Toronto Jewish Film Festival 2017 -­ May 4 to 14

INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED

THE GLOBE AND MAIL APRIL 4 TJFF Artistic Director Helen Zukerman, TJFF Programme Manager Jérémie Abessira

LE MÉTROPOLITAIN APRIL 5 TJFF Programme Manager Jérémie Abessira

GOOD FOOD REVOLUTION APRIL 12 Filmmaker Chen Shelach ( Praise the Lard ), TJFF Programme Director Stuart Hands CJN APRIL 13 TJFF Artistic Director Helen Zukerman, TJFF Programme Director Stuart Hands

RADIO VOCES LATINAS APRIL 17 TJFF Programme Manager Jérémie Abessira

GRINGLISH RADIO APRIL 20 Director Manousos Manousakis ( Cloudy Sunday ) CHOQ FM APRIL 20 TJFF Programme Manager Jérémie Abessira THE HINDUSTAN TIMES APRIL 20 Musician Yossi Fine ( Mandala Beats ), Director Rebekah Reiko ( Mandala Beats ), TJFF Programme Director Stuart Hands

CJN APRIL 20 Director Rebekah Reiko ( Mandala Beats ) L’EXPRESS APRIL 21 TJFF Programme Manager Jérémie Abessira

QUILL & QUIRE APRIL 21 Author Charles Foran ( Richler On-­Screen ) NEWSTALK 1010 APRIL 22 TJFF Artistic Director Helen Zukerman NEWSTALK 1010 APRIL 29 TJFF Programme Director Stuart Hands

PLAYBACK MAY 1 TJFF Artistic Director Helen Zukerman, TJFF Programme Manager Jérémie Abessira

IN THE SEATS MAY 3 Screenwriter Michael Elias ( The Frisco Kid ) RADIO REGENT -­ MIDDLE PASSAGE MAY 4 TJFF Programme Director Stuart Hands

CIUT 89.5 MAY 4 Director Ferenc Török ( 1945 )

RADIO REGENT -­ FRAMELINE MAY 4 Director Naomi Wise ( Rhoda )

CP24 -­ LIVE AT 10 MAY 4 Director Sheila McCarthy ( Russet Season )

680 NEWS MAY 4 TJFF Artistic Director Helen Zukerman

JEWISH CURRENTS MAY 8 Director Ferenc Török ( 1945 )

CTV TORONTO NEWS AT 11 MAY 8 Director Sheila McCarthy ( Russet Season ), Actor Bram Morrison ( Russet Season )

ICI RADIO-­CANADA – L’heure de pointe MAY 9 Director Édith Jorish ( The Heir ) ICI RADIO-­CANADA – L’heure de pointe MAY 10 Director Malik Chibane ( The Children of Chance )

THE GLOBE AND MAIL -­ April 27, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Foundation embraces shtickle of innovation for 25th anniversary http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/toronto-­jewish-­film-­foundation-­embraces-­shtickle-­of-­innovation-­for-­25th-­anniversary/article34827766/

Toronto Jewish Film Foundation embraces shtickle of innovation for 25th

anniversary

BARRY HERTZ

Published Thursday, Apr. 27, 2017 10:40AM EDT

Last updated Thursday, Apr. 27, 2017 10:44AM EDT

A few years ago, Helen Zukerman found herself sitting in a meeting, contemplating what her organization, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, would do to mark its upcoming 25th anniversary. The milestone is no small feat, so littered is the Toronto film scene with competing festivals, all struggling to grow and broaden their audiences in the shadow of giants such as TIFF and Hot Docs.

So Zukerman, the founder and artistic director of the TJFF, mulled a few 25th-­anniversary hooks. She could throw a massive, city-­shaking party. But everyone threw parties. She could cobble together an archive,

perhaps along the stature of TIFF’s immense Film Reference Library. But that sounded too formal, too old-­school. Then Zukerman glanced at the shelves surrounding her. Thousands of DVDs lined the TJFF office, memories of festivals past, all now gathering dust.

“I thought, what a shame, people put their souls and lives and maxed out their credit cards to make these films, and once they made the festival rounds, they sit on a shelf,” Zukerman says. “People always ask us, ‘Do you remember showing X, Y, Z film four or five years ago? What happened to it?’ Well, it’s here.”

Read more: Hot Docs 2017 -­ The Globe’s guide to North America’s largest documentary festival

Which is when Jeremie Abessira, operations manager for TJFF, had an idea. Instead of a tangible archive, why not build an interactive digital hub that allows instant access to a history of Jewish cinema? Now, Abessira and his team have launched TJFF Online , an ambitious new streaming hub that’s the next logical step of a film archive, and might portend the future of film festivals themselves. Simply visit the TJFF’s website, select a film of interest and start playing it on the device of your choice, for free.

“An archive sounded so sterile. And the way technology was going, we knew we had to do something interactive,” Zukerman says. “The very nature of filmgoing has changed, so we should change with it.”

It’s an idea that’s put the TJFF (which this year rebranded itself as the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation) in league with premiere film fests across the world, if not ahead of the curve. While arts organizations such as the National Film Board have invested in making their catalogues available free to stream, other players big and small employ VOD services that only operate on a pay-­per-­view or subscription model, including such giants as Venice and Sundance, and more comparable organizations to the TJFF such as the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and the JCC Manhattan’s Israeli Film Center .

TIFF, for its part, has toyed with a similar concept, but is not committing to it at the moment. “This is not something as a brand we are forging into at this time,” said Rachel Noonan, director of marketing, communications and strategy for TIFF. “We have experimented over the years, and will continue to explore what our audiences need and how we can bring it to them online and at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.”

Hot Docs , whose festival this year overlaps with the TJFF, launched a similar initiative in 2006, but abandoned it in favour of selling films via iTunes and other streaming platforms.

The current landscape, then, puts TJFF at the forefront in terms of audience accessibility – at least for now.

“We may move to a pay-­per-­view model later on, while keeping some titles for free, but this is about access for those who can’t attend the festival,” Abessira says. “Streaming is taking an important role within the film festival industry, the same way social media is now an obligation for all festivals. Not having streaming limits you to a certain target audience. Now, many people all over Canada who won’t come to the festival but might be interested in it can get a taste. And those who already come, they can continue to explore the festival they know online.”

The sheer amount of detective work needed to get the service up and running, though, might be one reason why other fests have failed to embrace the technology as warmly as the TJFF. The organization may have shelves bursting with copies of old films, but not the rights to exhibit them online. So Abessira’s team had to wade through rights-­holders and exhibitor agreements, hoping to find amenable partners.

“The biggest challenge was digging into the contracts, making sure we have the rights for a certain time, for a certain region. That took a long time,” Abessira says. “Right now, our films are only available in Canada, because we want to be respectful to our distributors.”

The TJFF is also not in the business of competing with a gigantic company such as Netflix, aiming for just 25 streamable titles this year (to mark its 25 anniversary, but to also limit administrative legwork). Currently, there are five films available, including the 1996 documentary A Tickle in the Heart and the 2007 drama Noodle.

“My hunch is that if we haven’t been able to reach some filmmakers, if word gets around about this, some may call us and say, ‘How about putting my film up there? It hasn’t played in ages,’ ” Zukerman says.

More importantly, though, the TJFF sees the service as the first step toward a bolder, more responsive future for the organization.

“Having this platform, we can decide what we celebrate,” Abessira says. “The live programming possibilities are endless. We could host Q&As, highlight the work of certain actors or filmmakers, focus on genres. This is just the beginning.”

The Toronto Jewish Film Foundation runs its 2017 festival May 4-­14 (tjff.com).

PLAYBACK ONLINE -­ May 4, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Fest celebrates 25 years with new streamer http://playbackonline.ca/2017/05/04/toronto-­jewish-­film-­fest-­celebrates-­25-­years-­with-­new-­streamer/

Toronto Jewish Film Fest celebrates 25 years with new streamer With the long-­term goal of helping grow festival audiences, TJFF Online aims to roll out 25 films this year.

By Regan Reid

The Toronto Jewish Film Festival is kicking off its 25th-­annual edition today (May 4), with more than 105 films screening over the course of the 10-­day event.

To celebrate the milestone, TJFF has also launched a new online streaming platform, TJFF Online. The platform currently features five films, all available to view for free, with plans to roll out 25 over the course of the year. The films are a selection of fan favourites from the festival’s history.

TJFF founder and artistic director Helen Zukerman told Playback Daily that she was tired of looking at the shelves in her office, jam-­packed with DVDs and VHS tapes of classic films that few people outside the non-­profit have access to. “Filmmakers spend their time maxing out their credit cards and borrowing money from anybody they can, then the films make the rounds at film festivals for a couple of years – if they’re lucky – and then they sit on the shelves,” she said.

With TJFF Online, she said, the films, which all celebrate Jewish culture and history, are available to anyone in Canada. While the goal of the platform is clearly to bring hidden gems out of hiding, Zukerman added that, in the long-­term, TJFF hopes the platform will help increase awareness for the festival. For now, she said, the platform (which is seed funded through a private donation) remains free as the festival wanted to present it as “a gift” to audiences in its 25th year. In the future, and as it expands, TJFF Online could move to a pay-­per-­view model for future films, added Zukerman.

The online streamer currently hosts German director Stefan Schwietert’s 1997 documentary A Tickle in the Heart (pictured) and the 2007 drama Noodle, directed by Israeli director Ayelet Menahemi, among others. Program manager Jeremie Abessira said part of the challenge of launching the platform has been tracking down the rights holders to get permission to put the films online, as some distributors have given up distribution rights for older films. Of those who have been tracked down, some have allowed their older works to be made available online for free, while others have asked for a “modest” licence fee, said Zukerman.

Despite the logistics of tracking down filmmakers and distributors of films that came out 25 years ago, Abessira has big plans for the platform. As TJFF adds more films online it will continue to promote the offering through the festival, social media and with the help of the producers and directors whose films will be made available. In future, in addition to continually adding more films, Abessira hopes to expand the VOD to include Q&As with filmmakers and other resources for film scholars.

And perhaps by the festival’s next major anniversary, the platform will have morphed into something much bigger.

“We hope that directors and producers will [someday] contact us,” he said. “The same way people today submit a film to a festival all over the world, tomorrow they might be submitting a film to get accepted to the platform.”

TORONTO STAR -­ May 5, 2017 -­ JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS WITH HOME HOT DOCS OF ITS OWN PRINT

>PROJECTIONS ALSO ON TORONTO SCREENS THIS WEEK JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS WITH HOME HOT DOCS OF ITS OWN This year's non-­fiction slate features surprising Holocaust stories and exploration of The Garbage Pail

Kids

Jason Anderson Special to the Star

Toronto Jewish Film Festival: A mainstay on the city's filmfest calendar since 1993, the TJFF doesn't mind sharing its first few days with the tail end of Hot Docs. After all, that's just fine for the moviegoers who'll get a chance to see a bounty of yet more new documentaries, presented alongside TJFF's generous selection of features, shorts and archival offerings. This year's non-­fiction fare includes several films that explore the vast subject of the Holocaust in often surprising ways. In Heaven In Auschwitz -­which screens Sunday at Cineplex Empress Walk and Tuesday at Alliance Francaise-­ Czech survivors describe the little known efforts of a German Jew named Alfred "Freddy" Hirsch to brighten the very dark lives of children in Terezin and Auschwitz. Screening Monday at Empress Walk and Wednesday at Innis Town Hall, The Essential Link investigates the life of Wilfrid Israel a secretive Berlin businessman who played a crucial role in the history of the Kindertransport. A

look at the transformation of the former death camps into tourist-­friendly attractions by the great Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, Austerlitz also plays Tuesday at Alliance Francaise. Of course, the TJFF is not always concerned with such weighty matters. Another new doc, 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story delves deep into one of the least likely pop-­cultural phenomena of the 1980s -­ it screens Sunday at Innis Town Hall. Thanks to the special celebrations of the late Gene Wilder and the many screen adaptations of Mordecai Richler's works, patrons can also enjoy rare showings of The Frisco Kid (May 13 at Innis Town Hall) and The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (May 14 at Innis Town Hall). This year's festival wraps up on another upbeat note with the world premiere of Mandala Beats(May 14 at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema), a portrait of renowned Israeli bassist Yossi Fine. POV -­ May 12, 2017 -­ Docs Opening in Canada this Week (May 12-­18) povmagazine.com/blog/view/docs-­opening-­in-­canada-­this-­week-­may-­12-­18

Docs Opening in Canada this Week (May 12-­18) Also opening at HDTRC this week is Sébastien Chabot wonderful The Gardener about the late Frank Cabot, who cultivated green work of art at Le Quatre Vents in Charlevoix, Quebec. The film speaks with Cabot about his expansive English-­style garden and his passion blossoms into a film of greater ecological concerns. “I wanted to make was a positive film about the environment and look at the inspirational aspects,” said Chabot in an interview with POV . “If you take the time to appreciate a beautiful landscape or garden, you’re more attune to preserving the environment. That’s how I see it.”

NOW MAGAZINE -­ May 3, 2017 -­ This year's Jewish Film Festival is going head to head with Hot Docs https://nowtoronto.com/movies/film-­fests-­and-­screenings/jewish-­film-­fest-­rivals-­hot-­docs-­this-­year/

This year's Jewish Film Festival is going head to head with

Hot Docs A strong slate of documentaries like 30 Years Of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story is

rounding out the fest's 35th anniversary programming

BY NORMAN WILNER MAY 3, 2017

TORONTO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 from Thursday (May 4) through May 14 at multiple venues. Tjff.com . What with Hot Docs running till May 7, you'd think Toronto has enough documentary programming on its screens. But the Toronto Jewish Film Festival has decided we can do with more

The TJFF has always screened documentaries. But now that the festival is in direct competition with Hot Docs – its first weekend overlapping with Hot Docs' second -­ the stakes seem a little higher. What's left to show after the largest doc festival in North America has had its pick? Quite a bit, it turns out. In this 25th anniversary edition, the festival has amassed a decidedly idiosyncratic documentary component, reaching well beyond the usual subjects and offering real surprises. For example, I didn't expect anyone to make the definitive study of the Garbage Pail Kids, but here's 30 Years Of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story (May 7, 5:30 pm, Innis Town Hall). Joe Simko and Jeff Zapata chart the history of the juvenile trading card sensation – co-­created by illustrator Art Spiegelman, who went on to write Maus – that survived the 80s to become weirdly beloved by a new generation of fans. It's disquietingly comprehensive, even interviewing the stars of the terrible 1987 movie. Staying in the unlikely-­arts lane, Monsieur Mayonnaise (May 11, 3:30 pm, Alliance Française;; May 14, 12:30 pm, Empress Walk) looks at the efforts of Australian filmmaker Philippe Mora (The Beast Within, Communion) to produce a graphic novel celebrating his father Georges's work with the French Resistance smuggling Jewish children to safety in Switzerland. Director Trevor Graham follows Mora as he travels the world catching up with the men and women his father helped and discusses his own fascination with the Second World War. And, yes, he tells the story (and it's a great one) of his father's nickname, which gives the documentary its title. Body And Soul: An American Bridge (May 6, 9 pm, Alliance Française;; May 8, 3:30 pm, Empress Walk) studies the way the enduring jazz standard snakes through the history of both Jewish and African-­American art in the 20th century. Maya Zinshtein's Forever Pure (May 12, noon, Empress Walk), which played TIFF last year, examines the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team's decision to sign Chechen Muslims Zaur Sadayev and Dzhabrail Kadiyev in 2012, causing fundamentalist Jews to turn against the team and inviting rage from garden-­variety racists and nationalists.

Like the Hot Docs entry Death In The Terminal (May 5, 1:30 pm, Scotiabank), Forever Pure takes a distressing look at an Israel mired in cultural and ethnic tensions, its citizens bristling with potential violence and looking for any excuse to explode. Along similar lines, Chen Shelach's Praise The Lard (May 5, 4 pm, Empress Walk;; May 8, 3:30 pm, Alliance Française) uses Israel's growing pork industry to investigate the country's shifting demographic trends, finding a divide between the observant and the secular that's very simply articulated and only rarely results in violence.

The title is silly, but the message is very thoughtful: if we can't find common ground on bacon, we're never going to get together on the important stuff. There's much more to this year's festival than documentaries;; the TJFF will screen plenty of shorts, features and vintage TV over its run. I recommend One Week And A Day (May 8, 6 pm, Innis Town Hall;; May 11, 6 pm, Empress Walk), an unlikely comedy about grief, family and medical marijuana from promising new filmmaker Asaph Polonsky. Don't ask – just buy your ticket. You can thank me later.

L’EXPRESS -­ May 1, 2017 -­ 25 ans d’expériences juives au cinéma https://l-­express.ca/25-­ans-­dexperiences-­juives-­au-­cinema/

CULTURE / CINÉMA 25 ans d’expériences juives au cinéma Le Festival du film juif de Toronto redécouvre Rabbi Jacob Janine Messadié 1 mai 2017 à 19h16

Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob

Du 4 au 14 mai, le Festival du film juif de Toronto ( TJFF ) célèbre ses 25 ans, avec un florilège de 105 films provenant de 24 pays, nous offrant une pluralité de regards sur les aspirations politiques, sociales, culturelles et religieuses du peuple juif.

Avec 6 premières mondiales, 10 internationales, 5 nord-­américaines, 30 canadiennes et 19 premières torontoises, le festival a ajouté à cette édition anniversaire un nouveau programme de courts-­métrages New Israeli Cinema , afin de rendre hommage aux écoles de cinéma en Israël, et montrer les films de la nouvelle génération de cinéastes.

Également au programme de cette 25e édition, Oy Canada , un programme de courts-­métrages canadiens, et Richler-­On-­Screen , une grande rétrospective sur Mordecai Richler (1931-­2001), dont la plume incisive et ses personnages finement observés, lui ont valu d’être deux fois lauréat du Prix du gouverneur général. En 2000, un peu moins d’un

an avant sa mort, il a été décoré de l’Ordre du Canada.

Pour Jérémie Abessira, chargé de programmation au TJFF, le choix de Mordecai Richler, davantage connu pour ses déclarations incendiaires que pour son œuvre littéraire ou encore cinématographique, correspondait parfaitement. En entrevue à L’Express , il précise: «Pour nos 25 ans et pour souligner le 150e du Canada, il était important de mettre en lumière le cinéma juif canadien. Richler a travaillé dans le monde de la télé et du cinéma, ce que peu de gens savent. Nous avons une collection d’œuvres cinématographiques et télévisuelles scénarisées par Richler, mais aussi par d’autres réalisateurs, qui ont porté à l’écran les écrits de cet auteur emblématique, parmi lesquelles la journaliste et réalisatrice québécoise Francine Pelletier qui viendra nous présenter un documentaire sur Richler, The Last

of the Wild Jew (2010), dont le scénario a été écrit par le biographe de l’écrivain Charlie Foran. Ce dernier sera aussi de la fête pour présenter Death of a Salesman et Insomnia Is Good For You , deux films mettant en vedette Peter Sellers.» «Nous aurons aussi plusieurs rencontres, débats et panels, pour alimenter discussions et réflexions, notamment lors de la projection du film Assignement:Oh Canada! Oh Québec ! réalisé en 1992 par Jonathan Lewis, un rare documentaire de la BBC, dans lequel on voit Richler s’engager dans le débat sur la séparation du Québec, ce film sera suivi d’une discussion animée par Evan Solomon de

CTV qui aura à ses côtés, le cinéaste Charles Officer, Jack Rabinovitch (le fondateur du prix Giller), le professeur et scénariste Norman Ravvin et le professeur Pierre Anctil. » Richler-­On Screen compte 15 productions, dont deux grands classiques réalisés par le Canadien Ted Kotcheff, d’après les œuvres originales de l’auteur – The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), et Joshua Then and Now (1985). C’est le légendaire producteur canadien Robert Lantos qui présentera ce dernier film.

Un sac de Billes

Films français

Cette année encore le cinéma français bénéficie d’une belle représentation avec une dizaine de films témoignant de sa richesse et de sa diversité. Entre autres :

Les enfants de la chance (2015) de Malik Chibane, cinéaste français issu de l’immigration maghrébine qui sera présent lors de la projection. Le réalisateur s’est inspiré d’une histoire vraie, celle de Maurice Grosman (Gutman dans le film), un jeune garçon juif sauvé des nazis par un médecin, à Garches.

Un sac de billes / (A Bag of Marbles) (2017) – 40 ans après sa première adaptation au cinéma par Jacques Doillon, le réalisateur québécois Christian Duguay porte une nouvelle fois sur grand écran le récit autobiographique de l’écrivain français Joseph Joffo. Le film nous raconte l’épopée de deux jeunes frères juifs en fuite dans la France occupée.

Taam, ou le goût de la rue des Rosiers (2016), documentaire de Sophie Bramly. Un très joli film sur cette rue séculaire du Marais Parisien, où religieux juifs et communauté homosexuelle parisienne se côtoient quotidiennement.

Redécouvrir Louis de Funès

L’un des grands films culte du cinéma français Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob (1973), du tandem Gérard Oury et Louis de Funès, vu par 17 millions de spectateurs à l’époque, vous fera tordre de rire.

On y retrouve un Louis de Funès incarnant Victor Pivert, industriel français irascible et raciste, qui ne demande qu’à se rendre au mariage de sa fille, mais se retrouve confronté malgré lui à un règlement de compte entre terroristes d’un pays arabe. Afin de semer ses poursuivants, il se déguise en rabbin, après avoir croisé à Orly des religieux juifs en provenance de New-­York.

Cette fable humoristique sur la tolérance sera précédée du documentaire Once Upon a Time…The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (2009) de la Française Auberi Edler, film qui met en perspective le contexte politique et social dans la France du début des années 1970.

On y voit Danièle Thompson, la fille de Gérard Oury qui a contribué au scénario des Aventures de Rabbi Jacob et qui travaille sur une suite pour 2018.

Ouverture et clôture

1945 , film du cinéaste hongrois Ferenc Török, prix du public (Panorama Award) à la 67e édition de la Berlinale en février 2017, ouvre cette 25e édition du TJFF. Inspiré d’une courte nouvelle du romancier hongrois Gábor T. Szántó, 1945 , est une incursion lumineuse dans un village de la Hongrie orientale, durant une seule journée. La projection a lieu en présence du réalisateur et sera suivie d’un Q&R.

Louis De Funès avec le réalisateur français Gérard Oury (Photo: Jacques Haillot /Sygma/Corbis) Dix jours plus tard, le 14 mai ce sera autour du réalisateur canadien Rebekah Reiko de nous présenter en première mondiale le documentaire Mandala Beats , un portrait intimiste du bassiste israélien Yossi Fine, acclamé pour son travail avec des artistes légendaires tels que Lou Reed, David Bowie et Brian Eno.

Rendez-­vous incontournable pour la communauté juive de Toronto et les amoureux du cinéma de tous horizons, le TJFF est un moment de rencontre formidable avec le cinéma juif passé et présent. C’est un cinéma audacieux et engagé, humain et sensible, parfois drôle ou dérangeant, qui a acquis ses lettres de noblesse, conclut Jérémie Abessira.

«Sur les 96 festivals de films qui existent à Toronto, le festival du film juif est le 3e en importance après le TIFF et HotDocs. J’ai vu ce festival évoluer et prendre de l’ampleur.Il y a 25 ans on projetait une dizaine de films dans une salle de cinéma, aujourd’hui les projections ont lieu dans six salles du centre-­ville et le public est là… C’est un public fidèle qui lui aussi a grandi, contribuant largement à notre succès. Il faut dire que le cinéma israélien a beaucoup évolué et gagné ses lettres de noblesse à Cannes et dans d’autres prestigieux festivals de cinéma internationaux. Nous sommes donc très heureux d’illustrer la diversité des regards et la richesse de création des cinéastes juifs des quatre coins du monde.»

QUILL & QUIRE -­ May 1, 2017 -­ Charles Foran: The legacy of Mordecai Richler’s screenwriting career http://www.quillandquire.com/omni/charles-­foran-­the-­legacy-­of-­mordecai-­richlers-­screenwriting-­career/

Charles Foran: The legacy of Mordecai Richler’s screenwriting career

by Sue Carter

The Toronto Jewish Film Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a tribute to Mordecai Richler. As part of its Richler On-­Screen programming , the festival, which runs from May 4–14, will present 15 events, including film and television adaptations of the late Montreal author’s works, and several documentaries dedicated to his enduring literary legacy.

On May 13, at 1 p.m. at Innis Town Hall, the festival will show the 2010 documentary Mordecai Richler: The Last Of The Wild Jews . The film – which positions Richler as part of a generation of culturally influential Jewish intellectuals, along with Saul Bellow, Irving Layton, and Lenny Bruce – was directed by Francine Pelletier and written by Charles Foran, author of the award-­winning biography Mordecai: The Life & Times (Knopf Canada). Pelletier will be present at the screening, along with Louise Dennys, executive publisher of the Knopf Random House Canada Publishing Group, and entertainment lawyer Michael Levine.

Foran spoke to Quill & Quire about Richler’s life as a screenwriter, and two another films at the festival, Dearth of a Salesman and Insomnia Is Good For You. Richler co-­wrote the two 1957 comedy shorts with Peter Sellers, who also starred in the films. Both films were thought lost until they were discovered in 1996, abandoned in a London Dumpster outside Park Lane Films.

Did you watch these films as part of your research for Mordecai ?

I watched all the films – all the ones that were then known – except the little Sellers ones, which weren’t then found. I wrote about it obliquely in the book because I was basing it on Florence Richler’s memory of Mordecai being hired to sit in a room with other joke

writers, like they did in the ’50s and ’60s. She remembered they made a few short things he was involved with.

What drew you to this period in Richler’s career?

I was fascinated by this period between 1955 and 1965, because CBC had started just a couple of years before BBC, and all these Canadian kids were going over to London and being hailed as veterans and masters of this new art form of TV, and TV drama in particular. Twenty-­somethings like Richler and Ted Kotcheff, all these young guys were going over to London and getting well-­paid jobs directing and writing live dramas because the Brits had no idea how to do it – frankly, the Canadians didn’t really either, but they had a little bit of a head start. There were huge opportunities. Someone like Richler could get paid a lot for a 45-­minute BBC show, multiple times what he could get publishing a novel. I think the year he published The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, in 1958, he got £450 for it or something, and at the same time was getting around a thousand per script.

Was this a short-­lived era?

