Disclaimer: We provide this data as a service to readers. We are non-commercial. We are not responsible for the results of the use or misuse of the data and/or opinions provided. Sane Insane
TITLE: Sane Insane - Shafui Lo Shafui
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Tami Gross / Yuval Cohen
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 70 minutes
SOURCE: Anan Productions, Tel Aviv or Cinephil, Tel Aviv
TEXT: The story of seven army veterans released from a variety of mental hospitals around Israel, who are now living in Shalev House, a self-styled rehab center Tel Aviv. Main theme: Are independence and freedom the exclusive privilege of the sane? Must the insane be imprisoned?
Son
TITLE: Son - "Ben"
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Nitzan Aviram . Simcha Medioni
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 52 minutes
SOURCE: G. G. Israel Studios, Jerusalem
TEXT: This drama is about a 65 year old poet, Arik Ben Adon, who after his wife's death, is left with his 17 year old son, Adam, who suffers from Down's Syndrome. Arik has not written since his son was born. When Adam learns that his father was a writer, he attempts to mimic his father's style, thus enraging Arik. Adam runs away and gets a job as a waiter and becomes the mascot to a local Tel Aviv band. He tries his hand at writing lyrics and gets to perform them on stage. Based on a story by A. B. Yehoshua.
The Voice of Hope
TITLE: The Voice of Hope
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Yamin Messika / Ilana Sugbeker, Yarmi Kadoshi
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 50 minutes
SOURCE: Sal Productions, Tel Aviv
TEXT: Deep in the Yemenite Quarter of Tel Aviv their lives a pirate radio station. This is a story about the lives of the stations workers and neighbors against a backdrop of their search for the truth about the question of the missing or kidnapped Yemenite children of immigrants during the 1950's.
Wake Up To The Native Land
TITLE: Wake Up To The Native Land
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Ebtisam Mrana / Shahin Amarni
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Arabic w/ English subtitles
TIME: 24 minutes
SOURCE: Ebtisam Mrana, Farades
TEXT: This documentary focuses on two of four Arab villages in Israel which are not recognized by the State of Israel, do not receive any services, schools, buses, or water. There are no signposts for them and do not appear on official maps, even though the men of Arab al Naim serve in the ZaHaL. The towns are Arab al Na'im near Carmiel and Al Hanun near Katzir.
We Love You Patricia
TITLE: We Love You Patricia
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Shiri Shahar / Michael Sharftsein and Amitan Manelzon
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: English and Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 54 minutes
SOURCE: Movit 2000, Israel
TEXT: Patricia emigrated to Israel from Montreal 12 years ago. Three years ago she broke her back falling out of a window while trying to fly high on her friend, heroin. Today she arrives at a rehabilitation center to kick her habit. Her rehab caregiver is Ofir. This powerful documentary tracks her progress and asks questions about rehab, caregivers, Israeli society, and whether one moves from drug addition to rehab-caregiver addiction
Stories of Honour and Shame
TITLE: Stories of Honour and Shame
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Antonia Caccia
COUNTRY: UK/Palestine
LANGUAGE: Arabic w/ English subtitles
TIME: 58 minutes
SOURCE: Janes Balfour Films, London
TEXT: The hidden lives of Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip, who are not free in its traditional, patriarchal society. See also RABAB, a 1997, 20-minute, film by Rashid Masharawi about a Palestinian woman's (Rabab) dreams and defeats (available from Cinema Production Center, Ramallah)
Picado Fino
TITLE: Picado Fino
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Esteban Sapir
COUNTRY: Argentina
LANGUAGE: Spanish w/ English subtitles
TIME: 80 minutes
SOURCE: 5600 Film, Buenos Aires, Argentina
TEXT: Tomas is a teenage Argentinean Jew who sees only what he wants to. He lives with his grandmother, his girlfriend is pregnant, and he is already in love with another woman. His new girlfriend sets him up with a drug dealer who tempts him with easy money and a get rich quick scheme, which of course will fall apart.
Pawns
TITLE: Pawns Piyonim
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Reuven Hecker / Amnon Teitlebaum
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 60 minutes
SOURCE: Israel Film Service, Jerusalem
TEXT: This documentary follows the lives of the members of a paratroops company over two years as the serve in Israel, Lebanon, Hebron, and Lebanon again. We follow them in their activities until they get discharged. How do they react to the local news and events as they are serving? Do they become fatalistic? Do they accept fate or just accept it?
