TV & Film

A window on to Indonesia

photo - Left to right, Boni Putera, Titi Juwariyah and Bambang “Ho” Mulyono are the charismatic musicians at the heart of Daniel Ziv’s (inset) documentary Jalanan

Left to right, Boni Putera, Titi Juwariyah and Bambang “Ho” Mulyono are the charismatic musicians at the heart of Daniel Ziv’s (inset) documentary Jalanan. (photo from jalananmovie.com) Daniel Ziv’s first feature-length documentary, the multiple-award-winning Jalanan (Streetside), tells the uplifting, engaging story…

Gilbert’s TIFF hat trick

image - Bron Studios home page screenshot

Bron Studios has won multiple awards for its work. (bronstudios.com screenshot) Aaron L. Gilbert had every reason to be smiling broadly at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The Burnaby-based producer had three film screenings: Welcome to Me (starring…

Enter short film contest

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) has launched Short Film, Large Subject: The Holocaust Film Competition. This is the organization’s first film contest, and it is open to entrants from around the world. Recognizing the potential…

Creepy, well-crafted thriller

photo - In her film The German Doctor, Lucia Puenzo tries to capture Josef Mengele’s “very sociopathic, complex personality”

In her film The German Doctor, Lucia Puenzo tries to capture Josef Mengele’s “very sociopathic, complex personality.” (photo from Vancouver Jewish Film Festival) As a high school student in the 1990s, Lucia Puenzo was fascinated and mystified by an open secret:…

Head to Fifth Avenue for VJFF

photo - Julie Cohen’s The Sturgeon Queens (United States)

Julie Cohen’s The Sturgeon Queens is informative and delightful. From the fraught origins of the state of Israel to what a possible peaceful future for Israel might look like, this year’s Vancouver Jewish Film Festival, which runs Nov. 6-13 at Fifth…

Spielberg opens film festival

photo - Roberta Grossman (director), left, and Nancy Spielberg (producer) on the Duxford set of Above and Beyond

Roberta Grossman (director), left, and Nancy Spielberg (producer) on the Duxford set of Above and Beyond. (photo from playmountproductions.com) On Nov. 6, the 26th annual Vancouver Jewish Film Festival begins with the Canadian première of Above and Beyond, about a…

Israel Horovitz calls “action!”

photo - Kevin Kline and Maggie Smith in Israel Horovitz’s My Old Lady

Kevin Kline and Maggie Smith in Israel Horovitz’s My Old Lady. (photo from Cohen Media Group) Arobust 75, the award-winning playwright, theatre director and screenwriter Israel Horovitz isn’t in the market for a new career. Too bad, for his moving…

Shalom Sesame for Chanukah

Available Oct. 14, SISU is re-releasing the 12 episodes of the 2010-11 season of Shalom Sesame in a new six-DVD thin-pack gift box. Included in the re-release is a bonus DVD featuring two episodes from the classic Shalom Sesame series,…

Small sample of VIFF

photo - Nadav Lapid’s The Kindergarten Teacher raises some interesting ideas, but is lacklustre overall

Nadav Lapid’s The Kindergarten Teacher raises some interesting ideas, but is lacklustre overall. (photo from VIFF)  The rollercoaster ride of emotions continued this week, as the Jewish Independent reviewed another set of films that will be featured at the Vancouver International Film…

VIFF screens humanity’s best/worst

photo - Ilya Kabakov is the subject of Amei Wallach’s lya and Emilia Kabakov: Enter Here

Ilya Kabakov is the subject of Amei Wallach’s lya and Emilia Kabakov: Enter Here. (photo from VIFF) This year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (Sept. 25-Oct. 10) will take viewers on a rollercoaster ride, if the films reviewed by the Independent this week…