TV & Film

Difficult to be a good father

photo - Menashe Lustig (Menashe), director Joshua Z. Weinstein and Ruben Niborski (Rieven)

Menashe Lustig (Menashe), director Joshua Z. Weinstein and Ruben Niborski (Rieven). (photo by Federica Valabrega courtesy of Mongrel Media) On a sidewalk crowded with people moving at the pace of a typical New York City day, nobody stands out. Eventually,…

An accidental journey

photo - Salvador Litvak was in Vancouver for a Shabbaton at the Kollel last month

Salvador Litvak was in Vancouver for a Shabbaton at the Kollel last month. (photo from Salvador Litvak) At a Kollel Shabbaton last month featuring Accidental Talmudist and filmmaker Salvador Litvak, no one was asking that age-old Jewish question, “When do…

A night for your imagination

photo - In The Fifth Season, Shadi Habib Allah focuses on Palestinian writer and teacher Ziad Khadash, who wants his students to know what freedom feels like

In The Fifth Season, Shadi Habib Allah focuses on Palestinian writer and teacher Ziad Khadash, who wants his students to know what freedom feels like. (photo from Vancouver Jewish Film Centre) The Sir Jack Lyons Charitable Trust Student Film Prize…

U.S.-Israel relations in Norman

photo - Richard Gere, left, as Norman Oppenheimer and Lior Ashkenazi as Micha Eshel. In the unlikely confines of an upscale shoe store, the two characters forge a connection that will have profound ramifications

Richard Gere, left, as Norman Oppenheimer and Lior Ashkenazi as Micha Eshel. In the unlikely confines of an upscale shoe store, the two characters forge a connection that will have profound ramifications. (photo by Niko Tavernise, Courtesy of Sony Pictures…

Diverse DOXA festival offerings

photo - In the very talented ensemble of The Road Forward by Marie Clements are Michelle St. John, left, and Jennifer Kreisberg

In the very talented ensemble of The Road Forward by Marie Clements are Michelle St. John, left, and Jennifer Kreisberg. (photos from National Film Board of Canada) This year’s DOXA Documentary Film Festival features several films with Jewish community connections.…

The reach of humour

photo - Director Ferne Pearlstein with Mel Brooks

Director Ferne Pearlstein with Mel Brooks. (photo from Tangerine Entertainment) Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanours marked the first time that many people heard the philosophical proposition, expressed by Alan Alda’s character, that “comedy is tragedy plus time.” I’ve always cited…

Recalling Six Day War

photo - Posters from the Six Day War, explaining how to remain safe and be good citizens; the soldier shown is at El Arish, Sinai, in late June or early July 1967

Posters from the Six Day War, explaining how to remain safe and be good citizens; the soldier shown is at El Arish, Sinai, in late June or early July 1967. (photo by Shula Klinger ) This year marks the 50th…

Hear My Music premières

photo - At the première of Hear My Music at Labia Theatre in Cape Town on Feb. 15, are, left to right, Ntandazo (Didi) Gcingca, associate producer, and Dizu Plaatjies, the documentary’s subject, with Wendy Bross Stuart and Ron Stuart of WRS Productions

At the première of Hear My Music at Labia Theatre in Cape Town on Feb. 15, are, left to right, Ntandazo (Didi) Gcingca, associate producer, and Dizu Plaatjies, the documentary’s subject, with Wendy Bross Stuart and Ron Stuart of WRS…

Envisioning the world

photo - Brothers Tony and Ryan Smith are in the process of bringing the feature film Volition to the screen

Brothers Tony and Ryan Smith are in the process of bringing the feature film Volition to the screen. (photo from Smith Brothers Film Company) Local Jewish brothers Ryan and Tony Smith have worked in the film and television industry in…

Food connects generations

photo - Ken Levitt, president of Jewish Seniors Alliance, and Leah Deslauriers, coordinator of JCC Seniors and L’Chaim Adult Day Centre

Ken Levitt, president of Jewish Seniors Alliance, and Leah Deslauriers, coordinator of JCC Seniors and L’Chaim Adult Day Centre. (photo by Binny Goldman) On Jan. 25, a treat awaited all who attended the screening at the Jewish Community Centre of…