Out for Love... Be Back Shortly
TITLE: Out of Love... Be Back Shortly / Yatzati Lechapes Ahavah... Tekef Ashuv
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Dan Katzir
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 55 minutes
SOURCE: Jane Balfour films, London. Or Dan Katzir : tel : 972 - 3-6421648 fax : 972-3-6431103
email: katzirda@katzirdan.com
TEXT: Autobiography. This is a documentary-love story that follows the personal activities of the filmmaker and his girlfriend (in their apartment) and the political happenings (in the streets) in the months after Rabin's assassination. Dan Katzir is a veteran paratrooper who is studying film. He falls in love with Iris, who is preparing for her military service. Dan is unable to express emotions with words, and this may be why he chooses the medium of film. He learns that those who are unable to confront their sorrows (for example, he cannot come to grips that his grandfather was killed by terrorists at Lod Airport) cannot experience love. See also the film's website: http://www.katzirdan.com It has won 4 International Awards at the Jerusalem International film, IFI film, Chicago Intercom, and Parnu International film festivals.
On The Road To Statehood
TITLE: On The Road To Statehood / Bonim Velohamim
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Yakov Gross / The Israel Film Archives
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew only
TIME: 60 minutes
SOURCE: Israel Film Archives, Jerusalem
TEXT: Nathan Axelrod's newsreel films of the 1930's and 40's from British Mandate Palestine are compiled in the one hour documentary to show some forgotten settlement initiatives, construction projects, theater, dance, and cultural productions, political leaders, etc.
Minotaur
TITLE: Minotaur
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Jonathan Tammuz / Micky Rabinovitz et.al.
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 87 minutes
SOURCE: Cinema Pardes in Tel Aviv, or Top Line Communications, New York City, or Regency Film, Burbank CA
TEXT: Alex feels like a minotaur -- half man, half beast. He is a Mossad agent on assignment in New York City when he meets the woman of his dreams, Thea. Based on a novel by Benjamin Tamuz, Alex has never experienced love and feels incomplete. Using his guile and Mossad skills, he tracks and observes Thea and uses what he learns to send her anonymous notes from afar (which fill her life), thus manipulating her love. Will they come together through fate and circumstance?
The Milky Way
TITLE: The Milky Way / Shvil ha Halav
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Ali Nasser / Ali Nasser
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Arabic and Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 60 minutes
SOURCE: Cinephil Philippa Kowarsky, Tel Aviv
TEXT: This story is set in 1964, before the '67 war but after 1948. It is a story of internal struggle and external oppression, of the conflict between the new and the traditions. The story focuses on Mabruc, who acts as the village idiot ever since he was orphaned when his family was expelled in 1948. He yearns for affection in this small Galilee town, and is in love with Jemileh, who is traumatized by the events of 1948. They are friends with Mahmoud, who must flee and hide when he is accused of killing Mohammed, the son of the evil village dictator, Mukhtar.
The Marzipan Woman
TITLE: The Marzipan Woman
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Eitan Green / Mickey Rabinowitz and David Silber
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 50 minutes
SOURCE: Sal Productions, Tel Aviv
TEXT: Tal lacks color and confidence, in fact she is an albino. Yuval, her flat mate is her only friend. But when Yuval falls in love with Ravit, Tal feels ostracized and also inferior when compared to the beautiful Ravit. She starts to work nights at a bakery so avoid the couple, and there meets Reuven, a 40 year old married man who teaches her to bake.... and then teaches her about love.... who then once again teaches her about pain, when he moves away with is wife and closes the bakery. But with some encouragement from Yuval and Ravit, Tal takes charge of her life, gain confidence and makes use of her baking skills...
The Last Transfer
TITLE: The Last Transfer / Shanim Trufot
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Ilana Tsur
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 55 minutes
SOURCE: Zavit Productions, Tel Aviv
TEXT: The film follows Holocaust survivors in Israel who spent between 15 and 45 years at Abrabenel Hospital's psychiatric (and now geriatric-psychiatric) ward. Interviews with staff, family, patients, and volunteers. The film questions why these people broke down while other did not, why was mental collapse their refuge from their traumas, and whether Israeli society had any role in their states by socially rejecting them after they immigrated.
Last Holidaye / Poslednie Kanikuli
TITLE: Last Holidaye / Poslednie Kanikuli
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Amir Karakulov / Sano Shinju
COUNTRY: Kazakhstan
LANGUAGE: Russian w/ English subtitles
TIME: 65 minutes
SOURCE: check with the Jerusalem Cinemateque or the Rotterdam Film Festival
TEXT: This is the story of Karim (Moslem), Valera (Russian), and Jacob (Jewish), three high school friends living in Alma Ata during the Summer 1979. School is on break for the Summer holiday, so everyone gets drunk and acts stupid. The three friends get drunk and rob a liquor store of an electric guitar. Valera's father finds out and turns Valera into the police, who beat Valera bloody. His two friends seek to revenge the beating, but accidentally kill Valera's stepfather. Alas, this will be their last Summer holiday together as events turn from bad to worse, as does the war in Afghanistan.