It settled down, but it was pre-­professionalization of the writing industry. There was no notion that you had to be a TV writer or a book writer, just a writer and someone would say, “Just write me a script.” One of the films the festival is showing is an episode of The Play’s The Thing called “ The Bells of Hell,” written by Richler. It was this amazing thing, in the early 1970s where the CBC just went out and asked all the leading Canadian writers, from Alice Munro to Richler to Atwood, to write an hour drama. They were all funded and these people had often no qualifications, but there was this openness to it. There wasn’t this notion of professional TV writers.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

CBC Radio-­Canada -­ L’heure de pointe -­ May 10, 2017 -­ ‘The Heir’, un film de Edith Jorisch http://ici.radio-­canada.ca/emissions/L_heure_de_pointe_Toronto/2015-­2016/archives.asp?date=2017-­05-­09

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES -­ May 3, 2017 -­ Bassist with Indian roots stars in documentary on Israeli musicians http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-­news/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­meet-­the-­musician-­who-­travelled-­to-­india-­to-­discover-­his-­roots/story-­Y0ozGoy1Jl105xoLMFq9BO.html

Bassist with Indian roots stars in documentary on Israeli musicians Renowned bassist Yossi Fine, who is of mixed Lithuanian and Jamaican descent, recently found out that his great-­grandmother was originally from India. WORLD CINEMA Updated: May 03, 2017 21:34 IS

Anirudh Bhattacharyya Hindustan Times, Toronto The closing night film for the 25th anniversary of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival has an unusual setting – India. The documentary Mandala Beats, directed by Montreal-­based Rebekah Reiko, features celebrated Israeli musician Yossi Fine as he discovers his roots in India and undertakes his first journey to the country. Fine is renowned as a bassist, having worked with David Bowie and Lou Reed, and Indian artistes like Anoushka Shankar. While he is of mixed Lithuanian and Jamaican descent, he found out a couple of years ago that his great-­grandmother was originally from India when he was given DVDs of interviews with his parents “Sitting there and watching, all of the sudden I realise, my great-­grandmother, my mother’s grandmother, from her father’s side, came from India. I was floored because I never knew about this, nobody talked about it,” Fine said in an interview.

Somewhat serendipitously, a few months later, he received an invitation to perform at a festival in Jodhpur. “Wow, I have to go to India. I always wanted to but all of a sudden it was way, way stronger,” he said of his reaction. Just as fateful was his encounter with Reiko, as they were taking the same flight from Tel Aviv to Mumbai in the autumn of 2015. Reiko was focused on making a film about Israeli musicians and their Indian influence. “I thought making a movie about music in those two places, with distinct styles mixing together, would be so cool,” she said. And after talking to Fine, she settled upon the central character for the film: “He told me his whole story (during the flight) and that was part of the reason why I wanted to focus on him.” The film accompanies Fine as he hones in on Indian rhythms prior to his performance in Jodhpur and for an impromptu concert of sorts on the banks of Ganga in Rishikesh. That makes for a movie that is visually strong and one that comes with its own soundtrack, created along the way. Reiko said the two locations were “both very contrasting” and added, “I definitely focused on such extremely beautiful places in the country, for sure.” Fine said finding himself in India seemed “very natural.” As he recalled, “When I came to India it was incredible. It was like a missing part of something I was looking for.” Musically, he found that bass wasn’t integral to Indian music, folk and classical. As he had previously worked on music in the Sahara, particularly in Mali, he incorporated that into his sessions with Rajasthani players: “My approach was to borrow a little bit from African music and apply it to Indian music.” Fine looks forward to more visits to India in the future, as he said, “India is a special place with special energy. I will be back for sure.” The film is a joint Canadian/Israeli/Indian production, and Reiko said while a few scenes were set in Israel, “the majority of the film was filmed in India.” It will be screened on May 14, the last day of the festival which begins this Thursday. Reiko, meanwhile, said her initial objective had been realised as her film has such a prominent place at a major film festival in Canada: “I learnt so much from my travels through India. I felt like including that in a film so I could share that with others.

BY BLACKS -­ April 24 2017 -­ Black to the Promised Land at TJFF 25 Years Later http://byblacks.com/entertainment/film-­tv/item/1616-­black-­to-­the-­promised-­land-­at-­tjff-­25-­years-­later

Black to the Promised Land at TJFF 25 Years Later Monday, 24 April 2017 20:52 Written by Dr. Cheryl Thompson Published in Film & TV Read 10 times

Originally released in 1992, Black to the Promised Land follows a group of students from Brooklyn, New York all the way to Israel and back.

Directed by Madeleine Ali, the film was the first ever screening at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) twenty-­five years ago. Today, a film like this should feel like a blast from the past, and while the hairstyles and clothing certainly are, its message has stood the test of time.

Black to the Promised Land opens with whimsical introductions to each student (Renee, Tisha, Andrew, Nelson, Lovey, Michael, Corey, Cylinda, Israel, Theresa, and Rasean) and their families. In these scenes, the students’ voices serve to debunk media reports at the time about who they were, their school, and the purpose of the trip. As one student observes, “The New York Times was downgrading us instead of focusing on the trip;; it was all about how ‘bad’ the students were.”

The New York Times originally ran a feature story on the students on March 4, 1989. Titled, “11 Students Set to Study On a Kibbutz,” the article explained that the students, from Bedford-­Stuyvesant Street Academy High School, along with their science teacher, Stewart Bailer (who is Jewish), were set to embark on “an unusual learning experience” – a ten-­week work trip to Israel near the northern border with Syria and Lebanon.

A few months later, New York Magazine described Bed-­Stuy Street Academy as an “alternative high school” that took students who, “for intellectual or emotional or social reasons, do not adjust to regular public schools.” The students were also said to “come from broken homes and families who are on public assistance.”

The tone of the media’s reporting was largely about the depravity of the Brooklyn students. Black to the Promised Land, then, attempts to humanize the lives behind the headlines. Sure, most of the students are not doing well academically, which is why their teacher came up with the idea for the trip in the first place, but early on in the film we are reminded that despite the media’s story, this is ultimately a story about young people trying to find their way in life.

In the film’s early scenes, the camera captures the streets of Bed-­Stuy, the milieu for which the eleven students will soon leave. We see children splashing through water from an open fire hydrant and other kids bouncing on discarded mattresses;; drug deals are going down;; homeless men are sleeping in the streets while police are combative with others in the same streets;; and finally, the cityscape is filled with burnt out buildings. This is the Brooklyn of the 1980s.

Hip-­hop is also a secondary character in the opening scenes of the film;; specifically, the song “Back on the Block” frames the camera’s crosscuts of the daily realities of inner-­city life. The song, featuring Big Daddy Kane, Ice-­T, Kool Moe Dee, and Melle Mel, was the title track of legendary music producer Quincy Jones’ 1989 album. In his biography on Jones, Clarence Bernard Henry describes the song as having a special message (a social commentary) from Jones’s memory of a “dude” (a low-­income African American male) located on the corner in every ghetto in America. Black in the Promised Land also uses this song for social commentary but with a slight twist – the setting is 5,700 miles away.

At first, you think this documentary is about the emotional whirlwind of black students traveling to Israel – removed from the urban streets of Bed-­Stuy to the rural fields of a kibbutz – but soon after the students arrive in the Jewish state, you realize that the families and children in the kibbutz are the ones who have much to learn from their unfamiliar visitors.

If you’re not familiar with a kibbutz the film explains that in Hebrew, the term is used to describe a village or community. It is a name that denotes modesty, a voluntary democratic settlement where people live and work together (without competition) with the aim of generating economic and social equality among all members. In a kibbutz, work is divided equitably and decisions are made by the members collectively.

The people in the kibbutz in the film are, initially, ignorant about black people. “We thought all the black boys were basketball players,” says one kibbutz member early on, adding that this information was all that was presented to them on television. Further, they had been told that the students came from a high school “for” criminals.

Some of the early scenes in Israel make you wonder if the school had made the right decision. Should the students, as talk show host Bryant Gumbel asserted back in 1989, have gone to Africa instead? They complain about the isolation;; they hate the food;; they hate the work schedule (mornings begin at 6 am);; and most importantly, they loathe the labour – they work in cotton fields (yes, black children travelled to Israel to pick cotton), on an assembly line in a factory, they fish, and they tend to turkeys.

By the film’s end, however, not only are the students transformed, so too are the kibbutz members’ opinions of their black visitors. They realize they had been lied to by the media. These kids are not criminals, nor are the stereotypes about black people true.

Black to the Promised Land is a warm and thoughtful documentary that reveals the universality of the human experience. While the kibbutz members misjudge their black visitors, the black students must rethink their beliefs about Israel, especially as it relates to the omnipotence of Israeli-­Palestinian violence.

Twenty-­five years later, Ali’s film is still relevant. The media continues to play a major role in shaping not only how we see ourselves, but more importantly, how others see us. Black to the Promised Land reminds us that it doesn’t matter where you come from or where you live we are all going through something, even in a kibbutz. Who knew black people and Jewish people had so much in common, especially in the Promised Land?

Black To The Promised Land plays Saturday 6 May, 1:00 PM at Alliance Francaise.

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL -­ May 9, 2017 -­ New documentary digs up controversy as Polish Jewish cemetery restored www.timesofisrael.com/new-­documentary-­digs-­up-­controversy-­as-­polish-­jewish-­cemetery-­restored/

'None of us had realized how explosive this word was'

New documentary digs up controversy as Polish Jewish cemetery restored

In ‘Scandal in Ivansk,’ opening May 9, a Canadian-Israeli filmmaker charts the maelstrom surrounding Poles’ relationship to the word ‘collaborators’ in a new nationalist era

BY RENEE GHERT-­ZAND May 9, 2017, 1:54 am 5

Many years ago, David Blumenfeld read a testimony from one of the sole survivors of his grandfather’s shtetl, Ivansk (Iwaniska), near Kielce in south-­central Poland. The survivor, Yitzhak Goldstein, recalled how the day before the Nazis deported the village’s remaining Jews in October 1942, they gathered in the local Jewish cemetery to bury the community’s Torah scrolls. “The whole shtetl participated. Each one saw themselves as though they were at their own funeral. The rabbi turned to us — the young ones — and swore on our behalf: All of those who survived the war should dig out the Torah scrolls and tell the world what the German nation, with the help of a large part of the Polish population, did to us,” Goldstein wrote. Blumenfeld, a Jerusalem-­based photographer and filmmaker was intrigued. Then when he learned a decade ago that members of an organization of descendants of Jews from Ivansk planned to restore the village’s Jewish cemetery, he decided to grab his camera and go film what would happen. Blumenfeld, who was born in Toronto and lived in Canada and the United States before settling in Israel in 2000, thought he would essentially be

documenting family history, creating something to hand down to his three children about where their great-­grandfather Max Carl Blumenfeld came from. However, as the cemetery work began and Blumenfeld recorded reactions of the local residents, he realized this would actually be a much more complex film dealing with explosive issues in contemporary Polish society about memory, responsibility and victimhood. Over the course of the decade of the film’s making, the Poles, whose national narrative had been one of victimhood and suffering under the Germans and later the Soviets, began to confront the fact the some among them had not been only victims or innocent bystanders, but also perpetrators of atrocities against local Jews during the Holocaust. Then came a nationalist backlash claiming that such historical claims were mere anti-­Polish propaganda. In the film, “Scandal in Ivansk,” Blumenfeld, 49, does discover what happened to the Torah scrolls buried by the Jewish community on the eve of its destruction. But more crucially, he digs up differing perspectives on history — especially when the rededication of the Jewish cemetery unexpectedly becomes a national headline-­grabbing scandal. It wasn’t the 2006 cemetery restoration per se that was the problem. By that point, Poles were relatively used to neglected Jewish graveyards being cleaned up, and desecrated headstones being returned to their proper place by activists like young photographer Lukasz Baksik , who is seen in the film expertly negotiating with an elderly Ivansk resident who expects payment in exchange for a headstone fragment has stashed his basement. Rather, the issue was the inscription on the memorial prepared and erected by the North American Jewish organizers at the rededication ceremony.

A single word was highly problematic: “Collaborators.” “Finally, on 15 October 1942, Jewish life in Iwaniska ceased when the Nazis and their collaborators brutally transported the town’s Jews to their deaths in Treblinka,” the inscription read. “We had been received quite nicely by the locals up to that point. There had been a lot of cooperation with the cemetery restoration project, and the school

even held an essay contest with the kids interviewing their grandparents about what they remembered about the Jews who used to live in the village,” Blumenfeld said.

“Then the monument was unveiled and all hell broke loose. None of us had realized how explosive this word was,” he said. The local Polish residents would not tolerate the “collaborator” reference and wanted it removed immediately. The film, co-­directed by Ami Drozd, includes interviews with noted Polish academics such as Jan Grabowski from the University of Ottawa and Princeton’s Jan T. Gross , whose 2001 “Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland” provided evidence that Poles murdered several hundred of their Jewish neighbors in July 1941. The work ignited Polish historical introspection. One gets the impression, however, that Ivansk’s residents would side more with Polish nationalists — like the ruling Law and Justice party, which has outlawed the use of the term “Polish death camps” — than with these academics trying to get their compatriots to face painful truths. Although it is a documentary, “Scandal in Ivasnk” is reminiscent of the excellent and controversial 2012 fictional film “Aftermath” by Polish director Wladyslaw Pasikowski. That film, implicitly based on the Jedwabne massacre, tells the story of two brothers who discover that their own parents were responsible for murdering their Jewish neighbors and stealing their property. One brother becomes so obsessed with making amends that he turns a part of his field into an ersatz Jewish cemetery, erecting desecrated gravestones that have been used as paving stones that he finds around his village. He even teaches himself Hebrew so he can read the names on the headstones over and over to himself in mantra-­like fashion. In the film’s gothic thriller-­style, the local Polish characters are uniformly antagonistic toward the young men’s efforts to uncover the truth about the past. In Blumenfeld’s film, the real-­life villagers are not angry so much as they seem devoid of true remorse over the fate of their Jewish neighbors, and of moral conscience about having profited from the Jews’ abandoned property.Poignantly, the only Ivansk resident who speaks about Polish responsibility without reservation is a drunk, his open shirt revealing his pot belly as he sits with his buddies in the village square. “The Germans wanted to exterminate the Jews. All of them. And the Poles were helping them with it. I know it from my home,” he says. And when his companion suggests that a proposed (and so far unrealized) memorial plaque for the village square could state that the

Germans murdered the Jews, the drunk asks, “And the Poles didn’t murder?” ‘The stories we pass down to the next generations are based on how we perceive ourselves as victims, and we all have stains we want to cover up’

Blumenfeld was educated in Jewish day schools and participated in one of the first organized teen trips to the death camps in Poland in the 1990s. Before making this film, he would never have thought twice about the rabbi’s words in Goldstein’s testimony. It was an unquestioned given that Poland was a terrible place and the Poles were collaborators with the Nazi occupiers. However, the filmmaker no longer sees things in black and white. He found evidence of both real heroism and real cruelty in Ivansk’s history. “Polish-­Jewish relations is not something I really understood before. Memory and how we remember is subjective. The stories we pass down to the next generations are based on how we perceive ourselves as victims, and we all have stains we want to cover up,” he said. The many trips Blumenfeld made to Ivansk to make this film taught him that while there may be a single truth, there can be many different perspectives on it. If the truth is ultimately immutable, then it is fitting that in the end, “collaborator” was not removed from the monument in the rededicated Jewish cemetery. According to Blumenfeld, it is still there. However, this is not necessarily a sign that Ivansk’s residents have fully reconciled with the word. “The last time I visited, it looked like no one was really taking care of the cemetery. There was already a lot of overgrowth and the inscription was hidden from view,” he said.

TORONTO STAR -­ April 28, 2017 -­ Projections: Hot Docs festival glances back at female directors https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2017/04/28/projections-­hot-­docs-­festival-­glances-­back-­at-­female-­directors.html

Projections: Hot Docs festival glances back at female directors

This year’s Redux program presents many great Canadian documentaries directed by women.

By JASON ANDERSON Special to the Star

Fri., April 28, 2017

Toronto Jewish Film Festival: The spring film-­fest season kicks it up another notch with the launch for the TJFF on May 4. The festival opens with the Toronto premiere of 1945 , a Hungarian period drama about a small town whose guilty-­minded inhabitants are thrown into a panic when two Orthodox Jewish men arrive for reasons unknown. Director Ferenc Török is on hand for a Q&A after the screening on May 4 at the Varsity. The TJFF continues to May 14 — more highlights in next week’s Projections. NEWSTALK 1010 -­ April 29, 2017 -­ Let's Eat with Zane Caplansky http://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-­1010/shows/let-­s-­eat-­with-­zane-­caplansky-­1.1813133

Zane talked with Helen Zuckerman of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, starting May 4th, Let's Eat with Zane Caplansky

CBC Radio-­Canada -­ L’heure de pointe -­ May 11, 2017 -­ Le film ‘Les enfants de la chance’ http://ici.radio-­canada.ca/emissions/L_heure_de_pointe_Toronto/2015-­2016/archives.asp?date=2017-­05-­10

LE MÉTROPOLITAIN -­ April 26, 2017 -­ Cinq films francophones sont sélectionnés pour le Festival du film juif PRINT ONLY

Cinq films francophones sont sélectionnés pour le Festival du film juif Rudy Chabannes Le Festival du film juif, présidée par Debbie Werner, déroule son 25e tapis rouge du 8 au 14 mai à Toronto. Parmi les 105 courts et longs métrages provenant de 18 pays et diffusés dans leur langue originale, sous-­titrés en anglais, cinq pépites francophones sont à ne pas manquer. Au Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 9, le 7 mai, les spectateurs pourront découvrir Un sac de billes de Christian Dugay avec notamment Patrick Bruel et Elsa Zylberstein. Sorti en 2017 et adapté du roman éponyme de Joseph Joffo, le film qui a dépassé la barre du million d’entrées en Europe nous plonge dans le cauchemar de la France occupée. Deux jeunes

frères juifs, Maurice et Joseph, vont rivaliser de courage et d’ingéniosité pour rassembler leur famille dont ils ont été séparés. Toujours au Cineplex, Les Enfants de la chance (2016), réalisé par Malik Chibane, raconte l’histoire vraie d’un enfant juif qui, pendant son séjour dans un hôpital, est séparé de sa famille déportée dans un camp de concentration. À sa sortie, il réalise que sa tante est la seule survivante. En plus de la projection au Innis Town Hall le 8 mai, cette comédie dramatique sera également présentée au Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 9 le 14 mai. Diamant noir (2016) est un diamant brut franco-­belge réalisé par Arthur Harari. Niels Schneider, dans le rôle de Pier Ulmann, vivote à Paris, entre chantiers et petits larcins qu’il commet pour le compte d’un ami influent, Rachid. Après la mort de son père, il renoue avec sa famille, de riches diamantaires d’Anvers. Rachid y voit l’opportunité de s’enrichir… par tous les moyens! Le 9 mai 2017 au Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 6 et le 11 mai au Innis Town Hall. Il était une fois les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, de Gérard Oury, sont décidemment indémodables… comme tous les films qui mettent en scène le truculent Louis de Funès. L’acteur français se fait passer pour un rabbin afin d’échapper à des malfrats. Une comédie de situation burlesque porteuse d’un message de tolérance entre les communautés, dont on ne se lasse pas et qui sera précédée d’un documentaire exclusif, le 5 mai au Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 9, et le 7 mai à l’Alliance française. L’institution sera également l’hôte de Taam, ou le goût de la rue des rosiers. Dans ce documentaire, la réalisatrice tunisienne Sophie Bramly immerge le spectateur dans le Marais à Paris, un quartier historique de la capitale où se côtoient les communautés juive et homosexuelle. Le 7 mai à l’Alliance française et le 9 mai au Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 6. « Notre volonté est de présenter ce qui se fait de mieux en cinéma juif, explique Jérémie Abessira, directeur des opérations et des programmes auprès de la fondation du Festival du film juif de Toronto. Nous cherchons à promouvoir sa richesse et sa diversité à l’échelle internationale. Nous recevons près de 500 fictions et documentaires chaque année parmi lesquels notre comité de programmation sélectionne les meilleurs d’après leur qualité et leur contenu. » Près de 35 000 spectateurs sont attendus dans les différents lieux mais aussi sur Internet. « Nous avons inauguré une nouvelle plateforme de visionnement en ligne de films que nous avons présentés au festival au cours des 25 dernières années. »

THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS -­ May 3, 2017 -­ TORONTO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES 25TH SEASON www.cjnews.com/culture/arts/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­launches-­25th-­season

TORONTO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES 25TH SEASON By Jordan Adler -­ May 3, 2017

Although the Toronto Jewish Film Festival is about to celebrate its 25th year of showing first-­rate Canadian and international movies, finding a suitable balance between showing comedies and tragedies is still a test for the team of programmers.

“Comedy is one of the hardest things to find,” admits Stuart Hands, the festival’s program director.

Many of the submitted films focus on the Holocaust or the contentious political situation in Israel-­Palestine.

However, for this year’s festival – opening May 4 – there are many offbeat comedies and refreshing, feel-­good stories to maintain a proper balance.

Among the 105 titles selected this year is Let Yourself Go , an Italian film about a conservative man hoping to get into shape to help attract his estranged wife, and The Pickle Recipe , an American comedy about a cash-­strapped Jewish man trying to make some money by stealing his grandmother’s popular recipe.

There are even some comedies set in the Middle East. The 90 Minute War looks at an unlikely way to solve the Israeli-­Palestinian conflict: a soccer game. Meanwhile, The Last Band in Lebanon focuses on Israeli reserve soldiers trying to survive the 2000 war with Lebanon after they are left behind enemy lines.

“It’s not the type of film we’ve gotten in a while,” Hands says of The Last Band in Lebanon , noting that the film was a huge hit in Israel.

Another crowd-­pleasing comedy screening is the 1973 French classic The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob . A beloved satire of Arab and Jewish relationships in France, the film caused quite a stir when it was released in theatres shortly after the Yom Kippur War.

The comedy will play alongside Once Upon a Time , a 52-­minute documentary about Rabbi Jacob’s production, on May 5 and 7.

For those interested in more serious fare, the festival will open with 1945 . The drama takes place in Hungary shortly after liberation from the Nazis, and focuses on two Orthodox Jews – a father and son – returning to their village and causing suspicion among the locals.

“It’s like getting the opportunity to open with something like Ida ,” Hands says, referring to the Oscar-­winning Polish drama. “It’s on that level of filmmaking and storytelling… and it speaks to the world today.”

The closing night film is Mandala Beats , from Canadian director Rebekah Reiko Segal. The 44-­minute doc profiles Israeli musician Yossi Fine, considered the Jimi Hendrix of bass guitar, who travels to India to discover more about his ancestry.

After the film has its world premiere, Fine will perform at the festival wrap party at Lee’s Palace, a short walk from the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.

Mandala Beats is also one of 12 films playing in a new series, NextGen, with stories meant to cater to adults between 18 and 35. Those within that age bracket can purchase a $50 pass and see all the films screening in the series.

Some of those options include The Last Band in Lebanon and Heather Booth: Changing the World , a documentary focusing on a famed American social activist.

The latter film, directed by Lilly Rivlin, should resonate with fiery, progressive Canadians in an age of Trump, Hands says.

“It’s a film that really speaks to America today,” he says. “[Rivlin] shows the importance of social organizers… who are out there making these protests or making these social movements, the ones behind the work who are getting down to the nuts and bolts.”

Other must-­see films include The Patriarch’s Room , the new documentary from Danae Elon ( P.S. Jerusalem ). It examines the impact of the Greek Orthodox Church in Israel-­Palestine, after the church patriarch is accused of selling church property to Israeli settlers.

“This looks at the conflict from an aspect that I don’t think anyone knew of before,” Hands says of the film, which also received the festival’s David A. Stein award.

“It’s also a fascinating film because [Elon’s] this female filmmaker entering this world completely dominated by men.

It’s an incredible investigation.”

The 25th edition will also feature a comprehensive tribute to Mordecai Richler as well as the late Gene Wilder. The Young Frankenstein star will have a double-­bill in his honour on May 13, with a free screening of The Frisco Kid and the little-­seen TV episode The Eternal Light: Home for Passover .

Those interested in seeing other classics should make time for My Michael and Hide and Seek , directed by famed Israeli director Dan Wolman – who will be in Toronto to present his new film, An Israeli Love Story .

Hands says the three films, set either in pre-­state Palestine or Israel during the state’s nascent years, form an unofficial trilogy.

Other high-­profile premieres include Beyond the Mountains and Hills , the new drama from The Band’s Visit director Eran Korilin;; the Sundance hit Menashe, a Yiddish-­language film about a single chassidic man in Brooklyn;; and Keep Quiet , a critically-­acclaimed doc about a far-­right extremist in Hungary who seeks to quell his anti-­Semitic views after he finds out about his Jewish heritage.

Meanwhile, the festival’s programing team has been busy putting together an online streaming service of past festival favourites. Although only five films are currently on TJFF Online , more will be added this summer.

“We’ve collected this huge archive of films,” Hands says. “We’re trying to [show] films from the past that don’t get the kind of distribution that they should.

This year’s Toronto Jewish Film Festival runs from May 4 to 14 at various Toronto cinemas. Tickets are now available online at www.tjff.com , and at the in-­person advance box offices at 19 Madison Ave. and at Yorkville Village.

GOOD FOOD REVOLUTION -­ April 17, 2017 -­ Israeli Pork in Praise The Lard. Malcolm Jolley talks about pork in Israel with filmmaker Chen Shelach. http://www.goodfoodrevolution.com/israeli-­pork-­praise-­lard/

Israeli Pork in Praise The Lard

Malcolm Jolley talks about pork in Israel with filmmaker Chen Shelach.

This year is the 25th edition of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival , which as its Director of Programming, Stuart Hands, told GFR will feature 105 films from around the world from May 4 to 14. Four of the those films are focused on food, including a Canadian contribution Bagels in the Blood , a short about the Shalafman family’s Fairmont Bagels in Montreal.

One of those films that’s caught GFR’s attention is Chen Stelach’s Praise The Lard about pork production in Israel, and it’s decline as Israeli society moves from its secular 20th century roots to a more religiously charged environment. The TJFF were kind enough to send me a

screener, which confirmed Hands’ description of the film as “a wonderful piece of social and cultural history”, as well made things ostensibly about food often are.

I contacted Stelach on the phone from his home in Israel to talk about his remarkable documentary. Our conversation is recounted below.

This interview has been edited for length, style and clarity.

Good Food Revolution: I was contacted by the PR people for the Toronto Jewish Film Festival who said they were showing some movies about food, so I looked at the program and saw Praise The Lard, a movie about raising pigs in Israel and I thought, what is this? There’s pork in Israel? I had no idea.

Chen Shelach: I believe that most of the Jewish people know that there is pork in Israel. Or, I guess? But you’re one of the first guys I’ve talked to see the film outside of Israel because it’s a really new film, so I really don’t know what will be the response. It’s going now to Toronto and then to Europe and some other places, so I am very interested to see what people think about it.

GFR: Well, then I am very glad to have a scoop! And I can tell you that at least one foreign journalist thinks its a really interesting story. You grew up on a kibbutz where they raised animals, including pigs. And you, and everyone on the kibbutz, ate pork?

CS: Yeah.

GFR: Then, more recently there was this incident of an IDF soldier being put in jail for eating a ham sandwich. Is that why you made the movie?

CS: I thought about making a film about Kibbutz Mizra for a long time. It was very unique, and our kibbutz became the symbol of the pork industry in Israel and the new Jewishness in Israel, or the making the new secular Jewishness in Israel. This my third film about the place that I came from. So, when this happened to this soldier, I knew this was the time. Things are getting weird. We couldn’t believe that Israel, which is a democracy is not supposed to be a religious country. It’s supposed to be a free country, and yet a soldier was put in jail for eating a sandwich. That was a clue for me that I was becoming part of a minority and Israel is going in another direction from what my parents or my grandparents wanted and believed it was going in. The pork for me was just the way to tell that story. This is my way of telling the story from the factory that I was working in in my kibbutz, but you tell it another way. The problem is that Israel is becoming more and more religious.

