Category Arts & Culture

VIFF’s mixed offerings

photo - Franz stars newcomer Idan Weiss

Franz stars newcomer Idan Weiss. (photo from lene Film Production) As it does every year, the 2025 Vancouver International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 2-12, has offerings of particular interest to the Jewish community. Below are the synopses (less some…

Writers fest starts soon

he 38th annual Vancouver Writers Festival takes place on Granville Island Oct. 20-26. Among the 130-plus local and international authors at 87 events are several members of the Jewish community. A glance through the lineup finds, in order of appearance,…

Shoah’s generational impacts

Robert Krell did not identify as a Holocaust survivor until the age of 41. His evolving realization about his own experience mirrors a larger trend in the understanding of child Holocaust survivors. As a psychiatrist, academic and leading Holocaust educator,…

Power Metal a reality check

Clean cars humming down quiet streets. Solar panels shimmering on rooftops. A world powered by sunlight and wind, freed from the smoke and pollution of oil rigs and coal plants. The age of carbon, we’re told, is drawing to a…

Traveling as a woman

photo - Caryl Eve Dolinko, author of A Woman’s Guide to World Travel, has been to 93 countries and counting

Caryl Eve Dolinko, author of A Woman’s Guide to World Travel, has been to 93 countries and counting. (photo from caryldolinko.com) Caryl Eve Dolinko’s A Woman’s Guide to World Travel literally covers everything you need to know when traveling, from…

Thriller delves into AI world

Daniel Kalla commands readers’ interest from the first sentence of his latest thriller, The Deepest Fake. And he keeps us turning pages straight to the end, not only as we contemplate who might be the culprit(s) of our hero’s apparent…

Two different kinds of magic

image - Fairy GodBubbie’s Shabbat book cover

It’s almost a new year. We’ve been taking stock more than usual throughout the month of Elul. It’s a valuable skill – being able to do regular cheshbon hanefesh, accounting of the soul, reflecting on our views and actions, with…

Ruta’s Closet reissued

photo - Lady Esther Gilbert speaking at Vancouver City Hall April 8, when Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim proclaimed Ruth Kron Sigal Day in the city

Lady Esther Gilbert speaking at Vancouver City Hall April 8, when Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim proclaimed Ruth Kron Sigal Day in the city. (photo by Keith Morgan) Ruta’s Closet, the Holocaust narrative of the late Vancouverite Ruth Kron Sigal, is…

Rolls’ poetic Adventures at Vancouver Fringe

photo - The Vancouver Fringe Festival runs Sept. 4-14. For the full lineup and tickets, visit vancouverfringe.com

The Vancouver Fringe Festival runs Sept. 4-14. For the full lineup and tickets, visit vancouverfringe.com. (photo from festival listing) Jem Rolls brings Adventures in Canadian Parking Lots to the Vancouver Fringe Festival Sept. 5-14. “Describing the contents of the show…

Power of propaganda

Understanding the past, including the darkest eras, can help people recognize the symptoms of a society going off the rails.  A forthcoming book for young readers, titled Can Posters Kill? Antisemitic Propaganda and World War II, by Torontonians Jerry Faivish…