Kosky in Paradise
TITLE: Kosky in Paradise
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Melissa Rymer / Bob Weis
COUNTRY: Australia
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 55 minutes
SOURCE: Generation Films, Melbourne, Australia
TEXT: Barry Kosky is the 28 year old wonder kid of Australian theater. After traveling to Prague and Auschwitz in 1992, he returns to Australia and creates a Jewish Theater Company called Gilgul, and produces The Dybbuk in order to examine the idea of alienation. Why is Barry Kosky interested in such issues? Why does he resurrect the Yiddish classics? What makes this young Jewish artist tick?
Jenny and Jenny
TITLE: Jenny and Jenny
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Michal Aviad
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 60 minutes
SOURCE: Michael Aviad Productions, Israel. Or from Women Make Movies, 462 Broadway, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 212 925-0606
TEXT: Jenny and Jenny are seventeen year old first cousins who live in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, meet everyday, and share letters, good times and bad. This film observes their Summer together as they discuss the world, their loves, sufferings, Israeli culture, their family's traditional North African Jewish culture. Tel Aviv norms, religion, secularism, feminism, passion, vibrancy for life, and, of course, men.
I am Your Spy
TITLE: I am Your Spy - Iani Hamiragel Shelcha
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Nissim Mussek, Dani (Nokyo) Verte
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 52 minutes
SOURCE: Biblical Productions, 214 Yaffo Street, Suite 97, POB 4694, Jerusalem, Israel 972 2 537 7438
TEXT: The story of Mordechai Vanunu, Israel's convicted spy, traitor, ideologue, and whistleblower, who reveled Israel's nuclear secrets to the British press and has spent the past eleven years in an Israeli jail since being kidnapped by the Mossad from Rome. His first interviews since the kidnapping.
Hell's Angel
TITLE: Hell's Angel / Malach Ha-Gehenom
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Yaron Ben Nun
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew and English w/ English subtitles
TIME: 50 minutes
SOURCE: Cinephil Philippa Kowarsky Productions, 16 Mikve Israel Street, Tel Aviv 65115. 972 3 566 4129
TEXT: Yaron wanted to do a documentary on prostitution in Amsterdam, when he met Shai Shahar, the subject of this documentary. Shai is a forty year old American Jew, the son of Holocaust survivors, an ex-Israeli, who works as a male prostitute in the Netherlands. He immigrated to Israel in 1981, married, served in Lebanon, and became a father. In 1990, he divorced and left for Amsterdam. The film focuses on his perception of life and includes his reunion with is twelve year old daughter.
Florentine 1995
TITLE: Florentine 1995
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Eytan Fox / Udi Zamberg and Michael Tapuach
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 70 minutes
SOURCE: T. H. Productions, Ramat Gan, Israel
TEXT: It is September 1995 and the air of peace is in the air in Tel Aviv. Tomer, Shira and Tuti live in Tel Aviv's version of New York's Greenwich Village/Soho, the Florentine. In this industrial neighborhood, the three roommates and their friends rearrange their lives after the sudden assassination of P. M. Yitzhak Rabin. Together, they grapple with political and sexual identities and the effect of the murder on Israeli youth culture.
The First Will Be The Last
TITLE: The First Will Be The Last / Rishon Yiheyeh Acharon
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Maya Barr and Avner Fainguelerent
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Arabic and Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 52 minutes
SOURCE: Fainguelerent and Barr, Tel Aviv
TEXT: In 1948, the residents of the Maronite and Catholic-Orthodox villages of Baram and Ikrit were expelled. They were transferred to the neighboring town and Gish and given Israeli identity cards. Their homes were demolished (even though their were orders not to demolish them). This documentary focuses not on the battle to get their lands back, but on the battle this small community wages to preserve their unique cultures which give them their identities. They make an annual pilgrimage to the sites of their homes, and each Easter, the Biram's sanctify their solid belief that one day they may return home.
Evgueni Khaldei: Photographer Under Stalin
TITLE: Evgueni Khaldei: Photographer Under Stalin
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Marc-Henri Wajnberg
COUNTRY: Belgium
LANGUAGE: Russian w/ English subtitles
TIME: 60 minutes
SOURCE: Wajnbrosse Productions, Place Communale #8, 1630 Linkebbek, Brussels, Belgium, Tel: 32 3 381 28 31 Fax: 32 2 381 28 32
TEXT: Evgueni Khaldei was born in The Ukraine in 1917. The members of his family who weren't killed in pogroms, were later wiped out by the Nazis. At age 12, Evgueni built himself a camera from his grandmother's glasses and he went on to become one of the greatest Soviet and world photographers. His photos a widely known, including ones from the Potsdam Conference, the Nuremberg Trials, and the "Fall of the Reichstag." In 1948, he was fired from Tass for being a Jew. Seven years later Pravda hired him, but again he was fired in 1972. Now, aged 79, he looks back at his life and his photos. Note: Evgueni died in 1997 after the film was completed.