GFR: From the perspective of a viewer from Canada, or maybe the United States, I don’t think we see the secular Israel that you describe, or that’s in your film, very much on the news. We tend to see, or read about, the extremes and extremists, especially if, like me, you’re not Jewish.

CS: It’s one of the biggest issues in Israel: the mix-­up between religion and democracy. It’s a strange country, if you look from the outside. In some ways it’s a very religious country. But in other ways it has some of the greatest freedoms for homosexuals, for instance. So, it’s like some kind of weird mix, and the pork is one of the weirdest. In most of the world, you can talk about pork, whether you eat meat or not, without challenging all the traditions and customs of your people. If you’re eating pork, you’re just eating pork. Here, it’s like you think, I am a man like this that believes against pork. Pork in Israel is not something simple. What you think about pork in Israel says something very deep about you.

GFR: And obviously it’s deep enough to make some people very upset. Upset enough to put a man in jail.

CIJ News -­ April 25, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival gearing up for its 25th anniversary http://en.cijnews.com/?p=230705

Toronto Jewish Film Festival gearing up for its 25th anniversary Posted by: Doris Strub Epstein April 25, 2017

Photo: CIJnews

The Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is ready to go with a broad and tantalizing lineup of 105 films from 24 countries, including Israel, Argentina, The Netherlands, Australia and France.

A tribute to Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman will feature two classic films by him: My Michael, 1976, based on the Amos Oz novel, and Hide and Seek, 1980, Israel’s first LGBT film and a hit at the Berlin Film Festival last year. HIs latest film, An Israel Love Story, will make its Canadian debut at the Festival.

Additional archival highlights include a tribute to the comedic genius of the late Gene Wilder with a free screening of The Frisco Kid, 1979. starring Wilder as a Polish rabbi in the American West. It will be shown alongside the rare television gem The Eternal Light: Home for Passover 1966, based on the Sholem Aleichem story. Madeleine Ali’s Black to the Promised Land, 1992, was part of the Festival’s first year and will be viewed again this year.

The New Israeli Cinema short film programme will screen five shorts made by students at a number of different Israel film schools. Most of them are making their international premieres at the Festival.

Two Israeli dramas that were warmly received at last year’s Cannes Film Festival were Eran Kolirin’s (The Band’s Visit) Beyond the Mountains and the Hills, about a soldier’s adaptation to civilian life and Asaph Polonsky’s moving feature debut, One Week and a Day.

Eyal Halfon’s satirical The 90 Minute War is a bold comedy that place the fate of the Israeli Palestinian conflict on a single soccer match.

The lineup also includes the Canadian Premiere of Joshua Weinstein’s acclaimed Menashe , a drama about a single father in Brooklyn’s Hasidic community;; Maria Schrader’s Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe, about the great Austrian writer’s final years.

Some outstanding documentaries will have their Canadian premieres: Trevor Graham Monsieur Mayonnaise, follows filmmaker Philippe Mora as he uncovers his father’s role in the French Resistance and his friendship with mime Marcel Marceau. Chen Shelach’s Praise the Lard is about Israel’s complex pork industry.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. CIJNews will be reviewing films along the way. So stay tuned.

The program is now available at TJFF.COM

THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS -­ May 1, 2017 -­ TORONTO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL’S OPENER FEELS BOTH WEIGHTY AND BRISK www.cjnews.com/culture/arts/festivals-­opening-­film-­weighty-­brisk

TORONTO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL’S OPENER FEELS BOTH WEIGHTY AND BRISK By Jordan Adler -­ May 1, 2017

1945 is the opening film of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival

On a humid Friday in the summer of 1945, two Jewish men, a father and his young adult son, arrived near a small Hungarian town by train. They had come to the Soviet-­occupied space with some crates, and told the driver of the horse-­drawn cart to navigate slowly, as the contents inside were “special.” It was only a half-­hour walk from the station to the village, but news of their arrival had already reached the townspeople. Many of them worried that the Jews were there to collect their property and belongings from before the war — much of which was coveted by the villagers. This slow-­burning tension comprises much of the running time of 1945 , the opening film of the 25th annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival. (The Hungarian film will screen with English subtitles.) The postwar drama, which won a prize at the Berlin Film Festival in February, manages to feel both weighty and brisk. Much of the film’s quick pace is due to the presence of a large ensemble and various plots. The main story revolves around the town notary, István (played by Péter Rudolf), who hopes to keep things in order before his son’s wedding that evening. That young man, Árpád (played by Bence Tasnádi), had recently learned that his bride was still in love with the man to whom she was betrothed not long ago. But the impending arrival of the Jewish men (played by Iván Angelus and Marcell Nagy) and a mysterious set of belongings, sends waves of panic and postwar guilt through the town. Some expect that this is just the beginning of many confrontations with a brutal and uncomfortable past. A few even turn to heavy drinking, racked with guilt for doing too little to hide their Jewish neighbours. Director Ferenc Török, working from a screenplay he wrote with Gábor T. Szántó (based on Szántó’s short story), does not reveal the reason for the travellers’ return, or the contents of their cases, until the last third of the film. Until then, the villagers (and the audience) are left to speculate. The mystery enables a creeping tension that permeates much of the film. One can empathize with the Hungarians, while also trying to figure out if any of them are culpable of past wrongdoing. The moral ambiguity of several villagers, and the mounting dread among the characters as they anticipate new arrivals in town, brings to mind the classic western High Noon (like the Hollywood film, 1945 takes place on a wedding day and within a compressed period of time.) Meanwhile, the performances are uniformly strong. As the hot-­tempered István, Rudolf is a commanding screen presence, as is

József Szarvas, who plays András. A heavy drinker, András becomes emotional when he hears about the nearby presence of the Orthodox Jews. He goes to church to offer a confession, hoping it will absolve him and his wife from having to return the goods they plundered. Sadly, even with a wealth of conflicted supporting characters, the Jewish wanderers end up seeming unknowable. Even if they are thinly conceived, once the characters reach their destination and the audience learns the meaning of their journey, they still earn our sympathy. With just a look, actors Angelus and Nagy communicate the devastation of adapting to postwar life. Török’s film benefits from stark, black-­and-­white cinematography. Often, the camera is positioned outside of a doorway or window, sometimes blocked by a curtain — a stylistic choice that reflects the lack of transparency among the townspeople. The final shot of 1945 is destined to linger in the viewer’s mind, well beyond the festival. Török will be present for a Q&A during the opening night of the festival, May 4, when the drama has its premiere at the Varsity. The film also plays at 6 pm on Wednesday May 10, at the Cineplex Empress Walk cinemas.

Story also ran in: CANADA NEWS -­ May 2, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival’s opening film has a slow-­building tension – Ontario News http://www.canadanews.press/2017/05/02/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festivals-­opening-­film-­has-­a-­slow-­building-­tension-­ontario-­news/

THE INNIS HERALD -­ May 17, 2017 -­ The Innis Herald Goes to the Movies: The Toronto Jewish Film Festival http://theinnisherald.com/the-­innis-­herald-­goes-­to-­the-­movies-­the-­toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival

The Innis Herald Goes to the Movies: The Toronto Jewish Film Festival

Jess Stewart-­Lee May 17, 2017 No Comments This article is a part of a larger series, ‘The Innis Herald Goes to the Movies’ , in which we review films, discuss film festivals, and cover other local movie-­related news. As Innis College has such a thriving film community, we at the Herald will strive to capture this energy through this series. Look forward to more in the near future! With screening locations spread across the city, located as far away as Empress Walk theaters and as nearby as our own Innis Town Hall, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival could have easily felt disjointed in its execution— but not so in practice. Now in its 25th year, dubbed the Silver Anniversary, the festival boasted over 100 films with a record number of attendees. The festival itself had an air of community surrounding it, and over the course of the two weeks I saw the same people peppering the audience, clearly knowing several others around them and, if not, then finding mutual friends to discuss with. As someone who is not Jewish, and subsequently not at all part of the community, there’s a beauty to the way that the festival cultivated this chance for Jewish people to come together. Similar to any other diasporic-­centered festival, film or otherwise, this bonding quality also acted as a means of combating the fact that TJFF overlapped with the tail end of Hot Docs’ prolific Canadian International Documentary Festival. The two festivals tended to be centered in the same neighbourhoods around the same theaters, but with a wider array of genre films than the Hot Docs Festival and a loyal fan base, the two diverged.

A still from LIKE A LOTUS FLOWER, which had its international premiere at TJFF One of the highlights of the festival was their Richler On-­Screen series. With a mix of shorts, documentaries, and other films culminating in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz , the series aimed to analyze Richler’s impact on Canadian and Jewish cultural history, as well as celebrate his life and those he affected. Notable was the Toronto premiere of a double feature of Dearth of a Salesman and Insomnia is Good for You , two newly discovered archival shorts starring Peter Sellers ( Dr. Strangelove , The Pink Panther ), which came out of Richler’s time spent in London, UK. Several of these screenings featured people close to Richler either introducing the films or, in the case of The Last of the Wild Jews , in a panel discussion afterwards answering questions. If anything, the panellists and films did nothing to hold back the controversies surrounding Richler’s life, with one panellist at the screening, Jack Rabinovitch, asking, “how [could you] be friends with this out and out anti-­Semite?” in reference to a question asked about Richler’s complex relationship with his own religion and the Jewish community which he has come to represent.

Perhaps rightfully so, the politics of Richler’s life were repeatedly paralleled with the politics of today, and Donald Trump’s name was invoked with no small degree of disdain over the course of the panel and the festival itself. This should come as no surprise, with the number of anti-­Semitic hate crimes spiking in America , especially in the months following Trump’s election. Coupled with the deeply troubling documentaries and historical dramas that revolve around the Holocaust or anti-­Semitism, if it wasn’t for the lighthearted look at highly charged political issues in films such as the 90 Minute War, the festival could have been much more bleak. Instead, it seemed to

cultivate a modern look at what it means to be Jewish in 2017: historically aware, politically engaged, and more than willing to laugh at themselves.

Courtesy of TJFF’s Facebook page It is this that brings to light a question that hung over the festival. With such a diverse array of films, where were all the young people? There was a distinct concern at the lack of youth who were attending screenings, one which I noted myself. Perhaps only a symptom of being at an odd time for students to attend, nevertheless, despite the excellent array of films, the festival neglected to score many attendees who were below the age of 60. However, I did not feel that this was such a concern as to warrant much more than a note for next year. The Toronto Jewish Film Festival thrived in its 25th year, and with a promise to return next year, bigger and better than ever, there can be no doubt about its success.

Learn more about the Toronto Jewish Film Festival and the films mentioned in this article at their website: https://tjff.com/

CIJ NEWS -­ May 4, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival starts on May 4 en.cijnews.com/?p=236159

Toronto Jewish Film Festival starts on May 4 Posted by: CIJnews Staff May 4, 2017

The 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is taking place May 4 to 14, 2017. The lineup of its 25th anniversary edition includes a mix of classics, archival rediscoveries, and exceptional new releases. The broad and diverse slate is comprised of 105 films from 24 countries including Israel, Argentina, The Netherlands, Australia, and France, and features numerous Premieres: 6 World, 10 International, 5 North American, 30 Canadian and 19 Toronto. The Festival is proud to present a number of acclaimed features, among them: Eran Kolirin’s (The Band’s Visit) Beyond the Mountains and Hills, a poignant film about a soldier’s adaptation to civilian life;; Ate de Jong and Emily Harris’ Love is Thicker Than Water, an indie gem about the ups and downs of a young couple in contemporary London;; and Eyal Halfon’s satirical The 90 Minute War, a bold comedy that places the fate of the Israeli-­Palestinian conflict on a single soccer match. The lineup also includes festival favourites from Cannes, Sundance, Locarno, and Berlin, including: the Canadian Premiere of Joshua Z Weinstein’s acclaimed Menashe, a drama about a single father in Brooklyn’s Hasidic community;; Maria Schrader’s Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe, about the great Austrian writer’s final years;; and Asaph Polonsky’s moving feature debut, One Week and a Day, which has already established him as an Israeli talent to watch. One special programme this year is a tribute to celebrated Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman. Alongside the Canadian premiere of his recent An Israeli Love Story, the Festival is proud to present archival screenings of the classics My Michael (1976), and Hide and Seek (1980), Israel’s first LGBT film. The recent restoration of Hide and Seek screened at the 2016 Berlin Film Festival (where it originally premiered and won a prize in 1980) – as part of the festival’s 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards. Additional archival highlights include a tribute to the comedic genius of the late Gene Wilder with a free screening of The Frisco Kid (1979), starring Wilder as a Polish rabbi in the American West. It will be shown alongside the rare television gem The Eternal Light: Home for Passover (1966), based on the Sholem Aleichem story. The Festival also presents an anniversary screening of Madeleine Ali’s Black to the Promised Land (1992), which was part of the Festival’s inaugural edition 25 years ago. TJFF is proud of its support for this great and often-­requested documentary. This year’s lineup also includes the Canadian Premieres of several rich and nuanced documentaries, including: Trevor Graham’s Monsieur Mayonnaise, which follows cult filmmaker Philippe Mora as he uncovers his father’s role in the French Resistance, as well as his friendship with Marcel Marceau;; Lilly Rivlin’s Heather Booth: Changing the World, a portrait of an influenti al activist, featuring interviews with Elizabeth Warren and other prominent progressives;; and Chen Shelach’s Praise the Lard, about Israel’s complex pork industry.

Other documentary highlights include: the Canadian premiere of Robert Philipson’s Body & Soul: An American Bridge, which explores the complex musical interplay between Jewish and African-­American cultures through the history of one of the most enduring standards written by a Jewish composer;; the Toronto Premiere of Sam Blair and Joseph Martin’s Keep Quiet, about the revelation of a Hungarian far right leader’s unexpected Jewish heritage;; the International Premiere of Jeff Zapata and Joe Simko’s 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story, a comprehensive history of the gross-­out cultural phenomenon;; and the World Premiere of David Blumenfeld and Ami Drozd’s Scandal in Ivansk, which follows the controversy around an effort to restore an old Jewish cemetery in Ivansk, Poland. TJFF will present a number of exceptional short films for the 2017 edition, including two curated programmes. The New Israeli Cinema programme includes Shadi Habib Allah’s subversive The Fifth Season, a short doc that follows a Palestinian writer and teacher in Ramallah;; Yoav Hornung’s Deserted, about an officer who loses her weapon during her final examination;; Tomer Shushan’s Inside Shells, a beautifully-­directed portrait of a family on the economic margins;; and Nurith Cohn’s Little Dictator, a comedy about an unfortunate shaving mishap. Seventeen other shorts will precede features throughout the Festival, in addition to the four titles that make up the previously announced Canadian short film programme, Oy Canada. Other previously announced programming includes Richler On-­Screen, TJFF’s comprehensive tribute to Mordecai Richler, Opening Night film 1945, Closing Night film Mandala Beats, David A. Stein Memorial Award winner The Patriarch’s Room, and Micki Moore Award winner A.K.A. Nadia, among other titles. The complete TJFF 2017 film lineup is now available at TJFF.COM Venue box offices open May 5, available one hour before first screening start time. Venues include Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Famous Players Canada Square Cinemas, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Innis Town Hall, The Spadina Theatre at Alliance Française, The Royal Cinema and Cineplex Cinemas Varsity and VIP. (Source: Toronto Jewish Film Foundation)

CS: Yeah. You know, the army did not know how to treat this. When I was in the army we didn’t have this problem. But, after a few days they did get him out of jail. They thought about it and said, OK this is enough. We are not going into what people put into their own sandwiches! There’s no way there will be pork in the dining room on the base, but if someone gets his lunch bag from his grandmother and she gives him ham, it’s OK. Let everybody eat what they want.

GFR: Israeli food is having a bit of a moment here, in the UK and in The States. In London, I went to the Palomar where chef Tomer Amedi uses pork and shellfish. He came from the kitchen of chef Uri Navon at Machneyuda in Jerusalem, who is famous using pork and scallops and shrimp. Is this part of a backlash? Or part of something linked to Praise The Lard?

CS: I don’t know a lot especially about these restaurants because I haven’t been, but what’s happening now in Israel is that there are restaurants taking out the pork. Not because there is a law, but because eating pork is getting down in Israel. One of the reasons is that the Russian people who came in the 1990s, who ate a lot of pork, are now in the next generation and they married Israelis from other cultures who don’t eat pork. So, if one of the couple does not eat pork, in the home there will not be pork. Other things, like shrimp or seafood that is also not kosher, like pork, doesn’t have this myth that pork is the worst thing that Jewish people could eat. So people eat the seafood, but they won’t touch the pork.

GFR: That’s interesting. So there’s a hierarchy, with one higher than the other. You can eat a shrimp but never pork.

CS: It’s become a symbol. You know, in the film one of the religious leaders had a hard time to even say the word. He couldn’t believe that I could touch it. [Laughs.]

GFR: And you’re still alive, and doing well.

CS: Yes, and he’s still alive too, which is good.

Chen Stelach’s film Praise The Lard will have its Canadian premiere at The Toronto Jewish Film Festival on May 5th at the Cineplex

Cinemas Empress Walk in Toronto.

CORRIERE CANADESE -­ May 11, 2017 -­ ‘Lasciati andare’: Toni Servillo in commedia IN PRINT ONLY

TORONTO “Lasciati andare”: Toni Servillo in commedia

Johnny L. Bertolio TORONTO – In occasione della venti-­cinquesima edizione del “Toronto Jewish Film Festival”, che si svolge in città dal 4 al 14 maggio, il programma annuale ospita un film italiano: “Lasciati andare” (Let yourself go), regia di Francesco Amato. Domina questa commedia italiana la performance di Toni Servillo, che impersona Elia Venezia, uno psicanalista di stretta osservanza freudiana (quella religiosa, al contrario, latita). Al fianco suo e della sua porta vive la moglie, Giovanna (Carla Signoris), che con Elia forma una coppia solo apparentemente scoppiata: i due non stanno più insieme ma, per l’estrema propensione al risparmio di lui, le pratiche per la separazione non sono mai iniziate. Quando il medico consiglia ad Elia di fare attività fisica, lo psicanalista si imbatte in una personal trainer efervescente e inafdabile, la spagnola Claudia (Verónica Echegui), che trascinerà il suo nuovo cliente in un turbinio di avventure in compagnia di uno dei suoi ex fidanzati, il galeotto Ettore (Luca Marinelli, reduce con Servillo dalla “Grande bellezza”). Ad arricchire questa psicopatologia della vita quotidiana accorre Giacomo Poretti, del celebre trio comico, nei panni di un agguerrito paziente. Tutti i personaggi, Elia compreso, giocano con tutto ciò che la cultura popolare associa alla psicanalisi e al suo fondatore Freud: l’uso dei sigari e della cocaina, il transfert, l’ipnosi, lo studio dell’infanzia, l’analisi dell’omosessualità… La sceneggiatura, che, con quella del regista, porta le firme di Davide Lantieri e di Francesco Bruni, collaboratore di Pa-­ olo Virzì, regala agli spettatori un film vivacissimo, aereo, a tratti surreale, in cui la migliore commedia cinematografica (Ernst Lubitsch e Billy Wilder) si fonde con certe pointe da umorismo ebraico. Da non perdere. (13 maggio, 9:30 PM, Famous Players Canada Square 3, Toronto – co-­presented with the Istituto italiano di cultura)

GAZETA -­ May 1, 2017 -­ Polskie tematy na TJFF http://www.gazetagazeta.com/2017/05/polskie-­tematy-­na-­tjff/

Polskie tematy na TJFF AUTOR: REDAKCJA OPUBLIKOWANE: 1 MAY, 2017 KATEGORII: FILM Na tegorocznym jubileuszowym 25. Toronto Jewish Film Festival, który odbywa się w dniach 4-­15 maja (info: tjff.com ), pokazane zostaną trzy filmy, które są tematycznie powiązane z Polską. • Światową premierę będzie miał dokumentalny film “Scandal in Ivansk” (“Skandal w Iwaniskach”). Film powstał w koprodukcji polsko-­izraelskiej, a jego reżyser David Blumenfeld będzie gościem festiwalu. 78-­minutowy film ukazuje w jaki posób pamięć o pewnych wydarzeniach jest manipulowana aby pasować do norm obowiązujących w danym społeczeństwie. Grupa żydowskich potomków mieszkańców małego miasteczka przyjeżdża po latach, aby znaleźć ślady życia swoich przodków i zorganizować odbudowę zaniedbanego lokalnego cmentarza. Na pamiątkowej tablicy wspomniani są “kolaboranci”, czyli ci z Polaków, którzy współpracowali z Niemcami. Wzbudza to ogromny skandal.

• Kanadyjska premiera fabularnego filmu “Subte: Polska” , opowiadającego o życiu polskiego Żyda w Argentynie. Twórcą tego argentyńskiego filmu jest Alejandro Magnone. Jako młody chłopak polski Żyd Tadeusz opuścił ukochaną i rodzinę aby walczyć w wojnie domowej w Hiszpanii. Po klęsce wojny i dojściu do władzy faszystów, emigruje do Buenos Aires. Obecnie w wieku 90 lat, pragnie choć na chwilę odzyskać odrobinę młodości.

• Niemiecki dokumentalny film ukraińskiego twócy Sergieja Loznica pt. “Austerlitz” , do którego zdjęcia nakręcono w obozach koncentracyjnych. Film ten pokazywany był na TIFF. Pokazuje ludzi odwiedzających obozy i ich reakcje.

PANORAM ITALIA -­ Events -­ ITALIAN FILM "LET YOURSELF GO" AT THE 25th TORONTO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 http://www.panoramitalia.com/en/events/toronto/italian-­film-­let-­go-­25th-­toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­2017/4385/

ITALIAN FILM "LET YOURSELF GO" AT THE 25th TORONTO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 Proiezione del film LASCIATI ANDARE al 25mo TORONTO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017 May 9 (10:00 am) to May 9 (11:00 pm) Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on 506 Bloor St W, Toronto;; Famous Players Canada Square 3 on 2190 Yonge St, Toronto

An uptight psychologist gets more than just a physical workout when he signs up for personal training sessions with an attractive young instructor. Toni Servillo ( The Great Beauty ) is outstanding as Elia, a conservative psychiatrist who lives next door to his estranged wife with whom he is still secretly in love. When his doctor warns him that his weight is putting his health at risk, he enlists Claudia to help get him into shape. A single mother to an undisciplined child, Claudia could use some life coaching. Together, this mismatched pair makes strides in healing both body and soul.

Country Italy Genre Drama Year 2017 Running Time 98min. Language Italian Subtitles English Director Francesco Amato

The Toronto Jewish Film Foundation produces programming and projects offering the best feature films, documentaries and shorts from Canada and around the world, on themes of Jewish culture and identity. The Foundation is dedicated to using film for its contemporary popular value and accessibility, in order to reflect the diversity of the Jewish experience internationally. TJFF provides an opportunity to heighten awareness of Jewish and cultural diversity around the world to audience of all cultural backgrounds, and to present films in their original languages, with subtitles, in an effort to break down racial, cultural and religious barriers and stereotypes.

KANADAI MAGYARSÁG -­ April 29 2017 -­ Lehetett volna jobb választás? Print Only

Lehetett volna jobb választás? Török Ferenc számára 1945 a gyász, nem a felszabadulás éve A II. világháború vége és a kommunizmus közti át-­ menetben játszódik Török Ferenc új filmje, az 1945. A várt nyugalom helyett azonban megmarad a fe-­ szültség. Miután felbukkan két elhurcolt zsidó, el-­ uralkodik a rettegés és a bûn tudata a faluban. A ren-­ dezõ elmondta: nem bûnösökre és ártatlanokra akarták osztani a szereplõket.

– Az 1945 címû film iro-­ dalmi adaptáció – nyilat-­ kozta a rendezõ a Magyar Nemzetnek. – Akkor olvas-­ tam Szántó T. Gábor novel-­ láját, amikor megjelent, majd hosszú évek során közösen írtuk a forgató-­ könyvet. Filmünk fikciós történet, amely egy falu-­ ban játszódik, de szétszór-­ va, több helyszínen – pá-­ lyaudvaron, fõtéren, temp-­ lomban.

Mint megtudtuk, a film feszes ritmusú, alig egy-­ pár óra leforgása alatt játszódik, erõs karakterraj-­ zokkal. Az alkotók minél árnyaltabban akarták a falu közösségét bemutatni. – Abban pedig biztos voltam, hogy fekete-­fehér-­ ben kell leforgatni – folytatja Török Ferenc. – 1945 a gyász éve számomra, nem pedig a felszabadulá-­ sé. A háború hiába ért vé-­ get, az igazi gyász ekkor kezdõdik. Azt kutattuk, ami a két diktatúra között történt. Lehetett volna-­e jobb választása akkor en-­ nek az országnak? Miért nem maradhatott végül a demokrácia? A kommu-­ nizmus nem volt képes és nem is akart a holokauszt kérdésével foglalkozni jó ideig. Nagyon gyorsan, szinte pillanatok alatt tör-­ téntek akkoriban a politi-­ kai események...

A rendezõ elmondta, hogy õ sem tendenciákat akart ábrázolni az 1945-­ ben, sokkal inkább a korabeli hangulatot megragad-­ ni. Hitelesen megeleveníte-­ ni az akkori társadalmat: az ártatlantól a kollaboránsig, a bûnöstõl az áldozatig.

Török Ferenc szerint Magyarországon filmes téren kedvezõ változások történtek. A Magyar Nemzeti Filmalap például úgy tûnik, hatékonyabban mûködik, mint elõdje, a Magyar Mozgókép Köz-­ alapítvány.

– Tény, a filmalap szak-­ mai mûködése minden-­ képp pozitív csalódás szá-­ munkra – mondta. – Sú-­ lyos elõítéletekkel viselte-­ tett a filmszakma Andy Vajnával szemben, mára mégis sokkal jobbá vált a helyzet. A döntéshozók értenek a filmhez, és ez a legfontosabb. A politiku-­ sokat pedig szerencsére hidegen hagyta, milyen té-­ májú filmeket forgatunk, ez valószínûleg abból fa-­ kad, hogy nincs már a mo-­ zinak valódi véleményfor-­ máló, közéleti súlya. A té-­ vé és a web felszabadította a filmeseket e teher alól. Sokkal inkább a mûvészi kifejezésformák kerültek elõtérbe, mintsem a politi-­ kai agitáció.

Török Ferenc úgy véli, hogy amit Nemes Jeles László Oscar-­díja vagy Enyedi Ildikó Arany Med-­ véje jelent a világban, bi-­ zonyítéka annak, hogy a jó film nem politika– vagy hatalomfüggõ. Hozzátette:

– Többen kérdezték a Berlinalén tõlem is: „Ab-­ ban a diktatórikus ország-­ ban nálatok, hogyan ké-­ szülhet ilyen antifasiszta, provokatív mûvészfilm?” Mert a hatalom végre nem foglalkozik a filmesekkel. És reméljük, ez így is ma-­ rad most már örökké...

L. D. (mno.hu)

A filmet bemutatják Torontóban május 4-­én és 10-­én, további információért nézzék meg a www.tjff.com honlapját!

