Many authors of children’s Chanukah books still perpetuate two mistakes. One is that a chanukiyah is the same as a menorah, whereas the latter is actually the seven-branched Temple lamp looted by the Romans when the Temple was destroyed. The…
Shira Geffen shares how she met her husband, Etgar Keret, in the film Etgar Keret: Based on a True Story, which screens Nov. 14. (photo from facebook.com/etgarkeretfilm) “I want to write stories so the readers will like mankind a little…
Filmmaker Michelle Paymar. (photo from D-Facto Filmstudio) In the 19th century, the hunt for ancient manuscripts was in vogue, and a tip from two Scottish Presbyterian identical twin sisters – Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson – led talmudic…
Still from If You’re Hungry, Sing. If You Ache, Laugh. When Vancouver freelance director and writer Michèle Smolkin interviewed her uncle, Sam Rechtman, he was 103 years old. Born on July 7, 1914, he has experienced two world wars, pogroms,…
Tzahi Grad, left, and Ala Dakka are great together in The Cousin. (photo from Shaxaf Haber/Venice Film Festival) The 30th annual Vancouver Jewish Film Festival, which runs Nov. 7-Dec. 2, has an impressive lineup. Not only is there a wide…
Gili Roskies co-stars in Red Birds, which opens Nov. 2. (photo from Gili Roskies) Jewish community member Gili Roskies co-stars in the world première of Red Birds, written by Aaron Bushkowsky. Presented by Solo Collective Theatre and Western Gold Theatre,…
Michael Klein recently had his first book published. (photo from Michael Klein) Dr. Michael Klein has published almost 200 scientific articles. Earlier this month, he launched his first book, Dissident Doctor: Catching Babies and Challenging the Medical Status Quo (Douglas…
A scene from Who Will Write Our History, about the secret Warsaw Ghetto archives that were hidden from the Nazis. The film screens Nov. 1 at the Rothstein Theatre. (photo by Anna Wloch / Katahdin Productions) One of the better…
Claudie Azoulai, left, and Nicole Schouela. Their work comprises the exhibit Heart to Heart, which is at the Zack Gallery until Nov. 9. (photo from the artists) The latest show at the Zack Gallery, Heart to Heart, presents the work…
A scene from Shop Class. (photo from NFB) Hart Snider has followed up his award-winning animated short The Basketball Game with Shop Class, one of four National Film Board of Canada shorts selected for the 2018 Spark Animation Festival, which…