Emile Habibi - I Stayed in Haifa
TITLE: Emile Habibi - I Stayed in Haifa
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Dalia Karpel / Marek Rozenbaum
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew and Arabic w/ English subtitles
TIME: 60 minutes
SOURCE: Transfax Film Productions, 7 Aharonson Street, Tel Aviv Israel. 972 3 516 2746
TEXT: A documentary filmed during the last weeks of the life of Emile Habibi, the prominent Protestant Palestinian/Israeli writer of modern Arabic literature. The political facets of the Israel-Palestine conflict occupied a significant theme in his life and his literary art. He served as a Minister of the Knesset for 19 years. It is an emotional tour of a man, his place, identity and homeland while he dies from advanced stage pancreatic cancer.
East of War
TITLE: East of War - Jenseits Des Krieges
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Ruth Beckermann / Josef Aichholzer
COUNTRY: Austria
LANGUAGE: German w/ English subtitles
TIME: 117 minutes
SOURCE: Aichholzer Filmproduktions, Vienna, Austria
TEXT: A documentary in the powerful talking-head style. Fifty years after the war, former soldiers reveal their experiences and the atrocities they committed during World War II. They are filmed during a traveling exhibit, entitled "Crimes of the Wehrmacht." Actions committed include rapes and murder. Some express remorse, others attempt to justify their actions. This film destroys the myth that the Wehrmacht was more humane than the S.S. In the words of the NY Jewish Film Fest 1998, "a chilling and deeply distrurbing example of how shame can surface as patriotism and self-delusion."
Afula Express
TITLE: Afula Express / Pick A Card
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Julie Shles / Assaf Amir
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 95 minutes
SOURCE: Norma Productions, 17 Bar Ilan, Tel Aviv 65271 Israel, Tel 972-3-685-0866, Fax 972-3-685-4082
TEXT: This is an intimate, warm romantic comedy about David, an automotive electrician from Afula who moves to the big city (Tel Aviv) with is girlfriend, Batya. David wants to become a famous magician and return to Afula as a successful, wealthy entertainer. The couple gets a rundown apartment in south Tel Aviv. Batya works at a grocery to support them. She is the realistic side of the couple. Of course, dreams don't match reality, and each character must overcome obstacles that may leave them more mature. Filmed in documentary style. Also known as "Pick a Card." Winner of the Best Picture Award 1997 in Israel.
Three Lives: Friderike, lotte and stefan Zweig
TITLE: Three Lives: Friderike, lotte and stefan Zweig
YEAR: 1992
DIR/PROD: Wilma Keiner and Dieter Matzka
COUNTRY: Germany
LANGUAGE: German w/ English subtitles
TIME: 52 minutes
SOURCE: Documedia, Suite 15, Canada House, Blackburn Road, London Nw6 1RZ, England EC, Tel (44) 171 625 6200 Fax: (44) 171 625 7887
TEXT: In 1941, the writer, Stafan Zweig, arrived in New York accompanied by his second wife, Lotte. In order to finish his autobiography, "The World of Yesterday", he turned to his former wife, Friderike, for moral support. Zweig's relationship with his wives form the basis for this film -- a recounting of his final 10 years. Zweig (1881-1942) was one of the foremost writers in the German language. An Austrian and a Jew, he left Salzburg for London, then Nice, Bath, and New York. He committed suicide in 1942.
Atencion: achtung
TITLE: Atencion:achtung
YEAR: 1994
DIR/PROD: Bernardo Kononovich
COUNTRY: Argentina
LANGUAGE: Spanish w/ English subtitles
TIME: 54 minutes
SOURCE: Documedia, Suite 15, Canada House, Blackburn Road, London Nw6 1RZ, England EC, Tel (44) 171 625 6200 Fax: (44) 171 625 7887
TEXT: The testimonies of survivors of Nazi death camps are discussed by their children and grandchildren. A visual conversation, heartfelt and damning in the absence of the photographic evidence we know the Nazis destroyed before they themselves were overthrown.