WEEKLY VOICE -­ April 21 2017 -­ Jewish Film Festival To ‘Close’ With Indian Beats http://epaper.weeklyvoice.com/2017/apr/21/

Jewish Film Festival To ‘Close’ With Indian Beats

Toronto: The upcoming Toronto Jewish Film Festival has an Indian twist and rather interesting one -­ a documentary by Rebekah Reiko Segal, on one of Israel’s most original musical talents -­ bassist and producer Yossi Fine. Known as the Jimi Hendrix of bass guitar, he has recorded and produced music with artists from across the globe, including Lou Reed, David Bowie and Brian Eno. After travelling to Jamaica and Mali to expand his musical knowledge and get in touch with his ancestral roots, Fine discovers that his great-­grandmother is Indian.

Mandala Beats documents Fine’s journey through India, the impact its music and culture has on his own personal musical style as well as on that of his contemporaries. Having crossed personal and geographic borders through music, Fine returns to Israel up-­ lifted by his Indian experience and inspired to take on ambitious new musical directions.

Mandala Beats is the closing night lm at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, for its 25th anniversary (May 4-­14).

The full lineup of its 25th anniversary edition includes a mix of classics, archival rediscoveries, and exceptional new releases. The broad and diverse slate comprises 105 lms from 24 countries including Israel, Argentina, The Netherlands, Australia, and France, and features numerous Premieres: 6 World, 10 International, 5 North American, 30 Canadian and 19 Toronto.

More at tjff.com.

LATINOS MAGAZINE -­ April 18, 2017 -­ El filme argentino Subte – Polska debutará en Canadá en el Festival de Cine Judío de Toronto http://latinosmag.com/el-­filme-­argentino-­subte-­polska-­debutara-­en-­canada-­en-­el-­festival-­de-­cine-­judio-­de-­toronto/

El filme argentino Subte – Polska debutará en Canadá en el Festival de Cine Judío de Toronto

BY LATINOS | • APRIL 18, 2017

Del 04 al 14 de mayo se celebrá la edición 25 del Festival de Cine Judío de Toronto, el cual contará este año con la participación de la película argentina Subte – Polska que hará su debut en Canadá en este reconocido festival.

Subte – Polska se desarrolla en Argentina y cuenta la historia de Tadeusz, un inmigrante polaco judío de 90 años aficionado al ajedrez y ex brigadista internacional durante la Guerra Civil Española, quien vive sus días entre el presente y el pasado. A pesar de haber permanecido casi toda su vida en Buenos Aires, los recuerdos en Europa de su niñez, sus amores y sus luchas siguen más presentes que nunca.

A los 90 años Tadeusz está desesperado por reencontrarse con su lucidez mental y su líbido sexual, las cuales cree que ha perdido por culpa de unas píldoras que le recetó el doctor. Al dejar de tomarlas, el hombre inicia un viaje de ensueño en el que el pasado se funde con el presente. Tadeusz sabe que su última aventura se aproxima y con la ayuda de familiares y amigos se reencontrará con personas de su pasado.

Escrita y dirigida por Alejandro Magnone, Subte – Polska es una historia emotiva con toques humorísticos que cautivará al espectador.

CJN -­ May 18. 2017 -­ Filmmaker documents parents’ attempt to escape USSR

http://www.cjnews.com/culture/arts/filmmaker-­documents-­parents-­attempt-­escape-­ussr

Home Culture The Arts Filmmaker documents parents’ attempt to escape USSR

FILMMAKER DOCUMENTS PARENTS’ ATTEMPT TO

ESCAPE USSR

By Ania Bessonov -­ May 18, 2017

There are few children who wake up to the constant knocking of

journalists on their doorstep, who want to speak to their parents. There

are even fewer children who grow up wanting to document their parents’

history, without even knowing all the details. But Anat

Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov was one of the few.

Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov had dreamt of making a documentary about her

parents’ attempted escape from the Soviet Union, which eventually

brought them to Israel, from the unique perspective of being their

daughter. But in 2009, a car accident left her in critical condition and she

almost lost the chance to follow through on her dream.

Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov is an Israeli filmmaker who began her career with

commercials and music videos. Throughout her childhood, she was

constantly in the spotlight, as the daughter of two globally recognized individuals: Sylva Zalmanson and Edward Kuznetsov.

“When people heard my last name, they would recognize that I was the daughter of my parents,” she said. “In school, teachers

would ask me to tell my parents’ story. I grew up with the notion that my parents were superheroes.” Her parents were two of 11 people who were arrested by the KGB for attempting to hijack a plane, in an effort to escape the Soviet

Union. Most of the group was sent to the gulags for at least 10 years. Kuznetsov and one other person, Mark Dymshits, were

sentenced to death.

In the USSR, the group was referred to as terrorists, but their fame was rooted in something much stronger: throughout their trials,

they demonstrated a resiliency that the Soviet officials were not used to. This was one of the first times that a Soviet trial was

being reported on throughout the rest of the world. The resulting international pressure eventually led to the group being set free.

Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov felt compelled to make a documentary about her parents’ experiences over that period of time. From her

point of view, previous accounts of this story were filled with subjectivity, and the official Soviet version of events was akin to a

work of historical fiction. For her, this was both a personal project and a way to present a different side of the story.

“If I don’t make this film, then what is there to remember?” she asked.

For the last eight years, Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov has put her entire life on hold, in order to create this documentary. After a failed

attempt in 2009, she tried again in 2012 – this time, successfully. The reactions from viewers that Operation Wedding has received

is exactly what Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov was hoping for.

“It’s amazing how peoples’ reactions are so strong. I love being in the cinema when people wipe their noses, or even laugh,” she

said.

She began her North American tour in Toronto at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Both screenings of Operation Wedding, on May

5 and 7, sold out. Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov will continue her tour in the United States.

Operation Wedding is just the beginning of Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov’s cinematic endeavours. She hopes to continue shining light on

her family history and is set on making a fictional film about this historical episode as her next project. For more information visit : https://www.operation-­wedding-­documentary.com/

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 12, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: UNCLE HOWARD http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/12/tjff-­2017-­review-­uncle-­howard/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: UNCLE HOWARD Posted by Jordan Adler | May 12, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 |

“Because of Howard, I wanted to make movies.” These are the words of filmmaker Aaron Brookner, whose non-­fiction debut is, fittingly, a testament to his uncle. Howard Brookner was a lauded New York director, who made two docs and a Hollywood feature before succumbing to AIDS three days before his 35th birthday. As Aaron searches through Howard’s archive – full of home movies, diary entries, and photographs – he becomes re-­immersed in a mostly forgotten but momentous cultural era. Meeting with his uncle’s old friends and collaborators, such as Jim Jarmusch and Sara Driver, Aaron learns more about a charming, gregarious, brilliant artist.

Uncle Howard is a moving and generous tribute to an under-­recognized filmmaker. Meanwhile, it also boasts a devastating power, as it witnesses a generation of luminaries whose contributions to culture have faded or been mostly erased from the record. In the doc’s second half, which focuses on Howard’s battles with AIDS, Aaron shows us a trove of footage that is sometimes painful to watch. (This includes a home movie of a birthday party, where many of the invited would be dead soon

after, as well as video diaries of Howard commenting on his fatigue and frustration.) Yet, the indelible subject of this film has an optimism and sweetness that is contagious, impacting the doc’s lively tone.

Aaron’s film is a bit unfocused in the first half, which spends too much time looking at the relationship between Howard and William S. Burroughs (when the former made a biography about the latter). Meanwhile, although one comes to see some of the personal influence Howard has on his nephew’s creative journey, there is more material to mine here about their relationship. Despite these minor complaints, this intimate document of a man, his work, and his love of the cinema will be hard for many to forget. IS UNCLE HOWARD ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING? Yes. Uncle Howard is an enriching, poignant look at an independent filmmaker who made his mark but left the world too soon. UNCLE HOWARD SCREENING TIMES Sunday, May 14, 2017 – 4:30 pm – Innis Town Hall UNCLE HOWARD TRAILER

CINEMA AXIS -­ May 17, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017: MANDALA BEATS, HARMONIA https://cinemaaxis.com/2017/05/17/tjff-­2017-­mandala-­beats-­harmonia/

TJFF 2017: MANDALA BEATS, HARMONIA POSTED BY COURTNEY SMALL ON MAY 17, 2017 IN REACTIONS , REVIEWS , TIFF , TJFF | LEAVE A COMMENT After another successful year, the 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival wrapped up this past weekend. Over at In the Seats, I took a look at two films that played the festival: Harmonia and Mandala Beats . I have included the TJFF synopsis of both films and links to my reviews below: Mandala Beats TJFF synopsis: “[Yossi] Fine departs on a journey of rediscovery, setting out for India to explore new sounds and collaborate with local musicians. Discovering a world of Jewish music in India.” You can read my review over at In the Seats .

Harmonia TJFF synopsis: ”Filmmaker Ori Sivan (In Treatment) retells the foundational Biblical story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar in modern-­day Jerusalem.” You can read my review over at In the Seats .

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 12, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: MANDALA BEATS http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/12/tjff-­2017-­review-­mandala-­beats/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: MANDALA BEATS Posted by Amanda Clarke | May 12, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 |

Israeli bassist and producer Yossi Fine has always drawn on

his European and Caribbean heritage in his music. As an

adult, he discovered that his great grandmother was Indian.

An invitation to an Indian music festival allows him to explore

his newly discovered Indian roots through music.

Mandala Beats blends cool reggae rhythms with classic

Indian beats to create an entertaining exploration of culture

through music. Director Rebekah Reiko has created something that plays like an intellectual concert film. The music is

fantastic and she lets that drive the film forward. However, what really elevates the film is the discussions of music, culture

and identity that weave in and out of the musical performances.

In Yossi Fine, Reiko has a subject that understands and appreciates music at its core. This leads to technical musical

discussions, that instead of dragging down the film, manage to elevate the music. The music is reason enough to see

Mandala Beats, but through the words of Fine and other musicians it is given another layer of meaning.

IS MANDALA BEATS ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING?

Mandala Beats is as enjoyable as it is informative. I only wish it could be longer.

MANDALA BEATS SCREENING TIMES

Sunday, May 14, 2017 – 8:30 pm – Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

MANDALA BEATS TRAILER

ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES -­ May 11, 2017 -­ One Week and A Day https://assholeswatchingmovies.com/2017/05/10/one-­week-­and-­a-­day/

One Week And A Day

5 Replies

When Eyal and Vicky Spivak finish the week of mourning for their son,

their grief is a gulf between them. Vicky is ready to launch back into the

comfort routine but Eyal seems lost, stuck, and unsure of how to

proceed, or why. His stealthy rescue of a bag of medicinal pot from his

son’s hospice room leads to a form of mourning unlike any other you’ve

seen on the screen before.

In an odd way, One Week And A Day is a comedy about grief. After a hilarious montage of Eyal’s inept failure to roll a proper joint,

he recruits the young neighbour next door (an old friend of his son’s) and the two of them roll their way through grief and loss. Vicky

is as disapproving as you might imagine, but she’s not exactly smoothly sailing through this period either. Her grief is just as

bumbling, if more sober.

Turns out the neighbour, Zooler (Tomor Kapon), is an aspiring air guitarist, and his quirky, oddball demeanor is just what the doctor

ordered, maybe not just for Eyal (Shai Avivi), but for all of us. The death of one’s child is a subject so sensitive, so awful to

contemplate, that often we avoid it. Movies that dare to breach the topic are often morose and difficult to watch. In this case,

writer-­director Asaph Polonsky gives us reason, and permission, to smile through it. It’s a relief.

Which is not to say there isn’t something deeply emotional running under the surface. It bubbles up during a eulogy that comes late in

the film, and it’s such a poignant moment that it stops you short. It gives balance to the film, and grounds us once again in reality.

Polonsky uses a wide lens to show the dynamic between Zooler, Eyal, and Vicky as the back and forth between them tends to be

quite powerful. Everything in this movie feels casual and off-­hand, allowing us to get closer to the subject, but this is due to careful

orchestration behind the scenes. Afterward, recounting my favourite scene to Sean, tears sprung in my eyes. I hadn’t realized how

moved I was by it because the movie doesn’t manipulate you into sadness. It very gently cradles you, but clearly even without the

histrionics it’s capable of evoking feeling.

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 11, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: MURDER IN POLNÁ http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/11/tjff-­2017-­review-­murder-­in-­polna/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: MURDER IN POLNÁ Posted by Jordan Adler | May 11, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 |

Based on true events, Murder in Polná is a two-­part television

mini-­series from the Czech Republic. It dramatizes the infamous

trial of Leopold Hilsner (Karel Hermánek Jr.), who was accused in

1899 of murdering a 19-­year-­old girl. The young man’s status as a

Jew, and the rumours that the murder was a blood ritual to make

Passover matzo, vilified the man. Rising attorney Aurednícek

(Jaroslav Plesl) and a highly regarded professor (Karel Roden)

believe Hilsner has been scapegoated for a crime he didn’t

commit. Can they persuade an anti-­Semitic jury that Hilsner is

innocent?

(Note: The reviewer only had access to the first episode of this two-­part series.)

This noteworthy mini-­series depicts a notorious trial in an engaging and often galvanizing fashion. The most arresting

moments are the courtroom scenes.

Beyond the unconventional tenor of the case, many of the statements uttered here come verbatim from the trial. Not only is

much of the material shocking to witness, but the disgust of the townspeople hissing at Hilsner also gets under our skin.

These moments are thick with suspense and unease. Hermánek Jr’s gripping turn as the scapegoated Hilsner makes the

whole process even more discomfiting.

Still, even with an extended running time for television, Murder in Polná sometimes feels overly expository. This is a series

that privileges speeches over visuals. One wishes director Viktor Polesný would have let the images speak louder, perhaps

through digging more thoroughly into Hilsner and Aurednícek’s psychology. Moreover, the initial murder is portrayed in a

way that feels tasteless and exploitative. This brutal sequence of death begins the film on a sickening note;; here,

suggestion would have been preferred.

IS MURDER IN POLNÁ ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING?

Although there are issues with the storytelling, Murder in Polná should absorb audiences for much of its nearly three-­hour

running time. If one’s stomach can handle the grim material (and some graphic violence), it is worth seeing.

MURDER IN POLNÁ SCREENING TIMES

Friday, May 12, 2017 – 1:00 pm – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk

SHELDON KIRSHNER JOURNAL -­ April 21, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival (3) http://sheldonkirshner.com/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­3-­4/

Toronto Jewish Film Festival (3) Filed in Film by Sheldon Kirshner on April 21, 2017• 0 Comments This year’s edition of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, rebranded as the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation, runs from May 4-­14. As usual, the lineup is impressive. The films reviewed here deal with a scandal in the powerful Greek Orthodox Church in Israel, the Austrian novelist and refugee from Nazism, Stefan Zweig, and a Polish veteran of the Spanish Civil War who relives his youth vicariously through memory. A scandal of immense proportions erupted in the Greek Orthodox church in East Jerusalem in 2005 when a major Israeli daily reported that its patriarch, Irineos, had sold land to Jewish settlers close to the Jaffa Gate. Since virtually all of the church’s followers in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jordan are Palestinian Arabs, he was branded as a traitor. Irineos strenuously denied the accusation, but in short order he was stripped of his title, demoted to simple monk and confined to his room for the next 11 years.

The incident, the first of its kind in the church’s 2,000-­year history, sharply divided the 100,000-­strong Greek Orthodox community. For some, Irineos was a villain who had betrayed the Palestinians. For others, he was nothing less than a martyr, the victim of an opaque conspiracy. These diametrically conflicting views intrigued Israeli filmmaker Danae Elon sufficiently enough for her to embark on a quest to find the truth. She interviewed, among others, pro-­and anti-­Irineos figures in Israel and Greece, the police chief of Jerusalem, a former Israeli prime minister, Irineous’

successor, Theophilus III, and Irineos himself. Her compelling documentary, Patriarch’s Room (May 12 & May 14), is a gallant attempt to unravel the mystery. When the story of Irineous’ “betrayal” broke, many of his congregants were absolutely livid. “He’s Judas!” one man exclaimed. “He betrayed Jesus Christ!” Irineous protested his innocence, but to no avail. Locked up in his quarters in the Greek Orthodox patriarchy, he was, in effect, internally exiled. A local Palestinian grocer, whom Elon interviews, supplied him with food for a while. Brandishing a microphone, she conducts an impromptu interview with Irineous from his window. He claims that “bad people” conspired against him. The new patriarch, Theophilus, declines to discuss the details of Irineous’ demotion, but suggests that his predecessor failed to understand the dynamics of the Arab-­Israeli conflict. Elon flies to Greece to speak to monks in a monastery loyal to Irineous, who still regards himself as the rightful patriarch. One of his acolytes, known as “Little Irineous,” is intent on restoring him to his throne. As the film unfolds, “Little Irineous” joins Elon in Israel for further conversations. Back in Jerusalem, she speaks to police chief Avi Biton, who says that Irineous is free to leave his room whenever he likes. At this juncture, “Little Irineous” discloses some vital information. As he and Elon stand on high ground overlooking the city, he discloses that the church owns about half the land in Jerusalem and environs, including the residence of Israel’s president. Indeed, the church is the third largest private land owner in the country. As she continues to probe, she tries to obtain an interview with Mati Dan, one of the principals of Ateret Cohanim, an organization dedicated to buying Arab land in East Jerusalem on a clandestine basis. Dan is unavailable, of course, but she discovers that a high-­level employee of the church secretly negotiated a land deal with him without Irineous’ knowledge. When Irineous discovered what had happened, he refused to sign the

real estate deal, prompting headlines in Israeli newspapers. Elon also interviews Irineous’ rival, Bishop Timothy, who admits he played a role in his ouster. The Israeli government waited two years before recognizing Theophilus as the 142nd patriarch. Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister, says Theophilus was so eager for Israeli recognition that he was ready to become a member of the Likud Party. It’s a facetious comment, but it shows the lengths to which the new patriarch was willing to go to curry favor with Israel. Rfai Eitan, a former Israeli cabinet minister, sheds more light on the issue. Israel, he reveals, was favorably disposed toward Theophilus out of fear that an Arab might be next in line to succeed Irineous as patriarch.

Elon’s first face-­to-­face interview with Irineous is heart-­felt. “Help us, please,” he says as she enters his richly-­appointed apartment. She’s sympathetic to his claim that unnamed officials in the Israeli government pressed him to sell the land. “I could not help but feel for him,” she says. But at the end of the day, she acknowledges, only time will reveal all the details of this convoluted case. Stefan Zweig, one of the world’s most famous writers, found himself in exile after Germany annexed Austria, his birthplace, in 1938. A novelist, playwright and journalist, he could not, as a Jew, return to Vienna. So he became a rootless cosmopolitan in search of a permanent home, a quest he cut terribly short with suicide in 1942 in Brazil. Maria Schrader’s film, Stefan Zweig: Farewell To Europe (May 5 & May 9), unfolds in chapters as he and his second wife, Lotte, traverse the globe, moving successively from Britain, Brazil, New York City and back to Brazil. Their peregrinations unfold against the backdrop of World War II. The movie opens in Rio de Janeiro as the Brazilian foreign minister pays tribute to Zweig (Josef Hader) at a lavish lunch. He returns the favor by saying he’s found friendship and tolerance in Brazil. A flashback takes us back to Buenos Aires, circa 1936. At a press conference, he declines to criticize the Nazi regime in Germany and claims that national borders and passports will be obsolete one day. Fast-­forwarding to 1941, we find Zweig walking through a dense sugarcane field in Brazil’s Bahia province. He and his much younger wife (Aenne Schwarz) are constantly in motion, travelling one from city to the next to meet adoring crowds. In one town, he’s feted by the mayor and greeted by a band that comically mangles the Austrian national anthem. In New York City, in the dead of winter, Zweig is in a complaint mode. He’s tired of arranging visas for old friends who can’t leave Germany. In a fatigued voice, he says he can’t go on like this much longer. But he continues to think of old friends stranded in Europe. Returning to Brazil, he finds himself in Petropolis, a town in the mountains relatively close to Rio. He meets a friend, a former newspaper editor from Berlin, and both admire the lush jungle views. “We have no reason to complain,” says Zweig, not letting on he’s beset by depression. An admirer gives him a dog, which brings a smile to his face.

The final chapter of this somber film encapsulates Zweig’s tragedy. Discouraged by his personal prospects, and worn down by a grinding war that was destroying Europe, he could no longer see the purpose of life. Alejandro Magnone’s drama, Subte: Polska (May 6 & May 14), revolves around Tadeusz Goldberg (Hector Bidonde), a 90-­year-­old Polish Jewish veteran of the Spanish Civil War living in Buenos Aires. As he glances back in time, he compares the frailties of old age with his youthful sexual encounters. This juxtaposition, a source of pride and frustration, renders him crotchety and bold. He complains his pills aren’t effective any more. He says he’s open to taking Viagara. He stresses the importance of having an erection, much to the bemusement of the doctors attending to him at a hospital. As the days pass, he shows off his mental prowess in chess, a game in which he was once a champion. And he visits the grave of a friend who fought alongside him in Spain. Spain is the leitmotif that runs through this contemplative Argentinian film. In a series of flashbacks, Goldberg’s experiences in Spain, particularly his love affair with a young Spanish woman, appear and reappear. Goldberg’s mind also races back to his early years in Buenos Aires when he was a subway worker. As he reminisces, he talks about a girlfriend in Poland whom he lost touch with long ago and explains why, as a Jew and a communist, he was unable to return to Poland in the late 1930s. Recalling the murder of his family during the Holocaust, Goldberg says he settled in Argentina to banish this tragedy from his thoughts. Subte: Polska reminds viewers that past and present do not necessarily coexist harmoniously. Tags: Jewish film festival in Toronto Story also ran in: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL -­ April 20, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival (3) http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­3-­2/

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 11, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: THE PATRIARCH’S ROOM http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/11/tjff-­2017-­review-­the-­patriarchs-­room/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: THE PATRIARCH’S ROOM Posted by Katie O'Connor | May 11, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 |

The Patriarch’s Room is a documentary that tells the story of the controversial dethroning of the last Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Viewers will learn of the unstable nature this inflicted upon the Isreali Secret Service, Jewish settlers, and Palestinian Christians. In 2005, Irineos, the elderly Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, was overthrown due to accusations of selling church properties to Jewish settlers. Consequently, he was removed from his position and confined to his room in the Holy City for 11 years. The Patriarch denies the accusations made against him. This was the first time in the Church’s 2000-­year history a Patriarch, its leader, was removed from his duties. Montreal filmmaker, Danae Elon develops a heartfelt relationship with the Patriarch and delves deeply into his troubled story. As a filmmaker, Elon gracefully and intelligently delivers this difficult story to viewers through humour and a sensitivity to Irineos’ circumstances. This

proves most admirable in the complex relationship the Church carries with the religious community. The documentary offers the Patriarch a chance to tell his story the way it happened. No one else until now has listened to him. With the courageous nature of both Elon and Irineos, viewers will experience an opportunity to take a glimpse into the unknown world within Jerusalem’s Holy City. IS THE PATRIARCH'S ROOM ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING? A fascinating, moving, and at times humorous, portrait of a Patriarch’s troubled story through the eyes of a sensitive filmmaker. THE PATRIARCH'S ROOM SCREENING TIMES Friday, May 12, 2017 – 3:30 pm – Innis Town Hall Sunday, May 14, 2017 – 2:00 pm – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk THE PATRIARCH’S ROOM TRAILER

SHELDON KIRSHNER JOURNAL -­ April 24, 2017 -­ The Ruins of Lifta http://sheldonkirshner.com/the-­ruins-­of-­lifta/

The Ruins of Lifta

Filed in Film by Sheldon Kirshner on April 22, 2017• 0 Comments The village of Lifta spreads out on the slopes of a steep hill adjacent to the Tel Aviv-­Jerusalem highway, which leads directly into the western half of Israel’s capital city. It’s a unique place — the only Palestinian locality abandoned by its residents during the first Arab-­Israeli war that was not destroyed by Israel or repopulated by Jews. Its empty stone buildings bear silent witness to the century-­long struggle between Jews and Palestinian Arabs. On the eve of the 1948 war, Lifta’s population of 2,500 consisted almost entirely of Muslims, with a sprinkling of Christians. Many were farmers who marketed their produce in Jerusalem. Strategically located, Lifta was attacked by Jewish forces and conquered by Lehi — a militia aligned with the right-­wing Herut movement — on March 5, 1948. By then, the Arab population had fled, replicating a situation that occurred in hundreds of Palestinian villages throughout the country The Ruins of Lifta, which will be screened at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival on May 10, is directed by Menachem Daum and Oren

Rudavsky. The film explores the fate of Lifta through the eyes of two completely different people: Daum, an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn whose parents are Holocaust survivors, and Yacoub Odeh, a Palestinian who was born in Lifta and now lives in East Jerusalem. Odeh heads a coalition of Arabs and Jews who hope to save Lifta from the wrecker’s ball. An Israeli real estate developer wants to demolish its last remaining buildings and build a high-­end residential neighbourhood there. It isn’t clear what Odeh has in mind for Lifta’s future, but he believes its former inhabitants have a right to return. In the meantime, there is talk of converting Lifta into a center of Arab-­Jewish reconciliation. Daum, a member of the coalition, seeks to heal Arab-­Jewish wounds. But as he readily admits, his very presence in the coalition is remarkable. Raised in an insular and ethnocentric family from Poland suspicious of Arabs and mistrustful of all other gentiles, Daum was forced to alter his facile assumptions about Poles and Arabs after meeting them on a first-­hand basis. In Poland, Daum let go of his anti-­Polish prejudices after learning that Poles had saved members of his family during the Nazi occupation and that other Poles had dedicated themselves to repairing Jewish cemeteries after the war. In Israel, Daum made the acquaintance of Odeh, who personalized the tragic displacement of Palestinians from their homes and properties. “We have roots,” Odeh says plaintively, wondering why Palestinians were made to pay such a heavy price for the Holocaust. “We didn’t fall from the moon.” As Daum examines this complex issue in greater depth, he speaks to a wide range of people. They run the gamut from his Polish-­born uncle, Mayer Yosef, who fought with Lehi, to Benny Morris, an Israeli historian who has written extensively on the 1948 war. Daum also interviews Lifta villagers who moved to the West Bank, as well as an Israeli proponent of the Lifta development project. As the film unfolds, a mixed picture of Lifta emerges.

