,!in!an!antisemitic!diatribe,!he!denigrated! Jews!as!an!“elite,”domineering”!and!“selfKassured”!people.!And!he! blasted!Israel’s!occupation!of!the!West!Bank!and!Gaza!Strip,!correctly! warning!that!it!would!produce!an!outpouring!of!Palestinian!terrorism.! Samy!Cohen,!a!French!scholar,!says!that!de!Gaulle’s!comments! traumatized!French!Jews!and!Israel!and!spelled!the!end!of!Israel’s! entente!with!France.! France!adopted!a!policy!calling!for!Israel’s!withdrawal!from!the! occupied!territories!in!exchange!for!a!peace!agreement!with!the!Arabs.! DeGaulle!imposed!a!total!arms!embargo!on!Israel!after!Israel’s!daring! raid!on!Beirut!airport!in!December!1968.!France!withheld!50!Mirage! jets!Israel!had!bought.!De!Gaulle’s!successor,!Maurice!Pompidou,! honored!de!Gaulle’s!policy,!forcing!Israel!to!acquire!Mirage!blueprints! by!stealth!and!to!make!off!with!highKspeed!patrol!boats!from!the!port!of! Cherbourgh.! The!next!president,!Valery!Giscard!d’Estaing,!distanced!France!even! further!away!from!Israel!as!he!cultivated!ties!with!Arab!states!and!the!
PLO.!His!successor,!Francois!Mitterrand,!normalized!relations!with! Israel!while!calling!for!the!creation!of!a!Palestinian!state.! The!1982!Israeli!invasion!of!Lebanon!soured!Israel’s!relations!with! France.!The!Sabra!and!Shatila!massacre,!which!occurred!toward!the! close!of!that!war,!eroded!Israel’s!image!and!heightened!sympathy!for! the!Palestinians!in!France,!says!Jacques!Huntzinger,!a!former!French! ambassador!to!Israel.!
! Jacques!Chirac! President!Jacques!Chirac!tried!to!be!evenKhanded,!but!a!mob!scene!in! East!Jerusalem!in!which!he!was!involved!triggered!a!cause!celebre!and! ruffled!feathers.!President!Nicolas!Sarkozy,!widely!considered!to!be! Israel’s!friend,!infuriated!Israel!by!suggesting!that!the!Palestinian! Authority’s!status!at!the!United!Nations!should!be!upgraded.! The!film!suggests!that!the!Arab!Spring!rebellions!have!shifted!France’s! attention!away!from!the!ArabKIsraeli!conflict.!But!this!supposition!has! been!overtaken!by!events.!According!to!the!latest!news,!France!may! soon!sponsor!a!United!Nations!resolution!on!Palestinian!statehood.! ***! Amikam!Kovner’s!Haven!unfolds!during!the!Second!Lebanon!War!as! Hezbollah!missiles!drive!civilians!in!vulnerable!northern!Israeli!towns!
to!the!coastal!plain.!Two!of!these!warKscarred!refugees,!Motti!and!Keren,! find!temporary!refuge!in!the!cramped!Tel!Aviv!apartment!of!Yali!(Lana! Ettinger)!and!her!husband,!Boaz!(Nevo!Kimchi).! Motti!(Oshri!Cohen),!a!talkative!fellow,!is!grateful!for!the!hospitality.!“All! Israelis!are!brothers,”!he!gushes.!
! Haven!unfolds!during!the!war!in!Lebanon!in!2006! “They!seem!like!a!nice!couple,”!Yali!tells!Boaz.! The!secular!hosts!soon!realize!that!their!guests!are!observant!Jews!and! therefore!out!of!sync!with!their!values!and!opinions.!Motti!asks!for! disposable!plates,!since!he!eats!only!kosher!food.!Boaz!and!Motti!clash! over!an!anticipated!ceasefire!between!Israel!and!Hezbollah.!As!Boaz! grows!weary!of!his!guests,!Motti!casts!carnal!eyes!on!Yali.!As!the!sparks! fly,!pentKup!tensions!build!up!between!Boaz!and!Yali.! Haven,!ably!directed!by!Kovner,!is!a!taut!psychological!drama!with!a!fine! cast.! !
Repost:!http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/torontoKjewishKfilmKfestivalK6/! !
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23rd!Annual!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!Full! Lineup! By:!Shael!Stolberg!|!April!27,!2015! http://filmbutton.com/mainpage/?p=16849! !