Codename Schlier
TITLE: Codename Schlier
YEAR: 1990
DIR/PROD: Dieter Matzka and Wilma Kiener
COUNTRY: Germany
LANGUAGE: German w/ English subtitles
TIME: 52 minutes
SOURCE: Documedia, Suite 15, Canada House, Blackburn Road, London Nw6 1RZ, England EC, Tel (44) 171 625 6200 Fax: (44) 171 625 7887
TEXT: A hidden bunker was accidentally discovered in Zipf, Upper Austria. It was a secret WWII Nazi rocket factory. Now 50 years later, survivors of the slave labor force, drawn mainly from the Mauthausen concentration camp, as well as staff and engineers who built and tested V2 rockets, are tracked down and asked to confront their memories of the years 1943-1945. Schlier is thus reconstructed in its tragic detail.
Sun - Soleil
TITLE: Sun - Soleil
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Roger Hanin / Christine Gouze-Renal (Mr Hanin's wife)
COUNTRY: France/ Germany/ Italy
LANGUAGE: French w/ English subtitles
TIME: 101 minutes
SOURCE: President Films, 2 rue Lord Byron, Paris 75008, France, Phone 011-33-1-45-628222, Fax: 011-33-1-45-634056.
TEXT: Roger Hanin directed and wrote this semi-autobiographical film and acts in the role of Professor Meyer Levy. Professor Levy, a surgeon in Paris, suffers a heart attack in the opening scene of the film, and flashes back to his Algerian Jewish boyhood. Sophia Loren acts in the role of his mother, Mamma Titine. It is a beautifully shot, sentimental but occasionally splendid evocation of a WWII boyhood in a large Jewish family in Algiers. Mamma raised five children, while Papa worked in a Paris post office under a non-Jewish name. Meyer is her favorite, yet rebellious, child. In Vichy controlled Algeria, Meyer is expelled from school at age 13, but reinstated. He has an expected deflowering, etc., but all-in-all this film is a loving memory of struggling mothers who overcame the circumstances of war, prejudice, and poverty,
Memory of the Camps
TITLE: Memory of the Camps
YEAR: 1945
DIR/PROD: Alfred Hitchcock and Lord Sidney Bernstein / SHAEF PWD
COUNTRY: UK
LANGUAGE: English narration by Trevor Howard
TIME: 55 minutes
SOURCE: PBS Frontline Television Series (broadcast May 7, 1985). www.wgbh.org
TEXT: In February 1945, the Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force's (SHAEF) Psychological Warfare Division (PWD) under "Project F3080" had cameramen begin to shoot reels of film showing the Nazi atrocities of WWII death camps. The edited negative has been lost, but five of six reels of edited silent film and typed narration survived. The sixth reel was kept by its Russian photographer and is assumed to be lost. The first three reels were shot at Belsen. The film shows the Nazi atrocities and the filmmakers planned to show it to German audiences as proof of Germany's crimes against humanity. The victims are not identified as Jews, for propaganda reasons (propaganda sought to universalize Hitler's victims, defining them as innocent humans, and not by race or religion) In the Summer of 1945, the Allied groups that were making the film began to bicker, the British did not want to sour Anglo-German post-war relations, and so the film stock was placed into the lap of the British Ministry of Information. Although Billy Wilder was suggested as a director, he had already directed the American film, "Die Todesmuhlen" which was shown to Germans under American occupation beginning in January 1946. Alfred Hitchcock was persuaded by Sidney Bernstein to come to England to act as a "treatment advisor" on the film. Hitchcock recommended that the film show that the camps were close to many villages, so that people knew what was happening. He also recommended that wide shots be used to prove that the documentary was not being staged. This film was broadcast on May 7, 1985 in the U.S. as part of the PBS Frontline series. -- See also, "The Fate of F3080" by Elizabeth Sussex, in Sight and Sound magazine, British Film Institute, April 1984.
The Delta
TITLE: The Delta
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Ira Sachs
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English subtitles
TIME: 85 minutes in 16mm
SOURCE: Strand Releasing, New York, NY www.strandrel.com
TEXT: A Yale grad, Ira Sachs is a 31 year old filmmaker from Memphis. This story is shot in a brooding, minimalist visual-documentary style. It is a story of class, race, and sexuality. Lincoln is the seventeen year old, repressed scion of a well-to-do, suburban Jewish family in Memphis. Although he dates a girl, he seeks male companionship. He meets Minh, a poor, insecure black-Vietnamese immigrant. Like Huck and Jim, they cruise down the Mississippi together in Lincoln's father's boat, instead of a raft. While Huck and Jim were liberated by their cruise, Lincoln and Minh are not. After their evening together, the film deals with the different paths the two take, given their social statuses. Many viewers will not find the film's ending credible.