Daum’s uncle’s daughter claims that Arabs from Lifta shot at passing cars during the Mandate period in Palestine. Former Lifta residents now living in Ramallah say they forged good relations with Jews and rejected violence. A Jewish advocate of the proposed real estate development argues that if Lifta is preserved, Palestinians will clamor for much more, including Tel Aviv. Digging deeper, Daum wonders whether he has a distorted image of Arabs, mirroring his once antagonistic view of Poles. He engages a small group of Israeli teens in conversation and discovers that they hold stereotypical views of Arabs. He concludes that young Israelis can make peace with their Palestinian counterparts only if they learn their history. Doubts creep into his mind when he asks himself whether he’s crossed an imaginary line and begun to favor the Palestinian narrative over the Jewish one. At first glance, Odeh sounds like a reasonable person, but he soon reveals himself as something of a maximalist, calling for the right of return of Palestinians to their former homes in what is now Israel. Strangely enough, Daum never asks him the obvious question: Do you accept Israel’s existence? Daum introduces Odeh to Dasha Rittenberg, a Polish Holocaust survivor from New York City, and they engage in a testy conversation about Israel before she tenderly says, “I feel your hurt.” To his disappointment, Daum learns he cannot form a genuine personal bond with Odeh. The bitter politics of the Arab-­Israeli dispute precludes such friendships. Ruins of Lifta , a sensitively conceived and intricately constructed documentary, makes that abundantly clear. Story also ran in: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL -­ April 24, 2017 -­ The Ruins of Lifta http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-­ruins-­of-­lifta/

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 10, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/10/tjff-­2017-­review-­monsieur-­mayonnaise/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE Posted by Ada Wong | May 10, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 |

Artist and B-­horror Filmmaker Philippe Mora ventures into his own past as he traverses Europe retracing the footsteps of his parents journeys through WWII and the Nazi occupation in France and surrounding countries. He chronicles his mother Mirka’s family as they are taken and then subsequently released from a concentration camp, as well as his father’s efforts to rescue Jewish children from the south of France. Director Trevor Graham uses a whimsical blend of different mediums to weave together the Mora family’s memoirs. From live documentary footage, to Philippe’s paintings and comics, to a mash up of recreations, home movies, and other historical film footage. What can be construed as a slightly messy start, quickly wins audiences over, especially as we get acquainted with Philippe’s mother, who is also an artist, and brimming with effervescent personality. As we begin to get a better understanding of the family’s gravitation towards the arts, their resilience, and personality traits, what we see on screen begins to make sense.

Aside from quick cuts of contrasting visuals to keep viewers engaged, Graham also includes sound editing techniques to get your attention. One particular edit begins with the tinkling of a handheld music box, which swells to a full orchestral version of the same classical piece, and back again. Its effect is particularly dynamic. On the other hand, there are montages of Mora’s horror films, used to mirror the horrors of his family’s experiences during the holocaust that verge on melodrama and run a bit too long. Overall Monsieur Mayonnaise is a lively take on one family’s experiences. It’s a specific tale that gives us glimpses into some of the small but significant resistance efforts that were happening throughout the war, but the predominant tale here is about the Mora family. IS MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING? Monsieur Mayonnaise is a fine balance between artistic endeavour and family memoir. Those interested in different styles and devices for visual storytelling will delight in this experience. Those aiming for discoveries and in-­depth insights into Nazi resistance efforts may not find what they’re looking for, at least not enough of it. Overall, it is worth checking out. MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE SCREENING TIMES Thursday, May 11, 2017 – 3:30 pm – Alliance Francaise Sunday, May 14, 2017 – 12:30 pm – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Wa lk MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE TRAILER

ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES -­ May 8, 2017 -­ Winding https://assholeswatchingmovies.com/2017/05/08/winding/

Winding A quick Internet search confirms that the Yarkon River is a river in central Israel, the largest coastal river in Israel at 27.5km in length. It’s mouth is in the Mediterranean Sea and when the Reading Power Station was built close by to supply electrical power to the Tel Aviv District, the Yarkon became heavily polluted. Winding is a documentary about the Yarkon but it is not a regurgitation of already-­available facts. It tells a history much more personal, the river’s journey from symbol of hope to curse bringing death. The documentary shares archival footage, personal recollections, and more recent interviews to establish the interplay between a people and its land, between nature and man. It’s actually a little bit sad to watch a beloved river decline and it feels natural to draw parallels between the Yarkon and much larger global issues. This film by Avi Belkin plays at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival Tuesday 9 May, 3:30 PM at Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 9. If you are unable to attend this screening, never fear, there are lots of excellent movies to choose from. 30 Years of Garbage and Operation Wedding are personal favourites, but do check out the programming guide – there’s lots more to see.

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 7, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: MOOS http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/07/tjff-­2017-­review-­moos/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: MOOS Posted by Jordan Adler | May 7, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 |

Moos (Jip Smit), a shy Jewish girl in her early-­twenties, bombs her audition for a spot at a theatre school in the Netherlands. Instead of confessing to the school’s rejection, she lies to her father (Michiel Romeyn) and tells him she was accepted. As Moos tries to keep the fib under wraps, she also has trouble hiding another truth: that she is in love with an old friend, Sam (Daniel Cornelissen). Despite a refreshing performance from the female lead, Moos is about as predictable as romantic comedies get. It took the work of three screenwriters (including director Job Gosschalk) to rehash worn conventions, although with a couple of Jewish-­oriented updates. (A rather intense circumcision scene

and a climactic sequence at a bar mitzvah add a bit of original cultural flavour.) But, much of the storytelling is simplistic;; for example,

an overlong Hanukkah dinner speech near the start introduces each character and their situations inorganically. At other moments, conflicts between characters are resolved easily, without consequences. Smit, with wide eyes and an angular face, gives her protagonist a nervous energy that keeps our interest. Romeyn is also terrific as a lonely man hoping to find love. The father-­daughter chemistry is poignant without becoming sappy. Even with good performances, the slight and derivative plotting ensures this 91-­minute film feels much longer.

IS MOOS ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING? No. This comedy, which originally aired on Dutch TV in 2016, is often as plain and unassuming as its title character.

MOOS SCREENING TIMES Sunday, May 7, 2017 – 8:30 pm – Innis Town Hall Thursday, May 11, 2017 – 8:00 pm – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk

MOOS TRAILER

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 6, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: ONE WEEK AND A DAY http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/06/tjff-­2017-­review-­one-­week-­day/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: ONE WEEK AND A DAY Posted by Jordan Adler | May 6, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 |

After the seven-­day mourning period for his 25-­year-­old son, Israeli father Eyal (Shai Avivi) doesn’t know what to do. His wife, schoolteacher Vicki (Evgenia Dodina), wants to go back to work. But when Eyal finds the marijuana his son left behind in the hospice, he hopes that substance is just the medicine he needs. He calls on his stoner next-­door neighbour Zooler (Tomer Kapon) to teach him how to roll a joint – and provide company as Eyal figures out how to move on with his life. One Week and a Day is a near miracle, a graceful balance between wry comedy and poignant drama. Director Asaph Polonsky (with his feature début) understands that a meditation on a difficult subject – the loss of a child – needs to be sensitive without succumbing to overwrought or forced emotions.

Shooting many scenes with long shots that only contain a couple of characters, he lets animated interactions progress amidst great stillness. This stasis reflects the parents’ emptiness;; after Zooler comes into their home, there is a more dynamic composition.

ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES -­ May 7, 2017 -­ Operation Wedding https://assholeswatchingmovies.com/2017/05/05/operation-­wedding/

Operation Wedding 7 Replies In 1970, Anat Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov’s parents had tried to leave Leningrad several times, and several times they’d been refused. Out of legal options, they decided to flee. They and their friends dreamed up Operation Wedding, in which they’d fill a plane full of people ostensibly on their way to a wedding, and once in the air, they’d have the pilot change course. Lacking the 200 conspirators necessary for this plan, they set their sights on a smaller plane, and their group of 16 bought up all the tickets. They planned to leave the pilots behind on the tarmac and would use their own pilot;; the border was just 15 minutes away and the plane would be empty save for those wishing to escape. Anat’s parents never made it onto the plane, caught by the KGB mere steps from boarding. Her mother was sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag. Her father received a life sentence. This is their story. The programmers at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival have done an excellent job of presenting some very interesting stories at this year’s festival, but this one may take the rugelach (I know-­forgive me). Even today, Russia remembers them as terrorists. But who were they terrorizing? They simply wanted to leave the USSR. that was their crime. They knew the risk they were taking and were prepared to pay the price if caught;; most preferred death. In court, they openly declared their wish to leave, and refused to beg for mercy. Two of the sixteen were sentenced to be executed by shooting, the first time the death sentence has been invoked in a hijacking case, plot foiled or not.

Israel held protests: the entire state stood still for those who may be put to death for a crime they didn’t even commit in the end. Jewish organizations in other countries joined in. Hunger strikes were held. And behind the scenes, Golda Meir was secretly pulling strings so that Spain’s “Franco the Fascist” would commute the death sentences of 6 cop killers, thinking that Brezhnev the Communist would try to out-­humane Franco the dictator. The documentary uses archival footage and primary-­source interviews, but it’s Anat’s family connection that really brings it alive. When she visits the gulag cell where her mother did time, the bleak reality overwhelms her, and it moved me to tears as well. Operation Wedding screens as part of TJFF Friday 5 May, 1:00 PM – Alliance Francaise Sunday 7 May, 1:30 PM – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 6 Director Anat Zalmanson-­Kuznetsov will be in attendance KQEK -­ May 5, 2017 -­ Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered (2008) and Wax Mask (1997) kqek.com/mobile/?p=15947

Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered (2008) and Wax Mask (1997) May 5, 2017 | By Mark R. Hasan Coming very shortly are several reviews of films playing during the 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival, with an eye on documentaries. TJFF runs May 4-­14, 2017, and offers a great mix of genres and docs from international and Canadian directors, spanning a variety of compelling, amusing, and funny subjects. Also of note is a 35mm screening of Joshua Then and Now (1985), part of the festival’s salute to author Mordecai Richler.

Avivi and Dodina give beautifully nuanced turns. The actors’ blank, fatigued expressions are effective to mine drama (as others refuse to let them adapt back to regular life) and deadpan comedy. In particular, small, impulsive gestures by Eyal reveal his character’s ache and need for pleasure. The gems of humour throughout One Week and a Day , including a sequence of failed joint rolling, invite us warmly and delightfully into their confused state. This look at the grieving process relies on the offbeat and impulsive behaviour of its characters to explore the funny (yet altogether truthful) ways we cope in hard times.

IS ONE WEEK AND A DAY ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING? Yes. This is a must-­see, moving between uproarious comedy and emotional complexity in subtly masterful ways. Polonsky is a new Israeli director to watch.

ONE WEEK AND A DAY SCREENING TIMES Monday, May 8, 2017 – 6:00 pm – Innis Town Hall

Thursday, May 11, 2017 – 6:00 pm – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk

ONE WEEK AND A DAY TRAILER

ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES -­ April 29, 2017 -­ Monsieur Mayonnaise https://assholeswatchingmovies.com/2017/04/29/monsieur-­mayonnaise/

Monsieur Mayonnaise 2 Replies Only a few minutes into Monsieur Mayonnaise, my brain’s got an itch. Something about this feels familiar but it can’t be the movie as it’s making its Canadian premiere at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Rather it’s the man himself, artist Philippe Mora, who I’ve lately seen in Three Days in Auschwitz , about how his mother narrowly escaped being sent to Auschwitz. Philippe Mora is an artist of all mediums;; while he did not direct this particular documentary, he did write and illustrate the graphic novel of the same name. Monsieur Mayonnaise is about Mora’s father, a member of the French resistance. He earned the code name Monsieur Mayonnaise when he suggested the resistance

smuggle important documents inside sloppy, mayonnaise-­filled sandwiches, after he observed Nazis avoiding greasy foods in order to keep their pristine gloves clean. His father’s position allowed him to protect and shelter the family of the young woman with whom he was quickly falling in love. After the war, fearful of another, Mora’s parents fled to Australia, where they made their home, raised a family, and opened several restaurants which would feature hand-­made mayonnaise prominently. These are the reminiscences that inspired the colourful artwork that makes up Monsieur Mayonnaise, both the comic and the film. Director Trevor Graham films the madcap artist as he careens around the world, meeting up with heroes, villains, and the ordinary people still alive today because of his father’s efforts – teamwork improbably involving Marcel Marceau – smuggling Jewish children across the border. Mora is practically a subject unto himself, and if his flightiness is mirrored in the documentary, so too is his exuberance. You can catch a screening of this film on the following dates: Thursday 11 May, 3:30 PM – Alliance Francaise (Director Trevor Graham will Skype in for a Q&A) Sunday 14 May, 1:00 PM – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 9

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 5, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: 30 YEARS OF GARBAGE: THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS STORY http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/05/tjff-­2017-­review-­30-­years-­garbage-­garbage-­pail-­kids-­story/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: 30 YEARS OF GARBAGE: THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS STORY Posted by William Brownridge | May 5, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 | Chances are many of us spent at least a little part of our younger lives standing around in a store, picking through packs of cards in the hopes of finding something special. While that may have been sports cards for some, for others, it was the amazing creation that was The Garbage Pail Kids. A spoof on Cabbage Patch Kids, which exploded in the ’80s, these cards featured gross and gruesome pictures of characters like Adam Bomb (certainly the most recognizable character to come out of the card sets). They were banned from schools, and parents did everything they could to stop them from winding up in the hands of little kids, but nothing could stop the popularity of these outrageous cards. 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story, looks at the phenomenon of these unusual cards, as well as documenting every step from creation to eventual pop culture history. Exhaustive is an understatement for 30 Years of Garbage. Rarely do you ever see a subject covered so thoroughly and lovingly as you do in this doc. At just under 2 hours, there is no aspect of Garbage Pail Kids that isn’t explored. Starting from

the earliest ideas at the Topps Company, the film follows the Garbage Pail Kids step by step through its evolution and pop culture explosion until its untimely demise – including a truly terrible film – and resurrection years later. Not only is 30 Years of Garbage a fantastic look back at the cards for fans, it’s also a fascinating look back at a decade that will never be matched again. Compared to the things kids find themselves getting into now, Garbage Pail Kids seems like a strange thing to rally against, but the ’80s were a different time. These cards were gross without being truly disgusting, and offered kids a kind of wholesome way to be outrageous, as well as setting many of us on a path to love all things strange, weird, and terrifying. IS 30 YEARS OF GARBAGE: THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS STORY ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING? If you ever owned a pack of Garbage Pail Kids cards, you will not want to miss this film. Pop culture lovers will also want to be sure to catch this, as it stands as an interesting look at the way certain things just seem to capture the attention of the world around them. 30 YEARS OF GARBAGE: THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS STORY SCREENING TIMES Sunday, May 7, 2017 – 5:30 pm – Innis Town Hall 30 YEARS OF GARBAGE: THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS STORY TRAILER

ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES -­ April 28, 2017 -­ 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story https://assholeswatchingmovies.com/2017/04/28/30-­years-­of-­garbage-­the-­garbage-­pail-­kids-­story/

30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story 2 Replies

I was probably too young for Garbage Pail Kids. I was possibly too young for Cabbage Patch Kids too, for that matter, but had one anyway, given to me when I was 2 years old and my dumb Mom replaced me with a brand new baby. My Cabbage Patch Kid was named Maud (they came pre-­named, with a birth certificate) and she had red yarn hair. My baby sister also got one, a brunette named Valerie, which I felt was unfair because she’d done nothing to deserve it besides poop and scream and steal my parents’ love. Cabbage Patch Dolls were a huge phenomenon in the 1980s, and so too, eventually, were the little trading cards that parodied them. Topps bubblegum did Bazooka and other candy store staples. They’d paired baseball cards with bubblegum for years, and were expanding to “non-­sport” cards as well. Failing to secure rights to do a legit Cabbage Patch line, they decided instead to do a “fuck you” line that would skewer these saccharine-­sweet dolls. 30 Years of Garbage introduces us to the brilliant, twisted minds behind this idea that was obsessively collected by kids and doggedly censored by parents and principals. Jacques Cousteau, for some reason, cautioned parents that their Garbage Pail loving kids would inevitably end up on cocaine! I may have been too young to appreciate this stuff at the time, but I have certainly been aware of them in retrospect. These bubblegum comic artists tapped into a vein of childhood rebellion and ended up making lasting work.

I was shocked to learn that a Garbage Pail co-­creator was none other than Art Spiegelman, who wrote Maus, a deeply moving graphic novel about the Holocaust (he uses cats and mice effectively – if you haven’t read it, you simply must). I shouldn’t be surprised that I’d never

known the connection – his publishers worked hard to keep it that way! 30 Years of Garbage provides equal doses nostalgia and insight. You don’t need to love the product to find this documentary compelling: who got screwed, who got sued, who won the war between the First Amendment, and Product Disparagement? But it’s also interesting because I see this fad repeating itself. My little nephew Brady is into something called Shopkins, which as far as I can tell, is a really stupid “toy”. It’s a tiny rubber thing, shaped like some grocery store item, about the size of a pencil eraser. He’s got a bag of rice, and a bag of flour that looks almost identical to the bag of rice. How these are fun toys I have no idea. We usually pile them on Lightning McQueen and race. But Brady’s own counter culture is already budding at 5 years old: Shopkins are parodied by the Grossery Gang, the same basic shitty toy, but disgusting (ie, mouldy cheese). I don’t get it, but adults aren’t meant to. It’s kind of cool that he’s got his own little act of rebellion, but if you’re in the mood for some throwback rebellion, here’s a hint: the Garbage Pail Kids are back.

30 Years of Garbage is playing at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival this Sunday, May 7th, 5:30pm at Innis Town Hall.

SHELDON KIRSHNER JOURNAL -­ April 30, 2017 -­ Praise the Lard http://sheldonkirshner.com/praise-­the-­lard/

Praise the Lard

Filed in Film by Sheldon Kirshner on April 30, 2017• 0 Comments

When one thinks of Israel, one doesn’t usually think of pork, the ultimate abomination in food to Jews who keep kosher. But wait. Pigs are bred, slaughtered and processed in Israel, and Israelis by the thousands consume pork products voraciously. This may come as a rude awakening to Jews in the Diaspora, but anyone who’s lived in Tel Aviv or any other city in Israel is aware that pork, euphemistically known as white meat, is widely available in the Jewish state.

Chen Shelach’s droll documentary, Praise the Lard , which will be screened at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival on May 5 and May 8, explores this controversial topic at length.

Shelach knows his subject well, having worked in the first Israeli pork factory, which churned out a vast array of delectable deli goods ranging from sausages to bacon. It was built in 1957 on the grounds of Kibbutz Mizra, which was founded in 1923 by secular European Jewish immigrants.

Most Israeli Jews avoid pork like the plague because it blatantly defies Jewish dietary laws. Pigs, too, have been an historic symbol of hostility and hatred toward Jews. Yet there has always been an appetite for pork in Israel, its taboo status notwithstanding. Israeli Christian Arabs consume it, as do a minority of Jews. So a market for pork definitely exists in Israel, notwithstanding the fierce enmity it raises among traditional Jews.

Shelach regards pork in philosophical terms, equating its consumption with the democratic principle of freedom of choice. In other words, does the Israeli government have a right to enforce its culinary preferences on a diverse citizenry?

It’s a question the Israeli government has grappled with since 1961, when Prime Minister David Ben-­Gurion pushed through legislation in the Knesset forbidding pig farming in Israel. Under pressure from France, then one of Israel’s closest friends, Israel amended the law and allowed it in Christian areas of the country. But even this amendment was problematic, as Shelach points out. Muslim Arabs, vastly outnumbering Christian Arabs in Christian districts, objected to the compromise.

This solution did not please religious Jews either. Shelach interviews several Israeli Jews who abhor made-­in-­Israel pork. Among them is Rabbi Yitzhak Peretz, the ex-­leader of the ultra-­Orthodox Shas Party and the former minister of immigrant absorption, who claims his father would have dropped dead of a heart attack had he been told that the production of pork would become commonplace in Israel one day.

Shelach’s film focuses on Kibbutz Mizra, where pig farming, oddly enough, was inextricably associated with the advancement of secularism and the formation of a new Jewish identity in Israel. One of its residents, Sar Eyal, the former chief executive officer of the pork factory, discloses that its expansion was facilitated by an Israeli cabinet minister, Ariel Sharon, whose yen for pork was not exactly a state secret.

In the early 1990s, the Israeli government came under renewed pressure to ban pig farming, imperilling Kibbutz Mizra’s future. The anti-­pork campaign floundered with the outbreak of the 1991 Gulf War, during which Israeli cities were bombarded by Iraqi Scud missiles. Shelach speculates that the influx of hundreds of thousands of Russian Jewish immigrants around the same time saved the pork industry from possible oblivion. Russian Jews, not having generally observed the rules of kashrut, saw absolutely nothing wrong with eating pork.

Much to the disgust of religious Jews, the Russian view was validated by an Israeli Supreme Court verdict declaring pork to be a legal commodity, thereby officially ending the national debate on pork in Israel.

Yet, as Shelach suggests, the very idea of pork still inflames the passions of many Israelis.

Story also ran in: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL -­ April 30, 2017 -­ Praise the Lard: Pig Farming In Israel http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/praise-­the-­lard-­pig-­farming-­in-­israel/

WINDSOR SQUARE -­ May 9, 2017 -­ Women’s Balcony Film Review http://www.windsorsquare.ca/archives/2017/womens-­balcony-­film-­review/102692

Women’s Balcony Film Review BY: ROBERT STEPHEN (CSW) 9 MAY 2017

(TORONTO, ON) – The Congregation Against An Upstart Rabbi. Women’s Balcony is an interesting look at how a congregation in an Israeli synagogue holds firm against an upstart young Orthodox Rabbi. The film begins in a joyous mood as a young man is ready to become a man at his bar mitzvah. The happy throng heads to synagogue down the crowded streets of Jerusalem. It is beginning to look like a real heavy duty celebration. The Rabbi is an elderly and somewhat cantankerous man apparently very forgetful with a wandering mind. The bar mitzvah takes a turn for the worse as the women’s balcony collapses during the ceremony, seriously injuring the Rabbi’s wife. The synagogue is closed for repairs and the congregation is in chaos with no fixed place to pray compounded by a Rabbi who seems to be in an advanced state of dementia. With no Rabbi to lead the congregation a young Orthodox Rabbi appears, gradually taking control of the men and some of the women in the congregation. The upstart Rabbi takes control of the renovations and the women’s balcony is transformed into somewhat of a cell for prisoners. He also has a strict view of a women’s role in society, which equates with relegating them to second class citizenship. Is the new Rabbi trying to take control of the congregation for his own sense of power or is he a truly Orthodox Rabbi with less than the liberal views the existing congregation is familiar with?

SHELDON KIRSHNER JOURNAL -­ April 20, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival (2) http://sheldonkirshner.com/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­2-­3/

Toronto Jewish Film Festival (2) Filed in Film by Sheldon Kirshner on April 20, 2017• 0 Comments

This year’s Toronto Jewish Festival, rebranded as the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation, runs from May 4-­14. The five films reviewed here are eclectic. They’re about a Polish village which once had a substantial Jewish population, an Israeli couple whose marriage grows more stale by the year, an ultra-­Orthodox woman who runs for a seat in the Israeli Knesset, the unlikely relationship between two very different people in Britain, and three Israeli soldiers who get left behind on a military base when Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon.

The village of Ivansk, in southern Poland, is bereft of Jews today, but before World War II most of its residents were Jewish. During the Nazi occupation, they were deported to extermination camps, never to return. Not a trace of their pre-­war presence remains. Even the Jewish cemetery was desecrated.

Scandal in Ivansk (May 9 & May 11) turns on the efforts of a group of American Jews, led by physician Norton Taichman, to restore the cemetery and memorialize the birthplace of their ancestors. Co-­director David Blumenfeld has a personal interest in the project. His grandfather was born in Ivansk. Much to his disappointment, he learns that the village erected a monument in honor of Poles killed by Germans, but neglected to build one for Jews.

Blumenfeld and co-­director Ami Drozd assume that the culprits who vandalized the cemetery probably will never be found. But as they dig deeper, they discover that local Poles were the perpetrators. Poles in Ivansk used broken headstones as construction materials and removed stone fragments to build a park. Still other

Poles “stored” headstones on their properties in the hope of selling them to Jews one day. In the final indignity, Poles excavated cowhide Torah scrolls, which had been buried by Jews to protect them from harm, and used them in the manufacture of shoes.

This somber film is ultimately about memory. Local Poles of a certain age speak objectively about their former Jewish neighbours, recalling that they owned most of the shops in the village. Still others denounce fellow Poles who grabbed Jewish-­owned land and possessions after their proprietors had been deported. Resurrecting an antisemitic myth, an elderly woman jokingly claims that Jewish bakers added a drop of human blood to their matzoh.

In the main, Scandal in Ivansk charts the efforts of the American Jews to clean and rededicate the neglected cemetery. A controversy erupts at this juncture. Carved into the dedication stone of the Jewish monument in the cemetery is the explosive word collaborator, which refers to Poles who cooperated with the Nazis. Local residents are outraged, insisting that Poles did not collaborate with the Germans. Jan Gross and Jan Grabowski, two Polish historians who live abroad and have been vilified by right-­wing Polish nationalists, believe that collaboration is indeed the right word.

Scandal in Ivansk raises difficult issues in the fraught landscape of Polish-­Jewish relations.

Adapted from Amos Oz’s novel, Dan Wolman’s feature-­length movie, My Michael (May 12), is drenched in sadness. Released in 1976, it stars Efrat Lavie and Oded Kotler as an Israeli couple who struggle with an increasingly dysfunctional marriage.

Michael (Kotler) and Hanna (Lavie) are students when they encounter each other in western Jerusalem in 1950. He’s studying geology. She’s completing a degree in Hebrew literature and teaching in a kindergarten. Both are serious and reserved in demeanor.

When she plants a quick kiss on his cheek one night at the end of their date, he says, “I want to marry you.” These are not mere words. Michael knows what he wants and articulates his desires straightforwardly. Their respective mothers think they’re being hasty. Michael’s domineering mother asks Hanna to wait at least a year. She’s concerned that marriage may interfere with her dear son’s studies and ruin his career. Hanna’s mother is critical, too, wondering why she’d marry someone she hardly knows.

When Hanna happily announces her pregnancy, Michael seems stunned. His stoic reaction disappoints Hanna. When Michael’s intrusive mother urges her to get an abortion, he looks on silently, implicitly siding with his mother.

Having realized she and Michael are emotionally incompatible, she has erotic dreams about two Arab men ravishing her. The reference to Arabs is not surprising. During her childhood, two of her best friends were Arab boys. Clearly disillusioned with Michael, a bookworm who spends his days studying for an advanced degree, she compares herself and him to strangers inhabiting the same space. In their case, it’s a cramped apartment in a decrepit neighbourhood.

Hanna gives birth to a boy, naming him Yair, but she remains depressed. Six years pass and the Sinai war breaks out. Michael is called up for reserve duty, and when he suddenly returns, their reunion is formal. Frustrated by his taciturn and regimented manner, she implores him to be less restrained.

As they continue to drift apart, Michael grows close to a woman, a fellow student, while Hanna implicitly flirts with a teen age boy she’s tutoring.

My Michael , ably directed by Wolman, is a finely-­tuned portrait of a troubled relationship. Lavie and Kotler turn in excellent performances in this elegiac film.

Ruth Colian is a fighter. That’s clear from the first moment of Measures of Merit (May 8 & May 10), a thoughtful documentary directed by Irit Dekel.

An ultra-­Orthodox Israeli who rejects conventional thinking, she was a unique candidate in the 2015 general election, running for a seat in the Knesset under the banner of the newly-­founded Women’s Merit Party. What makes Colian different in haredi circles is her steadfast belief that the sexes are equal.

Working with very limited financial resources, Colian was up against it when she announced her intention to enter politics, a man’s game in her extremely conservative and cloistered community. Aryeh Deri, the leader of the ultra-­Orthodox Shas Party, expressed a common view when he declared that women like her should know their place and refrain from questioning rabbinical authority.