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PLEASE$CLICK$ON$IMAGE$TO$VIEW$FESTIVAL$WEBSITE! TORONTO!–!Anarchists!and!superheroes,!motherKdaughter! relationships,!The!Twilight!Zone,!Canadian!archival!gems,!Robert! Redford’s!first!big!role….!All!this!and!much!more!will!be!unleashed!at! the!2015!Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival!(TJFF),!running!April!30!to!May! 10,!at!various!venues!across!the!city.! Showcasing!110!films!from!18!countries,!two!International!Premieres,! four!North!American!Premieres,!and!46!Canadian!Premieres,!this!year’s! TJFF!is!a!film!festival!lover’s!dream.! TJFF!2015′s!exceptional!selection!of!features!range!from!powerful,! critically!acclaimed!dramas,!to!lightKhearted!comedies,!and!dark! psychological!thrillers.!Among!them:!The)Kindergarten)Teacher,!a! complex!morality!tale!on!a!teacher’s!obsession!with!her!student’s! extraordinary!talent!(selected!as!part!of!Critics!Week!series!at! Cannes);!Dough,!an!endearing!comedy!starring!Jonathan!Pryce,!set!in! London’s!East!End;!Bulgaria’s!2015!Oscar®!submission!Bulgarian) Rhapsody,!a!comingKofKage!love!story!set!during!the!Second!World! War;!You)Must)Be)Joking,!a!20Ksomething!New!Yorker’s!quest!to!find! meaning!beyond!her!paralegal!job;!Atlit,!a!comical,!dramatic!and! touching!story!on!the!bond!of!sisterhood;!and!Let’s)Go!>,!the!new!film! from!acclaimed!director!Michael!Verhoeven!(The)Nasty)Girl).! TJFF!has!also!lined!up!a!remarkable!list!of!documentaries,!including:! Irwin!and!Fran,!a!loving!and!hilarious!portrait!of!shouldKbeKlegendary!
comedian!and!satirist!“Professor”!Irwin!Corey,!who!Lenny!Bruce! called!“one$of$the$most$brilliant$comedians$of$all$time”;!The)Muses)of) Isaac)Bashevis)Singer,!a!look!at!the!complex!life!of!this!Nobel!laureate,! as!seen!through!the!eyes!of!his!over!40!female!translators,!who!doubled! as!sources!of!inspiration;!Forbidden!Films,!a!provocative!investigation! into!the!propagandistic!content!of!over!40!banned!features!produced!in! Nazi!Germany;!The)Polgar)Variant,!the!fascinating!story!of!the!Polgar! sisters!raised!in!isolation!in!communist!Budapest!to!become!chess! Grandmasters;!Look)at)Us)Now,)Mother!,!director!Gayle! Kirschenbaum’s!endearingly!honest!exploration!into!her!relationship! with!her!exceptionally!critical!mother;!and!Hebrew)Superheroes,!an! energetic!cinematic!treat!that!traces!the!littleKknown!history!of!Israeli! comix.! While!best!known!for!his!beloved!cult!sciKfi!television!series!The) Twilight)Zone,!TJFF!will!offer!the!unique!chance!to!see!some!of!Rod! Serling’s!rarelyKscreened!works.!These!include!a!1960!episode!from!the! Playhouse!90!series,In)the)Presence)of)Mine)Enemies,!Serling’s! powerful!drama!set!during!the!Warsaw!Ghetto!uprising,!and!starring! Charles!Laughton!and!Robert!Redford!in!his!first!major!role;!and!the! poignant!drama!A)Storm)in)Summer,!which!explores!the!unexpected! friendship!between!a!Jewish!Deli!owner!(played!by!Peter!Ustinov)!and! an!underprivileged!black!youth.!Rod!Serling’s!daughter,!Anne!Serling,! author!of!the!acclaimed!memoir!As)I)Knew)Him:)My)Dad,)Rod)Serling,! will!be!in!attendance!to!give!a!talk!about!her!father.! TJFF’s!nod!to!the!small!screen!continues!with!some!exceptional!binge! watching,!including!the!first!10!episodes!of!the!intensely!addictive! Israeli!series!Hostages;!as!well!as!four!episodes!of!the!hit,!awardK winning!series!Transparent,!which!will!be!followed!by!a!discussion! with!Rabbi!Susan!Goldberg,!consultant!to!the!show.! In!commemoration!of!recently!lost,!beloved!artists!and!icons,!TJFF!will! screen$The)Go)Go)Boys:)The)Inside)Story)of)Cannon)Films(Menahem! Golan),!Bess)Myerson:)Portrait)of)an)Activist)(Bess!Myerson),!Nichols) &)May:)Take)Two!(Mike!Nichols),!It)Takes)a)Shtetl:)Leonard)Nimoy’s) Boston!(Leonard!Nimoy),!and!Making)Trouble:)Joan)Rivers)(the! Oscars®!didn’t!honour!this!Jewish!comedy!icon,!but!TJFF!sure!will!)! For$more$info$on$the$festival$please$visit$website! !