Last Portrait of My Father (also known as "POP")
TITLE: POP - Last Portrait of my Father
YEAR: 1998
DIR/PROD: Joel Meyerowitz / Joel Meyerowitz
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 79 minutes
SOURCE: contact director at jmworks@angel.net
TEXT: The American photographer Joel Meyerowitz who is known for his color photographs of Cape Cod and other venues has directed and produced this very personal, very touching documentary about his two week road trip to Florida with his son and his 87-year old father (Hy Meyerowitz) -- one last adventure trip before his father's Alzheimer's disease renders him less capable of conversation and memory. To be screened at The Hamptons Intnl Film Fest, October 1998. As the Talmud teaches us, "respect the old man who has forgotten what he learned, for the broken tablets have a place in the Ark beside of Tablets of The Law." I recommend that this film be screened with Deborah Hoffman's Oscar-winning "Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter"
Deconstructing Harry
TITLE: Deconstructing Harry
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Woody Allen / Jean Doumanian
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 96 minutes, as seen at the Venice Film Fest
SOURCE: Fine Line Features, New York, NY
TEXT: With Woody Allen, Elisabeth Shue, Billy Crystal, Kirstie Alley, Eric Borgosian, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Robin Williams, Judy Davis, et.al. A provocative, self-referential film by Woody Allen. Woody Allen plays Harry Block, an middle aged, immature, spiritually bankrupt, blocked and tormented writer, who has betrayed many women over the years, including his three ex-wives and his ex-sister-in-law. Film includes scenes from Block's life as well as from his fictional stories. Block is to receive an award from Adair College, and he wants to find someone to accompany him on the trip to the college. Neither his friend, girl-friend, or son can join him on the trip. Okay, so what's Jewish about the film? Well, aside from the Holocaust jokes, Demi Moore plays Helen, a fictional character in Harry Block's latest novel. She marries Paul Epstein, and after giving birth to her first child, she embraces Orthodox Judaism (as did Block's real-life sister, Doris).
Dirty Dancing
TITLE: Dirty Dancing
YEAR: 1987
DIR/PROD: Emile Arsolino
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 97 minutes
SOURCE: Video stores
TEXT: With Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach, and Charles "Honi" Coles. This movie started a brief dance craze and grossed $170 million. Set in a Jewish Catskills resort in late Summer 1963, this is the story on a teenage Jewish girl, Babe, who is on vacation with her folks, and awakens to her inner and outer beauty in the hands of the resort's dance instructor.
In the Presence of Mine Enemies
TITLE: In the Presence of Mine Enemies
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Joan Micklin Silver / Foxboro
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 100 minutes
SOURCE: Evergreen Entertainment
TEXT: Starring Armin Mueller-Stahl (as Rabbi Heller), Charles Dance, and Chad Lowe. Written by Rod Serling. Theme: Belief in humanity after the Holocaust.
Memories of the Shtetl
TITLE: Memories of the Shtetl
YEAR: 1961
DIR/PROD: Harriet Rita Semegram
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 21 minutes
SOURCE: Wwomen@aol.com Wonderwomen Enterprises
TEXT: A color record capturing the daily life in an Eastern European shtetl from 1882-1904: birth, circumcision, courtship, wedding, an old wooden synagogue, markets, using 215 watercolors by Samuel Rothbort. Film was used by Jerome Robbins during the development of Fiddler on the Roof. Awards include one from the Edinburgh Film Festival
Falasha
TITLE: Falasha
YEAR: 1983
DIR/PROD: Simcha Jacobovici
COUNTRY: Canada
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 79 minutes
SOURCE: Matara Film Productions, Toronto; Pan Canadian Films, Toronto
TEXT: Quintessential documentary on Ethiopian Jewry by this famed filmmaker and alumnus of the Jewish NETWORK student movement.
Life According to Agfa
TITLE: Life According to Agfa - Ha-Chayim Al-pi Agfa
YEAR: 1992
DIR/PROD: Assi Dayan / Rafi Bukai and Yoram Kislev
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subtitles
TIME: 100 minutes
SOURCE: Moviez Entertainment
TEXT: An award winning Tel Aviv based film that takes places at a fictitious bar called Barbie (a nickname for an Israeli asylum) Daliah (Gila Almagor) is the bar's owner. The film follows the bar's quirky staff and customers after a violent incident takes a surprising turn. The second in Dayan's trilogy.
Surviving Memory
TITLE: Surviving Memory
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Ellen R. Flanders
COUNTRY: USA / Canada
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 9 minutes in 16mm
SOURCE: Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, 47 Hanna Avenue, Suite 220, Toronto ON Canada M6K 1W8 ph 416 588 0725 fax 416 588 7956
TEXT: a Jewish woman, her lovers and engagements with political forces of the past and present, speaking to issues of memory, history, and activism through a Jewish queer perspective.