As Colian campaigned, haredi men claimed that she was violating sacred traditions and family values, and that she belonged at home rather than in parliament. She persisted. “The world is too masculine,” she replied. “Take us into account.”

Her plea fell on deaf ears. Haredi publications refused to publish her campaign ads. Haredim on the streets brushed her off. Her husband, Moshe, was non-­committal, but praised her compassionate outlook.

Although Colian bumped up against a glass ceiling, she’s convinced that the battle for full equality is far from finished. She may be right, but this will be a long war. They’re the odd couple.

In Love is Thicker Than Water (May 8 & May 11), directed by Ate De Jong and Emily Harris, Arthur Davies and Vita Berliner, two young people from vastly different backgrounds, meet at a dance and fall in love. But can they overcome their religious and class differences? That’s the $64,000 question in this mildly entertaining British film.

Consider the obstacles that lie in their path. Arthur (Johnny Flynn), an aspiring economist, is a bike courier from a small town in Wales. His father was a steel worker until his retirement. Vida Berliner (Lydia Wilson), a cello student from London, is Jewish. Her father is a physician. Her grandparents are Holocaust survivors.

So what do they see in each other? Can they make a life together? These questions arise from almost the outset. They clearly enjoy each other’s company and both like sex. But is that enough? Not quite. They quarrel when Arthur’s black step-­brother refers to Vida as a “Jew girl.” They reconcile and let bygones be bygones, prompting Vida to describe Arthur as her “knight in shining armor,” her King Arthur.

When their parents finally meet, the encounter is awkward. Vida’s mother gets it right when she says, “If you marry this guy, we have to marry his family.”

Their mutual ardor is tested with deaths in their respective families. Can Arthur and Vida cope during this grieving period? Do they have enough in common to move forward? Arthur and Vida are an attractive couple, and Flynn and Wilson portray them convincingly enough. But their rollercoaster friendship is only skin deep and not really worthy of a feature-­length movie.

Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon in May 2000, ending an 18-­year presence in its self-­declared security zone. The Last Band in Lebanon (May 6), a slapstick comedy directed by Ben Bachar and Itzik Krichell, derives its inspiration from that event.

As Israeli soldiers cross back into Israel, glad to have survived, three soldiers are left behind enemy lines to fend for themselves. They’re Shlomi (Ofer Hayoun), Kobi (Ofer Shecter) and Assaf (Ori Laizerouvich), members of an army band who entertained the troops. At first, they don’t realize they’re marooned in Lebanon, but as this understanding seeps into their collective consciousness, they panic.

The arrival of a small Hezbollah force in their camp heightens their fears. Terrified that their army uniforms will expose them as Israelis, they strip down to their underpants and head for the border, 20 kilometres away. They run into a group of friendly Lebanese soldiers from the now-­disbanded South Lebanon Army, but they’re not certain they can be trusted. And so they press on toward Israel.

The scenes shift between Lebanon and Israel as important blanks in the story line are gradually filled in. Viewers are left with the impression that Israeli and Lebanese cigarette and drug smugglers may have earned enormous profits as Israel and Hezbollah fought it out in Lebanon.

The humor, such as it is, is heavy-­handed and infantile. There is not subtle or reflective moment in this forgettable film.

Tags: Jewish film festival in Toronto

Story also ran in: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL -­ April 20, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival (2) http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­2-­2/

ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES -­ April 27, 2017 -­ An Israeli Love Story https://assholeswatchingmovies.com/2017/04/27/an-­israeli-­love-­story/

An Israeli Love Story 4 Replies

Margalit meets Eli on a bus and – zing! – for her, it’s love at first sight. He takes a little convincing, his head already crowded with ideas and responsibility. The catch in this little love story is that it’s Israel 1947. Things are…complicated. Eli (Avraham Aviv Alush), son of the second President of the State of Isreal, lives on a kibbutz where he works all day every day. When Margalit (Adi Bielski) pursues himthere, she finds that he’s also helping the Palmach to smuggle Holocaust survivors into Palestine. This only make her love him harder, but his reality is very different from hers, a drama student and theatre lover who is reluctant to give up a life of creativity. Her love is strong enough to make the necessary sacrifices, but the turbulent state of things in Israel means that love will not be enough to overcome all. This is the true story of the love affair between Pnina Gary (who contributes to the script) and Eli Ben-­Zvi. The film sets this passionate love story amid the political turmoil of pre-­state Israel. An Israeli Love Story makes its Canadian premiere as part of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Check below for dates and times – added bonus: director Dan Wolman will be in

attendance. Through the presentation of international and Canadian films, the Festival aims to be both a window to and a mirror of Jewish culture. The Festival strives to be inclusive of all aspects of the Toronto community, regardless of age, affiliation or income. We undertake to show films for their contemporary, popular value, and for their ability to address the subject of Jewish identity. That is, to be a Jewish Film Festival, and not a film festival for Jewish people. TJFF screenings for An Israeli Love Story: Thursday 11 May, 6:15 PM – Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Saturday 13 May, 9:00 PM – Famous Players Canada Square 2

SHELDON KIRSHNER JOURNAL -­ April 18, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival (1) http://sheldonkirshner.com/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­1-­4/

Toronto Jewish Film Festival (1) APRIL 18, 2017, 5:16 PM

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival runs from May 4 to 14. To mark this milestone, the festival is rebranding itself as the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation. This year’s edition offers a rich and eclectic selection of movies — feature films, documentaries and shorts — from around the world which will be screened at seven theaters across the city. The five films under review are about a controversial football club in Jerusalem whose fans are unabashedly racist, a young Jewish couple struggling with their feelings and the spectre of war in Palestine, a German Jewish philanthropist who saved Jewish children from the clutches of the Nazis, a Jewish community in Nazi-­occupied Greece under mortal threat, and an Arab woman in Israel who assumes a Jewish identity. In Forever Pure (May 12), Maya Zinshtein holds up a mirror to Israeli society and finds it wanting in some deeply troubling respects.

The subject of her disturbing documentary, the Beitar Jerusalem football team, was the only professional club in Israel until 2012 without a single Muslim player. Its proprietor, Arkady Gaydamak, a Russian billionaire/oligarch, fixed that problem by hiring two Muslim players from Chechnya, Dzhabrail Kadayev, 19, and Zaur Sadayev, 23. Most of the fans passionately resented the newcomers and jeered them relentlessly whenever they appeared on the field, or scored a goal.

Their blatant displays of boorishness and racism were a blot on the team, the city of Jerusalem and the state of Israel. Team captain Ariel Harush, having been critical of their appalling behavior, was mercilessly heckled. Sadly, no other player summoned up the courage to emulate his example, though a player from South America expressed puzzlement and shame over the fans’ behavior. Gaydamak hired the Chechens in the belief, or hope, that they might boost the club’s standing in the Premier League. Beitar Jerusalem had won the Israeli championship in 2007 and 2008, but had sunk to the bottom of the pack when Gaydamak decided to hire them. Management, including coach Eli Cohen, welcomed the Chechens, trusting that the usually wild and unruly fans would accept them with open arms. Much to their disappointment, they not only continued to pour scorn on the two new players, but went as far as to stage a boycott of the team they so dearly loved. Their reaction was hardly surprising. The vast majority of Beitar Jerusalem’s fans are underprivileged Israelis from working-­class Sephardi backgrounds whose political views veer far to the right. Ardent nationalists who dislike Arabs, they tend to vote for the Likud Party or for parties to the right of Likud. Two of their favorite chants are “Death to Arabs” and “Beitar forever pure.” Throughout the years, Likud politicians have gravitated toward Beitar Jerusalem, which was founded in 1936. A telling archival clip shows Benjamin Netanyahu, the current prime minister, happily mingling with fans and repeatedly bouncing a ball off his head. Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, is also a fan, as is Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman. Given these socio-­economic variables, Zinshtein’s film transcends sports, becoming a commentary on the fraught nature of Arab-­Jewish relations in contemporary Israel. Dan Wolman’s romantic drama, Israeli Love Story (May 11 & May 13), based on a play by Pnina Gary, resurrects a time and a place that belong to history. It’s 1947 and the British still control Palestine under a League of Nations Mandate. Arab-­Jewish tensions are boiling over, and a United Nations plan to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states Palestine is just months away. Amid the political acrimony, two young people meet fleetingly on a Haifa-­ bound bus and fall for each other. They’re Margalit Dromi (Adi Bielski), 18, and Eli Ben-­Zvi (Avraham Aviv Alush), 24. She’s an aspiring actress from Nahalal, a moshav in northern Israel where, as it happens, Moshe Dayan was born. He’s a commander in the Palmach fighting force, which produced some of Israel’s most prominent leaders. Margalit’s father, a Russian Jew, is a beekeeper. Her mother prepares honey for sale.

From the moment she sets eyes on Eli, Margalit is smitten. She makes no effort to conceal her feelings. Eli turns up on the moshav one day, and she invites him for supper at her parents’ place. They see each other again on a beach at night as Eli and his comrades welcome illegal Jewish immigrants to Palestine. Margalit is clearly in love with Eli, but he has a girlfriend. The film unfolds against the background of escalating Arab-­Jewish acrimony. After two Jewish girls are killed, Eli leads a raid against an Arab village. Shortly afterwards, Margalit’s father warns an Arab man to stay away from the moshav for the next two or three weeks. He, in turn, is warned by fellow Arabs to cut off contact with Jews. Margalit draws closer to Eli, the son of Yitzhak Ben-­Zvi, who will become the second president of Israel. She visits him on his budding kibbutz and rides with him on the back seat of his motorcycle. These scenes unfold in bucolic countryside under a bright Mediterranean sun. Finally, they embrace and kiss. From that point onward, they’re a couple. Margalit, an individualist, rejects the collective spirit of the kibbutz, but Eli upholds it. This philosophical disagreement temporarily jolts their beautiful relationship. In the meantime, Margalit goes to Tel Aviv to audition for a job in a theatre.

The politics of the Arab-­Israeli conflict are brought to bear in a scene during which Margalit’s father and his friends listen to a live broadcast from the United Nations, which votes to partition Palestine on November 29, 1947. As Palestine descends into civil war, Eli and Margalit decide to get married, but tragedy strikes and the tone of the film changes.

Israeli Love Story, competently-­crafted, succeeds in recreating the birth pangs of a nation. The actors turn in highly effective performances. Ori Vidislavski’s plaintive soundtrack heightens the nostalgic mood. A priceless collection of Asian art is exhibited in Wilfrid House, a museum on the lush grounds of Kibbutz Hazorea in northern Israel. It’s named after Wilfrid Israel, a German Jew who was instrumental in organizing the Kindertransport, which saved more than 10,000 European Jewish children imperiled by Germany in the late 1930s.

Yonatan Nir’s intriguing documentary, Essential Link (May 8 & May 11), sheds light on this nearly forgotten hero. Israel, a dual citizen of Britain and Germany, owned the largest department store in Berlin, N. Israel, which had 2,500 employees. During the Nazi period, he facilitated the emigration of hundreds of his Jewish workers to Mandate Palestine and paid their salaries for the next two years. Many of the newcomers went to live on Kibbutz Hazorea, on the northern fringes of the Jezreel Valley. Nir’s grandfather, a German Jew, was one of its founders, and Nir himself was born there.

Nir explores Israel’s acquisition of Asian artifacts, his contribution to the movement of German Jews to Palestine and his integral role in the establishment of the Kindertransport. Israel comes off as a modest and unassuming philanthropist who had a heart of gold. Sadly, he was killed when German aircraft shot down his plane on a flight from Portugal to Britain in 1943. Leslie Howard, the Hollywood actor, was one of the victims. In closing, Nir points out that not a single Israeli street is named after Israel. A shame. Manousos Manousakis’ Greek-­language movie, Cloudy Sunda y (May 7 & May 10), unfolds in the city of Thessaloniki (Salonica) in 1943 against the backdrop of an increasingly brutal German occupation whose chief victims will be its Jewish population. As the Nazis terrorize and marginalize the venerable Jewish community, two young lovers try to rise above the hatred and persecution. Since Estrea (Christina Hilla Fameli) is Jewish and Giorgos (Haris Fragoulis) is Christian, they’re swimming against the tide. In Greece, mixed marriages are uncommon, especially during this incredibly stressful period. And their respective parents oppose their unusual relationship.

A subplot unfolds in an ouzeri, a traditional tavern where patrons enjoy Greek music and songs. Its owner, Vasilis Tsitsanis (Andreas Konstantinou), is hard-­pressed to replace a singer who’s abruptly left. The ouzeri, normally an oasis of gaiety, is now being raided by German troops in search of Greek resistance fighters. When one of its leaders is captured, he’s murdered, his bloodied corpse strung up on a pole to intimidate local residents.

Early on in the film, Jewish men between the ages of 18 and 45 are ordered to report to the city’s central square. Slackers will be imprisoned, the Germans warn. The order touches off a debate. The naive rabbi claims the Germans merely want to conduct a census. Dissenters think otherwise.

Estrea is pessimistic. “There’s worse to come,” she predicts. Giorgis, having spoken to the police chief, warns Estrea the Jews must leave Thessaloniki before it’s too late. In quick succession, the Germans tighten the screws, imposing a huge fine on the Jewish community and demanding a list of its members. Jewish elders comply, erroneously thinking that cooperation will save them from a worse fate. Antisemites rejoice at the news that Thessaloniki will be free of Jews. As these events occur, Giorgis, a member of the resistance, shoots a Greek traitor, a collaborator who’s handed the Germans important information.

When the Germans announce that Jews will be deported to Poland, the rabbi issues an assurance that life will be better there. Little does he know that the gas chambers of Auschwitz-­Birkenau are gearing up for the imminent arrival 46,000 Jews. Thanks to Giorgis’ intervention, Estrea is given the chance to save herself. Cloudy Sunday is a workmanlike film that explores a Greek tragedy with empathy and sensitivity. How malleable is personal identity? Judging by Tova Ascher’s A.K.A. Nadia (May 8 & May 10), which takes place in Jerusalem between 1987 to 2007, it’s a work in progress. Nadia Kabir (Netta Shpigelman), a Palestinian Arab from East Jerusalem, finds herself alone, abandoned and adrift in London after her husband, Nimer (Ali Suliman), disappears. Nimer, a member of a Palestinian political organization, has been detained by the police and drops completely out of sight. Nadia wants to go back to Israel, but she may be arrested as a terrorist if she does so under her real name. She hires an ex-­cop to provide her with new papers, but the forged Israeli passport she receives lists her as a Jew, an identity she doesn’t exactly relish.

The film moves forward 20 years and Nadia is now Maya, a happily-­married Jewish woman with two children and a husband who holds a senior position in the Israeli government. Maya herself is a choreographer in a dance troupe. Neither her spouse, Yoav (Oded Leopold), nor her teenaged children, realize she’s an Arab. It’s Maya’s big secret, one she shares only with her mother, whom she meets regularly for picnics in a serene olive grove. Certainly, Maya appears to have left all traces of her Palestinian background behind. How plausible is this scenario? Frankly, it strains credulity. A.K.A. Nadia is rife with promise, and the performances are quite convincing. But its basic premise is far-­fetched and underdeveloped, and the transitions from one scene to the next are abrupt

Story also ran in: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL -­ April 18, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival (1) http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­1-­2/

MOVIE MOVES ME -­ May 19, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival 2017: ‘A Quiet Heart’ (2016) *** https://moviemovesme.com/2017/05/19/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­2017-­a-­quiet-­heart-­2016 /

Home » Festival Coverage » Toronto Jewish Film Festival 2017: “A Quiet Heart” (2016)

Toronto Jewish Film Festival 2017: “A Quiet Heart” (2016)

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Ulkar Alakbarova in Festival Coverage , Movie Reviews , Toronto Jewish Film Festival // 0 Comments

Naomi Sirad is a woman whose troubled life compels her to leave Tel Aviv for Jerusalem with the hope to

have a fresh start. Moving into a new apartment, seemingly in a quiet neighborhood, she learns that a woman

that lived in the same apartment committed suicide but her piano is still there, which will play a significant role

in restoring Naomi’s confidence in herself.

Naomi, what you will learn in the beginning, had an unsuccessful suicide attempt and luckily survived. While

the reason is not given as to what exactly led to such a desperate moment of her life, Naomi seems to be

struggling even more now when she tries to stay away from the piano left by a woman whose attempt to take

her own life succeeded. But soon, when the troubled young pianist meets, at first, Simcha, a mute preteen

boy from an orthodox family, and later on, Maya, an activist who seeks answers, Naomi’s life will take an

unexpected turn.

Naomi’s challenges continue as the new neighborhood does not welcome her the way she expected. Her

family continues worrying about her, and she herself is too alarmed by the appearance of Simcha. As the

story unfolds, the slow-­paced drama makes Naomi to face not only her past, but the past of a previous tenant,

whose death, she learns soon, was suspicious. As she agrees to help Maya to bring to light whatever

happened to the deceased woman, Naomi meets Fabrizio, a priest who agrees to teach her to play the

instrument.

A Quiet Heart’s synopsis or even the review itself may not sound so fascinating, but it’s very engaging and an

interesting piece to watch. Games of Thrones’ Ania Bukstein as Naomi is solid and able to carry the entire film

on her shoulders. As she delivers an impressive performance, through that it enables you to see Naomi in a

different light, understand why she loses her confidence and desire to leave music, but more importantly, you

will realize her own reasons to hang on to life itself a bit longer, maybe for a few decades extra.

There is an interesting concept in A Quiet Heart and that is something I would like to bring up. It’s a story about a woman who is a concert pianist

and wanted to kill herself ;; she may repeat her attempt, you never know. But now, as she lives in the same apartment where a woman killed

herself, Naomi will have to learn to grow above the pain she has, and find new reasons to keep going. In the end, A Quiet Heart is a movie

worthwhile seeing. If you like foreign drama filled with religious values and the importance to overcome an inner pain, then this film should end up

in your top ten list.

ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES -­ May 2, 2017 -­ Like a Lotus Flower https://assholeswatchingmovies.com/2017/05/02/like-­a-­lotus-­flower/

Like a Lotus Flower 2 Replies

Like a Lotus Flower is both a memorial to a lost mother and an example of how death can decimate a family. The story is told in a way that keeps the viewer guessing and even though that is frustrating at times, that choice definitely made me pay total attention to this film in order to figure out how each person fit into the narrative. At base, this is Eliya Swarttz’s story. She lost her mother, Hedy, to breast cancer at a very young age. Eliya wrote and directed Like a Lotus Flower, and reflects on her past through a combination of home video footage, interviews

with the other family members, excepts from her childhood journals, and animated sequences. The artwork in the animated sequences is a highlight. Tonally, the art is an extension of the title, the visual equivalent of a flower blooming from the mud. It is beautiful, somehow bright and sad at the same time, and ties the interviews and video footage together nicely. It’s quite a puzzle to figure this family out, particularly when Eliya’s first father figure is her dad’s brother, who not only introduced Eliya’s parents to each other but also professes a deep and complex love for Hedy. He refers to their relationship as being one between two emotional cripples who were trying to save each other. For reasons that are not really explained, Eliya’s biological father is noticeably absent from the film and Eliya’s life in general. There are also other notable and unexplained absences that will leave the viewer guessing, but perhaps that is the point. There is no rhyme or reason to life and death, and this film captures the ebb and flow of people entering and leaving our lives as we grow. Asking why Eliya’s mother died or why her father is absent is as effective as shouting into the wind. These events happened and Eliya dealt with them (and is clearly still dealing with them in making this movie), and she bloomed out of a difficult situation. By the end, Eliya is able to admit to herself and her family members how difficult her adolescence truly was despite her brave face, and when she does it feels like a breakthrough. Like a Lotus Flower allows the viewer to participate in that therapeutic process as Eliya reconciles with her past, and does so in a way that is interesting and relatable.

Like a Lotus Flower is part of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival , screening May 10 at 3:30 p.m.

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 3, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: 1945 http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/03/tjff-­2017-­review-­1945/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: 1945 Posted by William Brownridge | May 3, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 | In a small Hungarian town in August, 1945, two men dressed in black step off a train with two crates of cargo. They’re headed to town, and their presence is troubling the locals, who are unaware of what their intentions are. It sounds a little like a Western, and while 1945 certainly looks and feels like a film right out of that genre, it’s actually something very different. The men in black are Orthodox Jews, heading into a Hungarian town where every Jewish person has already been forcibly taken. This is why the townspeople are uncomfortable. As they prepare for the wedding of the town clerk’s son, news of the two men sends many of the residents into a panic. As they get closer to town, dark secrets slowly come to light, and memories of what happened start to tear at the sanity of many townspeople.

Director Ferenc Török delivers a slow building and tense film with 1945. While it’s initially a little confusing as to why anybody would care about two Jewish men carrying trunks of perfume and soap, we start to see little by little where all the fear is coming from. Guilt, greed, and karma collide to tear apart the tiny Hungarian town as the two Jews go about their business wordlessly.

If you give the film the time, you’ll eventually find yourself wrapped up in the events, and while the initial story of the film becomes secondary to the arrival of the two Jewish men, it’s for the better. The comparison to the Western genre also works well throughout, especially towards the middle of the film when the men arrive in the town square. You’ll be expecting a shootout, and in a way, that’s what you get. It just doesn’t involve pistols at high noon. There’s a mental shootout happening, and the Jewish men certainly have the upper hand. IS 1945 ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING? It does take a bit to really draw you in, but once 1945 has you hooked, you’ll be unable to look away. 1945 SCREENING TIMES Thursday, May 4, 2017 – 7:00 pm – Cineplex Varsity Wednesday, May 10, 2017 – 6:00 pm – Cineplex Empress Walk 1945 TRAILER

SHELDON KIRSHNER JOURNAL -­ April 22, 2017 -­ Keep Quiet http://sheldonkirshner.com/keep-­quiet/

Keep Quiet

Filed in Film by Sheldon Kirshner on April 22, 2017• 0 Comments Csanad Szegedi was an antisemite before becoming a Jew.

A leader of Hungary’s extreme right-­wing Jobbik Party, and the founder of the fascist-­style Hungarian Guard militia, he was one of the rising stars of the political scene in Hungary.

And then it all came crashing down after he was “outed” as a Jew, a sickening revelation he compared to a dagger thrust into his heart.

Szegedi’s astonishing journey from rabble-­rouser to repentant Jew is the subject of Keep Quiet, a riveting documentary by Joseph Martin and Sam Blair to be screened at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival on May 8 and May 11.

As it gets under way, Szegedi, a thick-­set man, boards a train in Budapest bound for the Auschwitz-­Birkenau extermination camp in

Poland. He’s accompanied by a Hungarian Jewish survivor who’s paying her first visit to Auschwitz since its liberation by the Red Army on January 27, 1945. Szegedi’s trip is part of an elaborate process devised by an Orthodox rabbi to rehabilitate him.

In much of the film, Szegedi sits quietly as he relates his tryst with antisemitism, a phenomenon deeply embedded in Hungarian society. As he recalls, he received a “nationalist” upbringing at home and adopted a right-­wing perspective by the time he had graduated from secondary school. He admits that antisemitism was a powerful motivating factor in his decision to join the newly-­founded Jobbik Party in 2003. In 2008, Szegedi was appointed Jobbik’s national vice-­chairman. Shortly afterward, he won a seat in the European Parliament.

Feeding on discontent, Jobbik attracts skinheads, antisemites and gun lovers. The Hungarian Guard challenges the narrative that fascism is ignoble.

As Keep Quiet veers back to the Auschwitz-­bound train, Szegedi claims that the Holocaust is really no different than other European tragedy, that he has no desire to be constantly reminded of it. He then says that Jews have brought antisemitism upon themselves by being “aggressive” and “different.”

This definitely does not sound like a man who’s rejected his ugly past.

In the next segment of the movie, Szegedi is exposed as a Jew by one of his rivals, Zoltan Ambrus. The revelation shakes him to his core. He can hardly believe that his grandmother was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 by the pro-­German Hungarian regime, which passed a series of antisemitic laws before the deportations got underway in the spring of that fateful year. “I must face up to being a Jew,” he says without the slightest conviction.

Taking him under his wing, Baruch Oberlander, an Orthodox rabbi in Budapest, agrees to be his mentor and confidant. Members of the Hungarian Guard, who once respected and admired Szegedi, denounce him as a “filthy Jew.”

He speaks to his grandmother to find answers about his Jewish ancestry. She tells him that, in a country like Hungary, Jews must “keep quiet,” lest they be persecuted again. Szegedi’s mother, a thoroughly assimilated Jew who long abandoned her faith, now regrets she concealed the truth from him about his Jewish ancestry. His father, presumably a Christian, remains absolutely silent.

As the film moves forward, Szegedi submits to circumcision. In Germany, he delivers a speech about his conversion. The audience is skeptical, being far from convinced he’s a sincere convert.

The ruins of Auschwitz visibly move him. He grieves that his great-­grandfather was murdered here.

On a tour of a Jewish cemetery in Hungary, he promises the rabbi he’ll atone for his sins, but the rabbi believes he still has a long way to go before he can shed his antisemitic trappings.

After arriving in Montreal, he’s questioned for three hours by airport authorities and then ordered to take the next flight back to Hungary. To the Canadian government, Szegedi is still a fascist demagogue. At the synagogue where he was supposed to have delivered a speech, two congregants sharply question Szegedi’s sincerity. The rabbi defends him as best he can, but his interlocutors are less than convinced.

Later, when Szegedi is asked whether he would ever turn his back on Judaism, he gives three different answers. Judging by his convoluted response, his journey from fascism to Judaism is far from complete.