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FCB!CAMPAIGN!SAYS!YOU!DON’T!HAVE!TO!BE! JEWISH!TO!ATTEND!TJFF! By:!Michelle!Dipardo!|!April!8,!2015! http://www.marketingmag.ca/advertising/fcbKcampaignKsaysKyouKdontKhaveKtoK beKjewishKtoKattendKtjffK142795! ! You!don’t!have!to!be!Hindu!to!practice!yoga,!or!Swedish!to!drive!a!Volvo.!You!also! don’t!need!to!be!Jewish!to!attend!the!upcoming!annual!Toronto$Jewish$Film$ Festival!(TJFF).! !
! That’s!the!message!behind!a!new!integrated!campaign!from!FCB$Toronto!and!TJFF,! which!aims!to!convince!people!that!it!would!be!silly!to!miss!out!on!a!great!cultural! experience!simply!because!they’re!not!Jewish.! The!pro!bono!campaign!includes!radio,!print,!OOH!and!digital!as!well!as!three!30K second!TV!spots!titled,!“Tacos”!“Yoga”!and!“Swedish”!that!are!running!on!CHCH!and! on!stations!within!the!Ethnic!Channels!Group.! Each!ad!depicts!people!being!questioned!about!their!activities!by!a!nosy,!offKscreen! reporter!and!concludes!with!the!message,!“You!don’t!have!to!be!Jewish!to!enjoy!the! Toronto!Jewish!Film!Festival.!Only!the!films!need!to!be!Jewish!to!get!in.”!
According!to!Jon$Flannery,!chief!creative!officer!at!FCB!Toronto,!the!effort!is!an! attempt!to!both!promote!the!festival!and!expand!TJFF’s!audience,!which!has! traditionally!leaned!towards!an!older,!primarily!Jewish!crowd.! “The!campaign!was!born!of!the!question,!‘How!come!you!don’t!go!to!the!Toronto! Jewish!Film!Festival?’!People!give!a!lot!of!reasons,!but!what!we!found!was!that!the! default!reason!was!‘because!I’m!not!Jewish,’”!Flannery!said.! “People!don’t!selfKselect!out!of!cars!they!drive,!cuisines!they!eat,!or!art!they!enjoy.! [The!campaign!is]!not!meant!to!confront!anyone!in!an!overly!serious!way,!we’re!just! playing!with!that!default!answer.”!
! FCB!Toronto!took!over!the!account!(formally!held!by!DDB!Canada)!without!a!review! in!November.!Flannery!said!he!wasn’t!sure!what!led!to!TJFF’s!interest!in!a!new! agency.!He!also!added!that!FCB!is!not!the!film!fest’s!AOR,!and!instead!referred!to!it! as,!“a!partnership!thing!and!we’ll!see!where!it!goes.”! Previous!campaigns!from!DDB!on!behalf!of!TJFF,!such!as!2013’s,!“Film.!It’s!What! Jews!Do!Best,”!earned!a!CMA!award!along!with!a!Cassie,!and!“JKDar,”!an!online!tool! which!calculates!how!“Jewish”!Hollywood!movies!are,!has!generated!more!than!six! million!media!impressions.! “They’ve!done!some!really!nice!work!in!the!past!and!it!was!a!lot!of!fun!trying!to!top! that,”!Flannery!said.! TJFF,!now!in!its!23rd!year,!offers!an!assortment!of!global!short!and!feature!films,! along!with!documentaries!that!examine!Jewish!culture!and!identity.!This!year’s! festival!runs!from!April!30!to!May!10!in!select!cinemas!across!Toronto.! Media!buying!and!PR!were!both!handled!inKhouse.!The!effort!runs!until!May!10.! !
$ All$pictures$taken$by$GAT$during$the$festival$are$available$here:! https://www.flickr.com/photos/97627695@N03/sets/721576499342 28013!
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! ! We#have#gathered#social#media#reactions#generated#at#Hot#Docs#here:# https://storify.com/gatpr/the2amina2profile5 !
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