My Grandparents Had A Hotel
TITLE: My Grandparents Had A Hotel
YEAR: 1989
DIR/PROD: Karen Shopsowitz Kshops@inforamp.net
COUNTRY: Canada
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 26 minutes in video
SOURCE: Filmmakers Library - New York City 212.808-4980
TEXT: In the 1930's and 1940's, Harry and Henny Shopsowitz ran the Monteith Inn, a popular resort for Jews in Muskoka. Using archival footage and interviews, this loving portrait (an award winning documentary) evokes a time long gone by.
A Place to Save Your Life
TITLE: A Place to Save Your Life
YEAR: 1992
DIR/PROD: Karen Shopsowitz Kshops@inforamp.net
COUNTRY: Canada
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 52 minutes in video (and a 23 minute version)
SOURCE: Filmmakers Library - New York City 212.808-4980
TEXT: Interviews with surviving Jewish refugees who fled Europe for Shanghai China
A Lot To Share
TITLE: A Lot To Share
YEAR: 1994
DIR/PROD: Karen Shopsowitz Kshops@inforamp.net and Coleman Romalis
COUNTRY: Canada
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 23 minutes in video
SOURCE: International Tele-Films Enterprises 905-629-3133
TEXT: On the outskirts of Toronto, a mosque and a synagogue share a parking lot. They co-exist peacefully and discover that they have many commonalties. Received an Honorable Mention at the Judah L. Magnes 3rd Annual Video Competition
Aaron's Magic Village
TITLE: Aaron's Magic Village
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Albert Hanan Kaminski and Jacqueline Galia Benousilio
COUNTRY: Germany/France/Israel
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 80 minutes
SOURCE: An Avalanche release, Tristar Video
TEXT: An animated story based on the stories of I. B. Singer (Stories for Children) written and directed by the Belgian-born director Albert Hanan Kaminsky and the French filmmaker Benousilio. Music and lyrics by Michel Legrand and Sheldon Harnick (neither of them are slouches). Voices by Tovah Feldshuh, Tommy Michaels, Ronn Carroll, Steve Newman, Harry Goz, and Fyvush Finkel. It is about Aaron, a young red-haired "jinjy" orphan who travels to Chelm with his goat (Zlatah) to live with his Aunt Sarah, Uncle Shlemiel, and their three daughters: Donna, Dana, and Dina. The film is filled with famous foolish Chelm-antics.
Jakob the Liar
TITLE: Jakob the Liar / Jakob le menteur (France)
YEAR: 1998
DIR/PROD: Peter Kassovitz / Marsha Williams and Steven Haft
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 114 minutes
SOURCE: Columbia Pictures
TEXT: Armin Mueller Stahl (Kirschbaum), Alan Arkin (Frankfurter), Bob Balaban (Kowalski), Michael Jeter (Avron), Mathhieu Kassovitz (the director's son)(Herschel), Liev Schreiber (Mischa), Nina Siemaszko (Rosa) and Robin Williams (Jakob Haim) star in this story. Jakob, a poor latke seller and cafe owner who happens to be Jewish, hears a moment of a forbidden radio broadcast that announces that Soviet forces are beating the Nazis on the battlefield. He hears it while under arrest for a curfew violation. When he tells other ghetto residents, who have been without news since 1939, their levels of hope are raised. When pressed for additional details, he must fabricate more news, thus keeping the spirits in the ghetto high. When the Nazis find out about these news reports, they begin searching for the clandestine (non-existent) radio and the secret hero (Jakob). To the Nazi's, Jakob, who didn't consider himself so "jewish" becomes the biggest Jew in the ghetto. See www.sony.com/jakobtheliar for additional information. Notes to file. Production on JAKOB THE LIAR began on October 12, 1997 in Piotrkow, Poland, in its old ghetto area, an hour by car and a half southwest of Warsaw. The interiors were then filmed in Budapest. Paris-based Peter Kassovitz was born in Budapest. He read the Jurek Becker novel, Jakob der Lugner, in 1990, and then learned about the 1974 East German film of the same name that starred Armin Mueller Stahl (which won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Fest in 1975). The author, Jurek Becker (who dies in 1997), was a prisoner in the Lodz ghetto and in a series of death camps. Marsha Williams at Blue Wolf sent the script to Robin Williams.
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Jakob der Lugner
TITLE: Jakob der Lugner
YEAR: 1974
DIR/PROD: Frank Beyer
COUNTRY: East Germany
LANGUAGE: German
TIME: 100 minutes
SOURCE: unknown
TEXT: Starring Vlastimil Brodskı (Jakob), Erwin Geschonneck (Kowalski), Henry Hübchen (Mischa) and Armin Mueller Stahl. Jakob is a ghetto cafe owner who hears a clandestine radio report, and keeps the hopes of the Jews in the Polish ghetto up by passing on fabricated news he hears on the "radio" Winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Fest in 1975. Vlastimil Brodsky Prize for Best Actor XXV. IFF West Berlin 1975. The original screenplay was rejected by the East German production company DEFA. Author Jurek Becker published it as a novel, which became a huge success, prompting DEFA to reconsider.