Tags: Csanad Szegedi

Story also ran in: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL -­ April 22, 2017 -­ ‘Keep Quiet’, a film about a Hungarian antisemite-­turned Jew http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/keep-­quiet-­a-­film-­about-­a-­hungarian-­antisemite-­turned-­jew/

The turning point in answering the question would seem to be when funds the funds the women in the congregation raised for reconstruction are diverted by fraudulently converting the reconstruction cheque so that the Rabbi controls the funds. When confronted by an Orthodox follower, the Rabbi hides behind the power of God to justify the criminal act. As an aside, this particular follower has fallen for a member of the congregation the Rabbi is trying to take over. The women of the congregation eventually picket the synagogue, protesting the disappearance of the women’s balcony. They pressure their husbands to the point that the upstart Rabbi loses any respect he had and is deserted by his temporary congregation. The men come to a collective decision that the upstart Rabbi has done enough to destroy the morale of the congregation and ask him to leave before he destroys their religious community. The Rabbi goes down in defeat, worsened by his defecting follower who, objecting to his fraudulent cheque endorsement, marries the other member of the congregation. Happiness and joy returns to the congregation and the synagogue with the marriage ceremony. It’s cemented by the closing score, heavily influenced by Greek and Arabic music. A gem of a film showing that Israeli society is not homogenous. It is as fragile and as diverse as most communities are. Israelis are human beings, just like you and me. (Women’s Balcony, director Emil Ben Shimon, Israel, 2016, Hebrew with English subtitles. One hour and 38 minutes, part of The Toronto Jewish Film Festival, May 9 at Ted Rogers Hot Docs Cinema 6:15pm)

MOVIES MOVE ME -­ May 16, 2017 -­ Jewish Film Festival Review: “The Pickle Recipe” (2016) https://moviemovesme.com/2017/05/16/jewish-­film-­festival-­review-­the-­pickle-­recipe-­2016/

Jewish Film Festival Review: “The Pickle Recipe” (2016) Posted on May 16, 2017 by Ulkar Alakbarova in Festival Coverage , Movie Reviews , Toronto Jewish Film Festival // 0 Comments

Anyone who was fortunate enough to eat Polish pickles will understand the entire drama occurring in Michael Manasseri’s The Pickle Recipe. It is filled with salty and delicious pickles, a man who hunts after the famous ingredients and a life-­changing lesson that, it’s not the pickle that brings happiness, but the family.… Joey is desperate for cash, broke and has no back-­up plan to get back on his feet. As the important day of his 13-­year-­old daughter approaches fast, the man agrees to fulfil his uncle Morty’s request to get his mother, Rose’s famous pickle recipe that makes the entire town to go crazy about it. But as soon as Joey embarks himself on such an adventures journey, he develops a special bond with granny Rose, makes a new friendship and meets the love of his life…. The Pickle Recipe has a very simple narrative, but very cute and moving. Honestly, many would have turned their backs on this film as it has no big names in it, while the main character of the film is a Polish pickle. But seriously, how can one dislike this film when it can be used as a great appetizer? If you feel hungry, it certainly can help to speed up your way to the kitchen, but of course, for that you will have to finish watching the film first. Joey is a man that is willing to do anything to not disappoint the only thing left after his dead marriage – his daughter. As you understand his reasons of why he has to do what he does, he still fails to earn some respect from the audience. But that won’t continue endlessly, as at some point you start seeing in him a kinder human being, a man in whom Rose herself starts gaining trust. Overall, Manasseri’s film is fun to watch. It does not overload with the plot and is easy to digest. The time, surprisingly, passes quickly after creating a charming environment where you start ignoring some gaps the film has, but enjoy that sweet relationship between Joey and Rose, which at the end of the day is a winning ticket for the film when it can deliver what it’s meant to… and that is what is more important than anything else.

KQEK -­ May 11, 2017 -­ Film: Heir, The / L’heritier (2017)

http://kqek.com/mobile/?p=16027

Film: Heir, The / L’heritier (2017)

May 11, 2017 | By Mark R. Hasan

Film: Excellent

Transfer: n/a

Extras: n/a

Label: n/a

Region: n/a

Released: n/a

Genre: Documentary / WWII / Art History

Synopsis: Director Edith Jorisch retraces the steps that led her grandfather to finding 3 missing paintings – 2 by Klimt – which disappeared after the Nazis entered Austria in 1939 and confiscated the art of wealthy Jewish families.

Special Features: n/a

Review:

Edith Jorisch’s hour-­long documentary draws from her family’s very personal story of her late grandfather’s quest to seek out three paintings he recalled from his childhood home in Austria, last seen in 1939 before the family’s children were sent to Belgium the day before the Nazis drove tanks into the country.

Although fairly brisk in pacing, Jorisch allows the story to breathe as she uses surviving family photos to recount her grandfather Georges’ journey from Belgium to Montreal in 1957, where they settled and he began a photo shop, inspiring his son and ultimately granddaughter to find careers in the visual and media arts.

The search for stolen art isn’t an unfamiliar quest for Jewish families who lost entire fortunes under the Nazis. From self-­appointed to federally mandated appropriation of all valuables and business, the despicable reduction of important pillars of communities was widespread, but for Georges, the art included two works by Gustav Klimt (Church in Cassone, and Litzlberg on the Attersee), and a single work by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (Children on Their Way Home from School), of which the first two were displayed in a so-­called red room, and the third hung over his mother’s bed.

Memories, Nazi mania for bureaucratic records, and art historians and forensic trackers ultimately led to a series of discoveries which director Jorisch retraces as she journeys to Austria and is re-­shown the key clues to her family’s lives up to 1939. The Heir isn’t a stark statement about justice, but a delicate account of her grandfather’s gentle yet stern determination to find the truth, and achieve at least a moral victory in finding as much as possible, using his memories of the artworks and the few surviving clues that might prove ownership. What follows isn’t shocking, but Jorisch’s structure of the events leading up to Georges’ passing in 2012 builds to a touching climax, with the final event especially moving, giving her grandfather closure, reinstating the family’s roots in some measure in Salzburg, and furthering cultural endeavors in both Austria and Montreal.

Beautifully photographed on location in Austria, Italy, and Quebec, The Heir also captures the sensitivity shared by historians and legal representatives in handling the delicate search and negotiation processes between rightful heirs and current owners, some of which were captured on audiotape between the original figures, including her grandfather.

The Heir had its Toronto Premiere at the 2017 Toronto Jewish Film Festival , and was screened alongside Billsville .

© 2017 Mark R. Hasan

TORONTO FILM SCENE -­ May 5, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017 REVIEW: THE 90 MINUTE WAR http://thetfs.ca/2017/05/05/tjff-­2017-­review-­90-­minute-­war/

TJFF 2017 REVIEW: THE 90 MINUTE WAR Posted by Jordan Adler | May 5, 2017 | Festivals , Toronto Jewish Film Festival | 0 |

After decades of brutal and bloody conflict in Israel and Palestine, a solution has been made. There will be a soccer match between teams from both sides, and the winner will lay claim to the entire country. Unsurprisingly, this provocative decision does not sit well with many in the region. The chairman of Israel’s soccer federation (Moshe Ivgy), as well as his Palestinian counterpart (Norman Issa), face enormous pressure. From arguments over picking referees to the legitimacy of an Arab Israeli on the Palestinian team, the lead-­up to the match is full of tension. That’s what happens when the future of the Middle East is at stake. The 90 Minute War boasts an intriguing idea that is too implausible to work as sharp satire. Eyal Halfon’s film, shot like a mockumentary, gives room for the actors to finesse some deadpan comedy. (Ivgy and Issa downplay the craziness, which actually makes certain scenes funnier.) But despite a solid opening third, the story cannot sustain enough comic momentum. When the pacing lags, one is left to mull the validity of the situation onscreen. Ultimately, one cannot suspend

disbelief in the premise for too long. Meanwhile, the film is careful not to offend anyone – and as a result, both Israelis and Palestinians get off too easily. The barbs directed at both parties are weak. This lack of nerve among the screenwriters (adapting a book by Itay Meirson) leads to a disappointing, abrupt ending. Filmmakers from Israel, such as Eran Riklis, have used sports as a tool to explore the humanism and common interests of both peoples in the region. But, The 90 Minute War isn’t clever enough to look at this theme in an illuminating way. IS THE 90 MINUTE WAR ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL VIEWING? No. Instead, search online for the Israeli short Offside, directed by Guy Nattiv and Erez Tadmor. That six-­minute film examines sports and the Israel-­Palestine conflict in more engaging, hilarious, and thought-­provoking ways than this film does in nearly an hour-­and-­a-­half. THE 90 MINUTE WAR SCREENING TIMES Monday, May 8, 2017 – 5:30 pm – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk Wednesday, May 10, 2017 – 6:15 pm – Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema THE 90 MINUTE WAR TRAILER

SHELDON KIRSHNER JOURNAL -­ April 26, 2017 -­ Powerful Hungarian Film Deals With Holocaust Complicity http://sheldonkirshner.com/powerful-­hungarian-­film-­deals-­with-­holocaust-­complicity/

Powerful Hungarian Film Deals With Holocaust Complicity

Filed in Film by Sheldon Kirshner on April 26, 2017• 0 Comments Ferenc Torok’s strong and unadorned film, 1945 , opens as a passenger train, its locomotive belching thick black smoke, pulls into into a sleepy station in the Hungarian countryside. It’s a sweltering morning in August of 1945, and a year has elapsed since the end of World War II. As the train hisses to a shuddering stop to unload passengers and cargo, the station master (Istvan Znamenak) greets the conductor on the platform. Nearby, in a house, the town clerk, Istvan Szenkes (Peter Rudolf), is busy shaving and listening to a newscast about the war in the Pacific. His wife, Anna (Eszter Nagy-­Kalozy), is still asleep.

The ordinariness of these innocuous moments belies what lies ahead. This unnamed town, far from the bright lights of Budapest, is on the cusp of a painful reckoning with its recent past. The first sign that this may be an unusual day occurs when two visibly-­looking Orthodox Jews (Ivan Angelus and Marcell Nagy) step off the train. The suspicious station master wants to question them about two small crates that have been removed from the train on their behalf, but they’re waved through by Russian soldiers sitting in a jeep.

Who are these Jews? Why are they here? Torok’s suspenseful black-­and-­white movie, which will be presented by the Toronto Jewish Film Festival on May 4 and May 10, eventually answers these pressing questions.

Having been cleared, the two Jewish men, a father and a son, hire a driver to transport their possessions into the town. The common assumption is that their crates contain perfume, cologne and soap. Szenkes instructs the driver to proceed slowly as he investigates the matter. The Jews walk behind the horse-­drawn cart rather than hitch a ride on it. It appears as if they’re following a funeral procession. The symbolism is deliberate.

Their arrival coincides with the planned wedding of Szenkes’ son, Arpad (Bence Tasnadi), who’s getting married to Rozsi (Dora Sztarenki). Ever resourceful, Szenkes has seen to it that Arpad will be able to make a living after his marriage, having bequeathed the local drugstore to him. Unbeknownst to Arpad, Rozsi is having an affair with her old boyfriend, Jancsi (Tamas Kimmel), who’s partial to the new political order in postwar Hungary. In a tart conversation with Rozsi, Arpad’s protective, drug-­addled mother bluntly asks her if she really loves her son.

These glimpses of life are sideshows compared to what happens next.

“Jews have arrived,” the station master frantically informs Szenkes. “You just can’t get rid of them,” chimes in the town’s policeman shortly afterward.

The presence of the Jews worries Szenkes. He wonders whether they’ve been sent by an influential Jewish family, the Pollaks, to reclaim their drugstore. Like many other towns in Hungary during the German occupation, this town was shorn of its Jewish population by deportations to the Auschwitz-­Birkenau extermination camp in 1944. Taking advantage of the deportations, some Hungarians ravenously scooped up Jewish properties and household goods through illegal or inappropriate means.

Peter Rudolf plays the town clerk

This is what concerns Szenkes now. Will he be forced to return his ill-­gotten gains, including the drugstore, to its rightful owner? As rumors circulate that Jews are returning to take back what was theirs, a woman who commandeered a Jewish-­owned house and its furniture expresses her determination to keep them. “If anyone asks, the stuff isn’t here, the Germans took it — or the Russians,” she says, revealing her unbridled guile and greed.

With the apparent exception of Bandi (Jozsef Szarvas), a guilt-­stricken older man, virtually all the townspeople are content with the status quo. They know, in their heart of hearts, that they’re complicit in the wholesale theft of Jewish property, but they couldn’t care less. The local priest is keenly aware of the situation, but he, too, is turning a blind eye. Their attitude is that the past should be buried and forgotten.

Thanks to a fine script, an excellent cast and Torok’s able direction, 1945 grapples with these moral issues openly and courageously.

Story also ran in: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL -­ April 26, 2017 -­ Powerful Hungarian Film Deals With Holocaust Complicity http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/powerful-­hungarian-­film-­deals-­with-­holocaust-­complicity/

KQEK -­ May 9, 2017 -­ Film: 1945 (2017)

http://kqek.com/mobile/?p=15986

Film: 1945 (2017) May 9, 2017 | By Mark R. Hasan

Film: Very Good Transfer: n/a Extras: n/a Label: n/a Region: n/a Released: n/a Genre: Drama

Synopsis: The arrival of two strangers in a post-­WWII Hungarian village exposes a dark secret that tears the community apart.

Special Features: n/a

Review: Ferenc Török’s drama unravels as a minimalist thriller, as a train brings two strangers into a postwar Hungarian train station bearing a set of slim wooden boxes. Soviet soldiers roam around town rather aimlessly, but the sight of the silent visitors sends fear throughout town.

Like a Morse Code message being electrically relayed person-­to-­person, high and low members of the town are alerted of the Jewish strangers, heading into town as they escort on foot the boxes being ferried by a horse-­drawn lorry. Török intercuts their inevitable arrival between increasingly tense scenes in which István Szentes’s (Peter Rudolf) perfect day is systematically ruined: his weak-­willed son Árpád (Bence Tasnádi) is set to wed Kisrózsi (Dóra Sztarenki) in an arrangement that will sever her passionate

romance with Jansci (Tamás Szabó Kimmel), a more rebellious lad;; and his wife Anna (Eszter Nagy-­Kálózy) ultimately aides in the day’s calamity after sobering up from a habitual drug-­induced state.

As Czech director Jan Kadar dramatized in vicious satirical drama The Shop on Main Street (1965), the arrival of Fascists in a small town led to Jewish businesses being appropriated by locals, who ‘managed’ shops and elegant homes while their rightful owners were ultimately carted off to the death camps. Although set in Hungary, Török’s film doesn’t focus on horrors, but deceit and lies, and their caustic nature which breaks apart a cover István’s managed to maintain during the war.

Suspicions raise fears of reclamation – Are the two men emissaries or spies checking to see who’s remained faithful to the agreements between locals and Jewish owners? – and István finds not all participants of his scheme have been able to expunge guilt. As he’s eventually told face-­to-­face, the whole town knows the degree to which he wrangled a fine house and local drugstore from the Pollok family, so the question director Török poses is whether the pair’s arrival is for justice, or something more simple, given their arrival doesn’t come with any police escort.

By keeping the mystery vague and focusing on the emergence of the town’s Big Lie, Török has a tough challenge in building and offering plot, plus balancing details of the men with the various storylines that add background to the town’s major characters. Tibor Szemző’s score is more successful in conveying ambient fragments of thematic material that occasionally blend into something musically palpable, and 1945’s main problem is the thin depth of the characters and István himself, who’s broadly portrayed as a cigar-­chomping, booze-­guzzling overload.

The film’s strongest material lies in the motifs of corruption that corrode almost every citizen. Teenage daughters nervously shake, wives take drugs, brides cheat on their fiancés, and the men seek refuge by almost pickling themselves in caustic brandy by the bottle.

The filmmakers convey history through impressions, and the downside for audiences that is without familiarity of actual events, aspects of the town’s actions and postwar state are fuzzy, especially the Soviet soldiers who really don’t do anything except ride around town in a Jeep and catcall women.

Elemér Ragályi’s B&W cinematography is very stark and clean and features some striking compositions, and the location and production design and beautifully evocative of a picturesque, insular village that resembles a generic European rural town, especially the type that blends into the natural surroundings and hides potential secrets known only to a select few.

It’s a modest production that offers an eerie glimpse into the central lifespan of a lie after its been seeded, and nears the end of its power. An interview with director Ferenc Török (Hungarian only) is available on YouTube © 2017 Mark R. Hasan

IN THE SEATS -­ May 15, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017: OUR REVIEW OF ‘MANDALA BEATS’ intheseats.ca/tjff-­2017-­review-­harmonia/intheseats.ca/tjff-­2017-­review-­mandala-­beats/

TJFF 2017: OUR REVIEW OF ‘MANDALA BEATS’ Posted in Festival Coverage , Movies , TJFF 2017 by Courtney Small -­ May 15, 201

Yossi Fine has been called the Jimi Hendrix of bass guitar and has worked with many notable artists including David Bowie. However, in his own mind, Fine is simply a man of mixed heritage who was “born to bridge cultures.” This sentiment is echoed throughout Canadian filmmaker Rebekah Reiko’s documentary Mandala Beats .

Born to an Eastern European Jewish father and a West Indian mother, Fine was influenced by African rhythms and the music of Bob Marley from an early age. Discovering that his bloodline also includes Indian heritage, Reiko’s film observes Fine as he jumps at the chance to visit Mumbai and the surrounding areas to take part in a collaborative project with a local musicians and Israeli artists such as Shye Ben Tzur and Gil Ron Shama.

Instead of merely highlighting Fine’s musical talents, though watching his nibble fingers effortless move across the vibrating bass strings is in itself hypnotic, Reiko’s film spends the bulk of its time exploring music’s ability to transcend and unify cultures. As Gil Ron Shama points out in the film, music seems to be the one thing in the world, unlike the environment, that humans have not destroyed.

As engaging as Fine is, the one drawback to Reiko’s film is that audiences get very little insight into the musician’s personal life. A quick shot of his three sons, and a brief moment where Fine talks about having to drop his kids off at various activities, do little to provide weight to the film. Fortunately for Reiko, the footage of Fine’s tr ip in India, and various jam sessions, help to fill the void. Offering a solid introduction to Fine’s extraordinary career, Mandala Beats shows that music is indeed the medicine that will heal our souls.

Genre: documentary Directed by: Rebekah Reiko

Tags: Documentary , Mandala Beats , Music Industry , Rebekah Reiko , TJFF , TJFF 2017 , Yossi Fine

MOM WHO RUNS Blog -­ May 3, 2017 -­ May is Full of Activities! http://momwhoruns.com/may-­is-­full-­of-­activities/

May is Full of Activities! Activities , Food , Shopping , Travel May 3rd, 2017

The month of May is going to wiz by. Here’s why. May 4 to 14 – I will be seeing as many films as I can throughout the Toronto Jewish Film Festival . I’ve been been busy studying the guide and putting together a schedule! Can’t wait to help them celebrate their 25th anniversary.

IN THE SEATS -­ May 15, 2017 -­ TJFF 2017: OUR REVIEW OF ‘HARMONIA’ intheseats.ca/tjff-­2017-­review-­harmonia/

TJFF 2017: OUR REVIEW OF ‘HARMONIA’ Posted in Festival Coverage , Movies by Courtney Small -­ May 15, 2017

Filmmaker Ori Sivan is a man who knows how to explore the complexities of relationships. After all he is one of the creators of the Israeli series In Therapy (Be’Tipul) , which served as the basis for the HBO drama In Treatment . His latest work, Harmonia, finds the director retelling the Genesis story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar through a modern-­day lens. Abraham (Alon Aboutboul), the conductor of the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra, is married to Sarah the company’s principal harpist (Tali Sharon). Though they share a passion for the arts, the fact that Sarah has been unable to have children has become a point of tension in the marriage. The couple’s relationship takes an unexpected turn when a French horn player, Hagar (Yana Yossef), is accepted into the company. After striking up a friendship with Sarah, Hagar offers to be a surrogate for the couple, on the condition that she will not have any responsibility in raising the child. As one might expect, this decision has major ramifications for everyone involved when Ben, the son Hagar gave birth to, discovers years later that Sarah is not his real mother.

Sivan uses music as an intriguing glue that binds the crumbling family together. However, Harmonia loses its captivating edge when it shifts from the Sarah/Hagar friendships and focuses primarily on the triangle of Sarah, Ben and the addition of Sarah’s own son Isaac. The petulant child and frustrated mother conflict between Ben and Sarah feels repetitive and reveals how thinly written the characters are. Though the film builds to an emotional, but rather convenient, ending, it is a bit of a chore getting there. Spanning several years, Harmonia strives to be an intricate symphony, but fails to sustain its occasional high notes.

THE BUZZ -­ May 10, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival – 25 Years Strong – May 4 to 14, 2017

thebuzzmag.ca/2017/05/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­25-­years-­strong-­may-­4-­14-­2017/

Toronto Jewish Film Festival – 25 Years Strong – May 4 to 14, 2017 The 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival takes place May 4 to 14, 2017, and this year they honour Canadian literary giant Mordecai Richler, with Richler On-­Screen. This series is the most comprehensive collection to date of film and TV works written by Richler, or based on his stories. The Festival will also feature the local Premieres of two Canadian docs, as well as Oy Canada, its Canadian short film programme. Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is thrilled to honour Canadian literary giant Mordecai Richler with the series Richler On-­Screen. Archival classics and rarely-­screened works will be part of the showcase, which is the most comprehensive collection to date of film and TV works written by the iconic author, or based on his stories. A total of 15 film and TV productions will be shown, including the two classics, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), and Joshua Then and Now (1986) starring James Woods and Alan Arkin. Legendary Canadian producer Robert Lantos will be on hand to introduce the latter film. Films where Richler’s participation as a screenwriter remains little-­known will also be a central part of the series including: No Love for Johnnie (1960) starring Peter Finch and Donald Pleasence;; as well as the recently-­discovered 1957 shorts Dearth of a Salesman and Insomnia Is Good for You, both starring a young Peter Sellers. Biographer Charles Foran (author of the award-­winning Mordecai: The Life and Times) will be introducing the short films.

Assignment: Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! (1992), a rare BBC documentary that sees Richler engage with the history of Quebec separatism will screen with Q for Quest: It’s Harder to be Anybody (1961), an episode of the CBC series in which the author reflects on his role as a provocateur within the Jewish community. This screening will be followed by a discussion moderated by CTV’s Evan Solomon, with filmmaker Charles Officer, Giller Prize founder Jack Rabinovitch, professor and writer Norman Ravvin, and professor Pierre Anctil. Two rarely-­screened CBC live TV adaptations of Richler’s work will also be screened: General Motors Presents: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1960) as well as the production of Richler’s first novel, CBC Television Theatre: The Acrobats (1957). Also part of the tribute will be The Plays the Thing: The Bells of Hell (1974), a CBC production based on Richler’s original teleplay, which is set in Toronto’s Jewish community. Three further adaptations of short stories by Richler will be included in the showcase: Carol Leaf’s award-­winning short film, The Street, as well as the critically acclaimed 1984 shorts Bambinger, and Mortimer Griffin and Shalinsky, which will be introduced by screenwriter Gerald Wexler, who adapted the stories for these films. Also part of Richler On-­Screen are: family-­friendly Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang, the 1978 classic based on Richler’s beloved children’s book, introduced by lead actor Stephen Rosenberg;; and a documentary on the author’s life and work, Mordecai Richler: The Last of the Wild Jews (2010). As a preview to this series, TJFF will be taking part in National Canadian Film Day on April 19th, presenting a free screening of Barney’s Version, based on Richler’s bestselling novel. Producer Robert Lantos will be in attendance. Other Canadian content at the Festival includes the Canadian short film programme “Oy Canada”, which will feature the World Premieres of Sheila McCarthy’s Russet Season, Naomi Wise’s Rhoda, and Michael Kissinger’s Hinda and Her Sisterrrz. Sheldon Cohen’s My Heart Attack is also part of the programme. Rounding out the Festival’s Canadian lineup are two documentaries by female filmmakers: the Canadian Premiere of Danae Elon’s The Patriarch’s Room, a look at the role of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Israeli-­Palestinian conflict;; and the Toronto Premiere of Edith Jorisch’s The Heir (Lâ Heritier), which follows her grandfather’s efforts to recover their family’s stolen art collection.

Queer content includes the historical Hide and Seek , that follows the relationship between a British youth and Arab youth shortly before the foundation of Israel. The filmmaker, Dan Wolman, will be in attendance to present the film as well as his early film My Michael and his new film Israeli Love Story . “Hide and Seek” is the first Israeli feature film to deal with homosexuality. Set in British Mandate Palestine (1948), “Hide and Seek” portrays the relationship between Uri, a twelve-­year-­old boy, and Balaban, his teacher. While Uri’s parents are away and involved in underground activities against the British occupation, there is a growing suspicion of an informer among the Jews. When Uri watches Balaban meeting and exchanging letters with an Arab, he reports Balaban as a spy. Only later does he discover that Balaban is not an agent of the British but the homosexual lover of the Arab. “Hide and Seek” thus becomes a remarkable study of the inability of a siege state to tolerate difference and a study of the private anguish of an individual with the external pressures and political events of the times. My Michael is a 1976 Israeli drama fil directed by Dan Wolman based on the novel by Amos Oz. It was selected as the Israeli entry for the Best Foreign Film at the 48th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee Hide and Seek Dan Wolman, Israel (1980) *ARCHIVAL* Twelve year-­old Uri reports his teacher Balaban as a suspected spy when he observes him meeting with a young arab man. Only later does he discover that Balaban’s interest in the young arab is romantic rather than political. Sunday 14 May, 12:30 PM-­ Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 6 My Michael Dan Wolman, Israel (1974) *ARCHIVAL* Based on a novel by Amos Oz. A couple in Jerusalem before the six day war in 1967, fall in love, get married, have a child and drift apart. With Michael away at war, his wife starts fantasizing about twin Arabs she used to play with as a child. Friday 12 May, 3:00 PM – Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 6 Israeli Love Story Dan Wolman, Israel (2016) An Israeli Love Story is based on the true story of the love affair between Pnina Gary, from Nahalal, and Eli Ben-­Zvi, the son of Rachel Yanait and Yitzhak Ben-­Zvi the Second President of the State of Israel. The film is set during the turbulent period of pre-­state Israel between 1947 -­1948. Margalit (Pnina Gary), meets Eli by chance on a bus and falls in love with him instantly. She tries to become close to him, hoping he’ll fall for her, but Eli is too busy with the Palmach and with smuggling Holocaust survivors into

Palestine. Finally, the barriers come down and a compelling relationship develops between the two. Margalit moves in with Eli to his kibbutz in Beit-­Keshet, they set a date for their wedding, but Israel’s harsh reality intervenes. Thursday 11 May, 6:15 PM – Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Saturday 13 May, 9:00 PM – Famous Players Canada Square 2 Dan Wolman – 40 Years of Filmmaking Dan Wolman (born October 28, 1941) is a veteran Israeli filmmaker who’s films have been presented in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Shanghai, Goa, Moscow and many other film festivals, winning awards and prizes the world over. Dan received a “Life time achievement award” at Jerusalem International film festival and “The Silver Hugo” award at the Chicago International Film Festival for “Unique vision and innovative work”. In January 2015 he was awarded the “Arik Einstein prize” for his achievements and contribution to Israeli cinema and culture[dan wolman] . In 2016 Dan won “The Ophir Life Time Achievement Award” by the Israeli film Academy. His films cover a big range from the very commercial youth comedy “Lemon Popsical” to the very personal “The Distance” and “Foreign Sister” both of which won the Volgin Award for “Best film” at the Jerusalem International Film Festival His first film “The Dreamer” (shot in 1968), broke new ground in Israeli cinema. Not only was it a departure of courageous and defiant proportions from stereotypical local comedy and formula film, but it contravened the aura of the 1967 Six days’ War and it’s aftermath, when the country was preoccupied with its victory over the enemy. “The Dreamer” is a sensitive and complex film that can be characterized as Israel’s first “personal” film, one that probes deeply into an individual’s psyche and explores his conflict with society. The individual who dares to break with the norm and struggles valiantly with society for self – definition is a theme that carries through Wolman’s work and gives him a unique niche among Israel’s film – makers.In his first two features, “The Dreamer” and “Floch”, he deals with the plight of the elderly. In “My Michael” a screen adaptation of Amos Oz’s novel, Wolman highlights the dreariness and loneliness in the lives of women. In “Hide and Seek” and later in “Tied Hands” he examines homosexuality. Wolman’s empathy with and compassion for the pain of the weak and the suffering find expression in his “Foreign Sister and “Ben’s Biography”.Wolman is noted for films that take strong independent positions. The dilemmas of his characters are revealed with integrity and seriousness of purpose, reflecting the ongoing struggle between the individual and the society in which he lives. Wolman’s often – controversial views made it difficult for him to find monetary backing;; nevertheless, his films are finely made, with great attention to detail and décor. His style is classical;; he is a master of mise en scene. He creates subtle, poetic effects: he has an eye for a world in a face and a wasteland in a landscape. Through his investigation of mysterious and uncommon, Wolman’s films uncover universal truths. http://www.wolmandan.com The Toronto Jewish Film Festival’s 2017 lineup, schedule and ticket pricing can be found here .

ZOOMER RADIO -­ April 19, 2017 -­ TJFF SET TO GO NEXT MONTH IN TORONTO http://www.zoomerradio.ca/news/latest-­news/tjff-­set-­go-­next-­month-­toronto/

TJFF SET TO GO NEXT MONTH IN TORONTO Posted on April 19, 2017 by Andy Johnson

The largest Jewish film festival in the world is set to take over Toronto next month.

The festival, which was established in 1993, features a special tribute to Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman. In addition to his recent film “An Israeli Love Story”, the festival will present his films “My Michael” from 1986 and “Hide and Seek” from 1980. Other highlights include screenings of Eran Kolirin’s “Beyond the Mountains and Hills”, Ate de Jong and Emily Harris’ “Love is Thicker Than Water” and Eyal Halfon’s “The 90 Minute War”. The festival runs from May 4 to 14 with screenings at various venues around the city.

GRAND TORONTO -­ April 25, 2017 -­ JEU-­CONCOURS: BILLETS À GAGNER POUR VISIONNER ‘IL ÉTAIT UNE FOIS…LES AVENTURES DE RABBI JACOB’ http://www.grandtoronto.ca/events/jeu-­concours-­billets-­a-­gagner-­visionner-­etait-­aventures-­de-­rabbi-­jacob/

JEU-­CONCOURS: BILLETS À GAGNER POUR VISIONNER ‘IL ÉTAIT UNE FOIS…LES AVENTURES DE RABBI JACOB’ Dans le cadre du 25e festival de films juifs qui aura lieu du 4 au 14 mai prochain, CHOQ FM 105,1 et GrandToronto.ca sont fiers de s’associer aux organisateurs pour vous proposer un jeu-­concours fort sympathique. Courez la chance de remporter une paire de billets pour visionner le film Il était une fois…les aventures de Rabbi Jacob le vendredi 5 mai à 12:00 PM au Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk 9. Pour y participer, il suffit de nous envoyer la bonne réponse à la question suivante à administration@choqfm.ca: Quel est le nom de l’émission musicale sur l’Afrique? (Indice: Elle est animée par Duvalier Monkam et Thierno Soumaré). Date limite pour participer: Le mardi 25 avril 2017. Les noms des gagnants serons annoncés dans ‘Par Ici la Sortie’ , entre 16h et 18h le mercredi 26 avril 2017. BONNE CHANCE!

GRAND TORONTO -­ April 28, 2017 -­ JEU-­CONCOURS: BILLETS À GAGNER POUR VISIONNER ‘TAAM, OR THE TASTE OF RUE ROSIERS’ http://www.grandtoronto.ca/events/jeu-­concours-­billets-­a-­gagner-­taam/

JEU-­CONCOURS: BILLETS À GAGNER POUR VISIONNER ‘TAAM, OR THE TASTE OF RUE ROSIERS’ Dans le cadre du 25e festival de films juifs qui aura lieu du 4 au 14 mai prochain, CHOQ FM 105,1 et GrandToronto.ca sont fiers de s’associer aux organisateurs pour vous proposer un jeu-­concours fort sympathique. Courez la chance de remporter une paire de billets pour visionner le film Taam, or the Taste of Rue Rosiers de Sophie Bramly le dimanche 7 mai prochain à partir de 15h30 à l’Alliance Francaise de Toronto en y participant. Pour y participer, il suffit de nous envoyer la bonne réponse à la question suivante à administration@choqfm.ca: Quel est le nom de notre émission économique? (Indice: Elle est diffusée tous les mardis à midi). Date limite pour participer: Le vendredi 28 avril 2017. Les noms des gagnant(e)s seront annoncés dans ‘Par Ici la Sortie’ , entre 16h et 18h le lundi 1er mai 2017. BONNE CHANCE!

HUNGARIAN FREE PRESS -­ April 18, 2017 -­ Keep Quiet — A review of a poignant documentary on Csanád Szegedi http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/04/18/keep-­quiet-­a-­review-­of-­a-­poignant-­documentary-­on-­csanad-­szegedi/

Keep Quiet — A review of a poignant documentary on Csanád Szegedi April 18, 2017 4:01 pm ·

This month, I was invited to watch a private preview screening of the documentary Keep Quiet, which will have its Toronto premiere at the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation Festival on May 8, 2017. The film, directed by Joseph Martin and Sam Blair, focuses on the political coming of age of Jobbik and Hungarian Guard co-­founder Csanád Szegedi–a young man who represented and propagated some of the most vile forms of antisemitism in Hungary, up until he discovered that his maternal grandmother was an Auschwitz survivor and that he was of Jewish origins himself. It is a story of self-­discovery, with lingering undertones of incredulity and doubt surrounding Mr. Szegedi’s honesty. How can the leader of a fascistic paramilitary group, a prominent promoter of hate and Holocaust denial, suddenly go from being a far right Member of the European Parliament to being a Hasidic Jew within just one year?

The documentary weaves together the story of Mr. Szegedi’s upbringing and family background in the eighties and early nineties, his political coming of age in 2006, during a period of turmoil and unrest in Hungary, from which the nascent Jobbik party profited, through to his rise to prominence after 2009 and then his eventual political demise and period of self-­discovery. What holds this narrative together, in a sober and poignant manner, is a train journey to Auschwitz. The film begins with Mr. Szegedi buying a train ticket to Auschwitz in Budapest, along with elderly Holocaust survivor Eva “Bobby” Neumann. The two initially sit in somewhat awkward silence at the Nyugati train station before they begin talking about remembrance and how society processes, or fails to process historic tragedies. The films speaks to how so many Hungarian Holocaust survivors did not feel comfortable talking about their experiences for years or even decades after the end of the War. There was a feeling that nobody wanted to hear about their pain, because everyone had suffered trauma of some kind.

In some cases there was also fear, even after 1945, about future persecution. The most moving part of the film was when Mr. Szegedi spoke with his elderly grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor who never told her grandson about her experiences or her Jewish origins, even after he had become a far-­right politician. He asked her about what Jews in Hungary should do today. Her answer was

unequivocal: “keep quiet.” Mr. Szegedi also asked his mother, who knew of the family secret, about why she never stopped him during his slide into antisemitism, Holocaust denial and the far-­right. His mother indicated that she did not know how to process what was happening to her son and did not intervene, since by that point he was already so deeply involved in Jobbik. This was the wrong approach, she now realizes.

In the film Mr. Szegedi comes across as a thoughtful, well-­spoken and even charismatic man. His seemingly amicable personality is contrasted with some others on the far-­right, including one especially disturbing man: a former skinhead and supporter of paramilitary groups, who ultimately outed Mr. Szegedi as being a Jew. We learn that some in Jobbik, including the party director, wanted to capitalize on the fact that a leading politician was of Jewish origins, as this, in their mind, would put to rest the charge of antisemitism for good. But Jobbik leader Gábor Vona and others took a more hard line approach and wanted Mr. Szegedi out.

Within mere days of discovering his family’s secret, Mr. Szegedi turned to the Chabad-­Lubavitch movement in Budapest and specifically to Rabbi Boruch Oberlander. The rabbi explains in the film that however horrific Mr. Szegedi’s past, he had an obligation to help any Jew, even a Jew who has done terrible things. On the flip side, Mr. Szegedi had an obligation to apologize publicly, show that he is contrite and work to repair what he has damaged. Within a year of leaving Jobbik, Mr. Szegedi had converted and was an active member of Rabbi Oberlander’s Hasidic community.

Not everyone was as open to giving Mr. Szegedi the benefit of the doubt, and it is difficult to blame those who remained incredulous. When the former Jobbik politician philosophized and lectured about the nature of Jewish identity at a Jewish conference in Berlin, it was too much for some participants. When he tried to speak to a Jewish community in Montreal, but was ultimately instructed to leave Canada before he could speak in person, Rabbi Oberlander fielded the sharp criticism of a handful of Hungarian Canadian Jews.

Watching the film, I was looking for moments of raw honesty–something to latch onto and be able to say that I believe Mr. Szegedi, his conversion and his new outlook to be authentic. Doubts lingered and continue to linger even after watching the documentary. But there were two such moments of what I would call raw honesty. When asked whether he will embrace Judaism to this extent for the rest of his life, Mr. Szegedi hesitated and said that he ultimately cannot say for certain that he will, even though he sees the possibility that he will turn his back on this identity as unlikely. And when Rabbi Oberlander was asked about whether he truly believes that his new convert is honest, he said that he prays that he is truthful and he prays that he will not be disappointed.

The lingering doubt, the uncertainty and the somber manner in which this narrative is presented makes it a powerful film. It is perhaps only journalist Anne Applebaum’s suggestion that the reason why so many Hungarian families kept their experiences during the

Holocaust a secret was because of the “fifty years” of communism and this system based on lies and deception, which I found problematic. Even based on the words of the survivors speaking in the film, silence was not a result of deception built into the communist regime. This secrecy was tied to shame, fear of future persecution, a feeling that society was uninterested in the suffering of others and was even disdainful, a desire to just “move on” in the postwar world and the complete disintegration of the Jewish community and identity in almost all of Hungary, outside of Budapest.

Keep Quiet spoke to me in a personal way as well. I am the same age as Mr. Szegedi and my family kept quiet about their Jewish identity and the family tragedy during the Holocaust too. I discovered that my father was Jewish and had survived the Holocaust in the Budapest Ghetto and that my grandfather was deported and killed in Dachau around the same time that Mr. Szegedi made this discovery in 2012-­13. Like Mr. Szegedi, I had been told ever since I was a child that my family had strong Christian (Protestant) and patriotic Hungarian roots, and not a word about the Holocaust. While Mr. Szegedi’s grandmother spoke about the importance of “freshening the family blood” or outbreeding ( vérfrissítés ), in reference to her daughter marrying a non-­Jew, my paternal grandmother, who saw her husband and brothers killed in the Holocaust, was very supportive of my infant baptism as a Roman Catholic, in light of my Catholic mother.

The difference between us–and this is where I have some trouble understanding Mr. Szegedi–is that I had an acute interest in the Second World War and the Holocaust even as a teenager. When I was 16, I wrote to Elie Wiesel after reading Night and Dawn, and received a response from him. The story of the Holocaust was formative in my understanding of the society and world in which I lived. I did not need to know anything about my family’s Jewish origins and their experiences in the Shoah to want to understand this tragedy in Hungarian and European history and to feel a combination of anger, compassion and solidarity.

Finally, what do we know about Mr. Szegedi and his activities in most recent months? In late 2016, he announced that he was making Aliyah and was open to the possibility of eventually entering Israeli politics.

To view the complete program of films during the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation Festival, please click here .

NAMASTE NEWSLINE -­ April 18, 2017 -­ Toronto Jewish Film Festival announces full 2017 lineup https://namastenewsline.com/2017/04/18/toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­announces-­full-­2017-­lineup/

Toronto Jewish Film Festival announces full 2017 lineup Slate includes a tribute to Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman;; the Canadian Premiere of Joshua Z Weinstein’s Menashe;; New Israeli Cinema short film programme;; and an archival presentation of Madeleine Ali’s Black to the Promised Land (1992), from the Festival’s inaugural edition.

The 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival will take place May 4 to 14, 2017.

TJFF.COM

The Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) has announced the full lineup of its 25th anniversary edition, with a mix of classics, archival rediscoveries, and exceptional new releases. The broad and diverse slate is comprised of 105 films from 24 countries including Israel, Argentina, The Netherlands, Australia, and France, and features numerous Premieres: 6 World, 10 International, 5 North American, 30 Canadian and 19 Toronto.

The Festival is proud to present a number of acclaimed features, among them: Eran Kolirin’s (The Band’s Visit) Beyond the Mountains and Hills, a poignant film

about a soldier’s adaptation to civilian life;; Ate de Jong and Emily Harris’ Love is Thicker Than Water, an indie gem about the ups and downs of a young couple in contemporary London;; and Eyal Halfon’s satirical The 90 Minute War, a bold comedy that places the fate of the Israeli-­Palestinian conflict on a single soccer match.

The lineup also includes festival favourites from Cannes, Sundance, Locarno, and Berlin, including: the Canadian Premiere of Joshua Z Weinstein’s acclaimed Menashe, a drama about a single father in Brooklyn’s Hasidic community;; Maria Schrader’s Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe, about the great Austrian writer’s final years;; and Asaph Polonsky’s moving feature debut, One Week and a Day, which has already established him as an Israeli talent to watch.

One special programme this year is a tribute to celebrated Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman. Alongside the Canadian premiere of his recent An Israeli Love Story, the Festival is proud to present archival screenings of the classics My Michael (1976), and Hide and Seek (1980), Israel’s first LGBT film. The recent restoration of Hide and Seek screened at the 2016 Berlin Film Festival (where it originally premiered and won a prize in 1980) – as part of the festival’s 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards.

Additional archival highlights include a tribute to the comedic genius of the late Gene Wilder with a free screening of The Frisco Kid (1979), starring Wilder as a Polish rabbi in the American West. It will be shown alongside the rare television gem The Eternal Light: Home for Passover (1966), based on the Sholem Aleichem story. The Festival also presents an anniversary screening of Madeleine Ali’s Black to the Promised Land (1992), which was part of the Festival’s inaugural edition 25 years ago. TJFF is proud of its support for this great and often-­requested documentary.

This year’s lineup also includes the Canadian Premieres of several rich and nuanced documentaries, including: Trevor Graham’s Monsieur Mayonnaise, which follows cult filmmaker Philippe Mora as he uncovers his father’s role in the French Resistance, as well as his friendship with Marcel Marceau;; Lilly Rivlin’s Heather Booth: Changing the World, a portrait of an influential activist, featuring interviews with Elizabeth Warren and other prominent progressives;; and Chen Shelach’s Praise the Lard, about Israel’s complex pork industry.

Other documentary highlights include: the Canadian premiere of Robert Philipson’s Body & Soul: An American Bridge, which explores the complex musical interplay between Jewish and African-­American cultures through the history of one of the most enduring standards written by a Jewish composer;; the Toronto Premiere of Sam Blair and Joseph Martin’s Keep Quiet, about the revelation of a Hungarian far right leader’s unexpected Jewish heritage;; the International Premiere of Jeff Zapata and Joe Simko’s 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story, a comprehensive history of the gross-­out cultural phenomenon;; and the World

Premiere of David Blumenfeld and Ami Drozd’s Scandal in Ivansk, which follows the controversy around an effort to restore an old Jewish cemetery in Ivansk, Poland.

TJFF will present a number of exceptional short films for the 2017 edition, including two curated programmes. The New Israeli Cinema programme includes Shadi Habib Allah’s subversive The Fifth Season, a short doc that follows a Palestinian writer and teacher in Ramallah;; Yoav Hornung’s Deserted, about an officer who loses her weapon during her final examination;; Tomer Shushan’s Inside Shells, a beautifully-­directed portrait of a family on the economic margins;; and Nurith Cohn’s Little Dictator, a comedy about an unfortunate shaving mishap.

Seventeen other shorts will precede features throughout the Festival, in addition to the four titles that make up the previously announced Canadian short film programme, Oy Canada. Other previously announced programming includes Richler On-­Screen, TJFF’s comprehensive tribute to Mordecai Richler, Opening Night film 1945, Closing Night film Mandala Beats, David A. Stein Memorial Award winner The Patriarch’s Room, and Micki Moore Award winner A.K.A. Nadia, among other titles.

The complete TJFF 2017 film lineup is now available at TJFF.COM

Advance box office opens online April 20, and in-­person on April 21 at both the Foundation’s offices, 19 Madison Ave (no wheelchair access, please call 416-­324-­9121 for assistance) and at the new advance box office at Yorkville Village. Yorkville Village will remain open until May 3 and both 19 Madison and online will remain open until the end of the Festival.

Venue box offices open May 5, available one hour before first screening start time. Venues include Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Famous Players Canada Square Cinemas, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Innis Town Hall, The Spadina Theatre at Alliance Française, The Royal Cinema and Cineplex Cinemas Varsity and VIP.

SOUTH ASIAN DAILY -­ April 11, 2017 -­ 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival to open with Ferenc Török's 1945 PRINT ONLY

25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival to open with Ferenc Török's 1945

TORONTO -­ The 25th anniversary edition of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is set to open on May 4 with Ferenc Török's luminous and highly-­acclaimed 1945, fresh off its debut at the Berlin Interna-­ tional Film Festival. Ten days later, the Festival will close with the World Premiere of Mandala Beats, directed by Canadian filmmaker -­ and former TJFF Hillel student committee participant-­ Rebekah Reiko, on May 14.

Set in the immediate aftermath of WWII, 1945 tells the tale of a Hungarian village forced to grapple with its past. When two Jewish men arrive by train and wordlessly make their way through the streets, a series of events is set off that prevents the town from ever being the same again. Török will be in attendance to introduce the film, which has already garnered international praise. Mandala Beats is an intimate portrait of Israeli bassist Yossi Fine, who is acclaimed for his work with legendary artists like Lou Reed, David Bowie and Brian Eno. The film follows Fine, who upon discov-­ ery of his own Indian heritage, travels to India where he finds inspira-­ tion to take his music in ambitious new directions. Mandala Beats is the feature-­length debut by Canadian filmmaker Rebekah Reiko, who previously sat on a joint TJFF / Hillel of Greater Toronto student com-­ mittee in 2013, and is returning to the Festival to present her film's World Premiere.

THE WEEKLY ASIAN CONNECTIONS -­ April 7, 2017 -­ 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival to open with Toronto Premiere of Ferenc Török’s 1945 www.theasianconnectionsnewspaper.com/25th-­toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival-­to-­open-­with-­toronto-­premiere-­of-­ferenc-­toroks-­1945/

25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival to open with Toronto Premiere of Ferenc Török’s 1945

Posted in Community

Published on April 07, 2017 with No Comment

To close with the World Premiere of Rebekah Reiko’s Mandala Beats

Director Ferenc Török will attend the opening night premiere of his acclaimed drama. Canadian filmmaker Rebekah Reiko will close the Festival with her film’s premiere. After the screening Yossi Fine, the film’s subject, will perform at Lee’s Palace.

The 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival will take place May 4 to 14, 2017.

TJFF.COM The 25th anniversary edition of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is set to open on May 4 with Ferenc Török’s luminous and highly-­acclaimed 1945 , fresh off its debut at the Berlin International Film Festival. Ten days later, the Festival will close with the World Premiere of Mandala Beats , directed by Canadian filmmaker —and former TJFF Hillel student committee participant— Rebekah Reiko, on May 14. Set in the immediate aftermath of WWII, 1945 tells the tale of a Hungarian village forced to grapple with its past. When two Jewish men arrive by train and wordlessly make their way through the streets, a series of events is set off that prevents the town from ever being the same again. Török will be in attendance to introduce the film, which has already garnered international praise. Mandala Beats is an intimate portrait of Israeli bassist Yossi Fine, who is acclaimed for his work with legendary artists like Lou Reed, David Bowie and Brian Eno. The film follows Fine, who upon discovery of his own Indian heritage, travels to India where he finds inspiration to take his music in ambitious new directions. Mandala Beats is the feature-­length debut by Canadian filmmaker Rebekah Reiko, who previously sat on a joint TJFF / Hillel of Greater Toronto student committee in 2013, and is returning to the Festival to present her film’s World Premiere. “My love for India and my interest in learning more about Israel’s contemporary music scene is what intrigued me to make this documentary,” said director Reiko. “TJFF, one of Toronto’s most established film festivals, is always showing innovative films. I feel honored to be part of this year’s lineup!” Yossi Fine will be present for the film’s premiere at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, after which he and Israeli drummer Ben Aylon will perform music from their “Music from the Blue Desert” project at the Festival’s Wrap Party. The 19+ event will take place at Lee’s Palace. The Toronto Jewish Film Festival’s 2017 lineup, schedule and ticket pricing information will be available at TJFF.COM starting April 17. Early Bird Special passes available at TJFF.COM until April 14. Full advance box office available online April 20 and in-­person on April 21.

AFISHARU -­ April 30 -­ 2017 -­ Фестиваль еврейских фильмов The 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival afisharu.com/event/festival-­evrejskih-­filmov-­the-­25th-­toronto-­jewish-­film-­festival/

Фестиваль еврейских фильмов The 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival Еврейский кинофестиваль в Торонто принимает множество уважаемых гостей и празднует свое 25-­летие. Более 40 режиссеров, исполнителей, сценаристов и ученых будут присутствовать на этом форуме. Известный израильский кинорежиссер Дэн Вольман будет присутствовать на ретроспективе своей творческой карьеры. Фестиваль дает возможность аудитории получить или повысить знания о разнообразии еврейской культуры. Фильмы будут представлены с субтитрами. Фестиваль стремиться разрушить расовые, культурные и религиозные барьеры и стереотипы.

Дата события Место проведения

с 4 по 14 мая 2017 года Downtown Toronto

с 4 по 14 мая 2017 года The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

с 4 по 14 мая 2017 года Innis Town Hall Theatre

с 4 по 14 мая 2017 года Festival Toronto Jewish Film Festival

NORTHERN STARS -­ May 3, 2017 -­ 1945 Opens 25th Annual TJFF www.northernstars.ca/1945-­opens-­25th-­annual-­tjff/

1945 Opens 25th Annual TJFF (May 3, 2017 – Toronto, ON) The 25th annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival launches tomorrow night with 1945 . Based on the short story, Homecoming , by Gábor T. Szántó, 1945 was directed by Ferenc Török who will be in attendance at the 7:00PM screening, which will be at Toronto’s Cineplex Varsity Cinemas. 1945 is set in a small Hungarian village shortly after liberation. As the town’s folk prepare for a wedding between Szentes, the son of the influential village clerk, and Kisrózsi, the former fiancé of his friend, two Orthodox Jews arrive at the train station with mysterious boxes in tow. Bereft of Jews since their deportation during the war, the village is startled by the sudden resurgence of its former denizens. While some villagers wear their guilt like a cloak of shame, others fear retribution or that they will be forced to return their “ill-­gotten gains.” With everyone’s sensitivity heightened, soon a chain of events unfurls and sends the quaint hamlet into turmoil. 1945 costars Péter Rudolf as the Town Clerk, Bence Tasnádi as Szentes Árpád, Tamás Szabó Kimmel as Jancsi and Dóra Sztarenki as Kisrózsi. Click here for a link to the Toronto Jewish Film Festival and other May 2017 film festivals.

OTTAWA ROAD TRIPS -­ May 2, 2017 -­ 26 road trip ideas: Writers in Gananoque, carvers in Kars, Sondheim in Wakefield and artisans in Almonte! https://ottawaroadtrips.com/2017/05/02/26-­road-­trip-­ideas-­writers-­gananoque-­carvers-­kars-­sondheim-­wakefield-­artisans-­almonte/

26 road trip ideas: Writers in Gananoque, carvers in Kars, Sondheim in Wakefield and artisans in Almonte! by Laura Byrne Paquet on May 2, 2017 in Day trips , Kingston

Whether your hobby is running, reading, woodworking, gardening or hiking, I have an event for you in this week’s roundup. You’ll also find details on a comedy festival in Cornwall, a children’s festival in Hawkesbury, a poutine festival in Ottawa and Jane’s Walks in multiple cities. I’ll even tell you where you can celebrate World Labyrinth Day. Wherever your travels take you, have fun!

See Jewish movies in Toronto

The 25th annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival (May 4 to 14) features a diverse schedule of comedies, dramas, documentaries, shorts and archival films—everything from an animated version of Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man” and a Dutch mini-­series about a family law firm to a documentary about a group of Russian Jews who tried to hijack a plane in 1970.

WILNERVISION -­ May 4, 2017 -­ You should see a documentary already, what’s keeping you http://www.wilnervision.com/you-­should-­see-­a-­documentary-­already-­whats-­keeping-­you/

MOVIES

YOU SHOULD SEE A DOCUMENTARY ALREADY, WHAT’S KEEPING YOU MAY 4, 2017 LEAVE A COMMENT

As if the spring festival circuit wasn’t busy enough, for a few years now, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival has gotten rolling while Hot Docs is still underway. And this year more than most, it feels like a direct challenge: TJFF 2017 has a really good documentary program, and I dig into it in this week’s NOW. Also, because it’s opening everywhere tonight and I know you’re curious, here’s my review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 . It’s ever so good.

EXCLAIM! -­ April 17, 2017 -­ Here's the Full Lineup for the 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival http://exclaim.ca/film/article/heres_the_full_lineup_for_the_25th_toronto_jewish_film_festival

Here's the Full Lineup for the 25th Toronto Jewish Film Festival By Josiah Hughes

Published Apr 17, 2017

We're mere weeks away from the launch of the 25th edition of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival .

After a flurry of preparation, organizers have now made the event's entire lineup live.

The fest has programmed a truly massive lineup packed with highlights. Among them are

screenings of Eran Kolirin's Beyond the Mountains and Hills , Ate de Jong and Emily Harris' Love is Thicker Than Water , Eyal Halfon's The 90 Minute War , Joshua Z Weinstein's Menashe , Maria

Schrader's Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe and Asaph Polonsky's One Week and a Day. The festival will also offer a special tribute to Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman. In addition to his

recent film An Israeli Love Story , the fest will present his old films My Michael (1976) and Hide and Seek (1980).

There are also plenty of documentaries, including Trevor Graham's Monsieur Mayonnaise , Lilly Rivlin's Heather Booth: Changing the World, Chen Shelach's Praise the Lard , Robert Philipson's Body & Soul: An American Bridge , Sam Blair and Joseph Martin's Keep Quiet , Jeff Zapata and Joe Simko's 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story and Ami Drozd's Scandal in Ivansk. That's barely scratching the surface. To dig into TJFF's rich lineup and to purchase tickets, go here .

The festival runs from May 4 to 14. Venues for the festival include Cineplex Cinemas Empress

Walk, Famous Players Canada Square Cinemas, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Innis Town Hall,

The Spadina Theatre at Alliance Française, The Royal Cinema and Cineplex Cinemas Varsity and

VIP

INDIEWIRE -­ April 6, 2017 -­ Film Festival Roundup: Montclair Announces Full Program, New York African Film Festival Returns, Full Frame Opens and More http://www.indiewire.com/2017/04/film-­festival-­roundup-­montclair-­program-­full-­frame-­1201802517/

Film Festival Roundup: Montclair Announces Full Program, New York African Film

Festival Returns, Full Frame Opens and More

Plus, Nantucket announces Screenwriters Tribute, Florida reveals its full slate and much more.

Kate Erbland 2 hours ago @katerbland

– The 25th anniversary edition of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is set to open on May 4 with Ferenc Török’s “1945,” fresh off its debut at the Berlin International Film Festival. Ten days later, the Festival will close with the World Premiere of “Mandala Beats,” directed by Canadian filmmaker —and former TJFF Hillel student committee participant— Rebekah Reiko, on May 14.

The Toronto Jewish Film Festival’s 2017 lineup, schedule and ticket pricing information will be available at TJFF.COM starting April 17. Early Bird Special passes are available at TJFF.COM until April 14.

Publicity handled by danielaponce@poncedaniela.com