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Best Man
TITLE: Best Man: "Best Boy" and all of Us Twenty Years Later
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Ira Wohl
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 90 minutes
SOURCE: PO Box 184, Beverly Hills, CA 90213 (213) 656 4300 Email: bestboy@earthlink.net
TEXT: Eighteen years after the premier of the cherished, original, Oscar winning documentary, Best Boy, comes Best Man. Director Ira Wohl, now a Los Angeles based clinical psychologist, returns to his subject, and explores the 20 years of life of his cousin, Philly, a mentally retarded man who is now in his seventies. Philly is now cared for by his sister Frances, and together they prepare for Philly's Bar Mitzvah. The Chicago Film Fest called it a touching work of great warmth and humanity.
War and Peace in Vesoul
TITLE: War and Peace in Vesoul
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Amos Gitai and Elia Suleiman / Laurent Truchot
COUNTRY: France/Israel
LANGUAGE: English and French dialogue
TIME: 70 minutes in 16mm
SOURCE: Agav Film (Paris or Tel Aviv) or Agav/Mikado Films, Rome
TEXT: Shown at the Venice Film Festival, this is the first film to be co-directed by an Israeli and Palestinian, longtime friends in real life. Both directors take a trip to a tiny French film festival. During the trip they reflect on funny stereotypes and ironic political correctness. Film includes some arty shots of the two men sitting in silence. At first we find them on a train from Paris to Vesoul, which is hosting a War and Peace Film Festival. They chat about growing up in Haifa and Nazareth, and their travels abroad. After they get to the festival, they must combat the French press and the festival's producer who already have their own stereotypes of how the directors should act or the opinions they should discuss.
Twilight of the Golds
TITLE: Twilight of the Golds
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Rose Marks / Garry Marshall
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 90 minutes
SOURCE: Showtime Original Productions
TEXT: Based on the play of the same name by Jonathan Tolin, this originally was broadcast on Showtime in the USA. A savage story about a Jewish couple, Suzanne and Rob, (Jennifer Beals and Jon Tenney) who discover that their unborn child has the genetic code that may mean he will be gay. Suzanne's brother, David, is gay (Brendan Frasier). Suzanne and David's parents (Faye Dunaway and Garry Marshall) play a meddling role as the family considers aborting the child. David then asks his parents if they would have aborted him had they known he would become gay. Jack Klugman briefly appears as Rob's estranged father.
From Hell to Hell
TITLE: From Hell to Hell
YEAR: 1996
DIR/PROD: Dmitri Astrakhan
COUNTRY: Germany-Belrussia
LANGUAGE: German w/ English subtitles
TIME: 110 minutes
SOURCE: Goethe House, New York City
TEXT: An emotional story that focuses on the hiding of Jewish children during the Nazi period and the first year after Poland's Soviet liberation. A Jewish woman hides her daughter with a Polish family before being taken to Auschwitz. The mother survives, as does her husband, who escapes Auschwitz, joins the Soviet Army, and becomes the town's security chief under Soviet occupation. They try to reclaim their daughter in the midst of an impending pogrom which kills 42 people. This storyt is based on actual events which took place on July 4, 1946 in Kielce Poland.
I Love You, I Love You Not
TITLE: I Love You, I Love You Not
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Billy Hopkins
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: minutes
SOURCE: Avalanche Releasing
TEXT: A confused film which focuses on an adolescent named Daisy, emotionally unsure of her identity and sex appeal. The travails of her grandmother's (Jeanne Moreau) internment in Auschwitz rest heavily on her feelings of estrangement and paranoia. The anti-semitism exhibited by her wealthy WASPy classmates seem incongruent, and add to her estrangement. Sorry, but it is ludicrous to compare internment in Auschwitz with the difficulties of adolescence.
Raising the Ashes
TITLE: Raising the Ashes
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Michael O'Keefe / Brett Weinstock
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 72 minutes
SOURCE: Zen Peacemakers Organization
TEXT: This is a New Age documentary that documents a five day interfaith retreat of 150 people in Auschwitz Poland that was organized by the Yonkers, NY-based Zen master Roshie Bernie Glassman (funny, he doesnt look Buddhist...) Variety felt that the use of Neil Young and Patti Smith music on the soundtrack striked a less-than-dignified chord to this film, as did the talking head sequences by the participants and the director that seemed like self-serving est-like personal growth seminar.
The Assistant
TITLE: The Assistant
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Daniel Petrie / Gareth Jones
COUNTRY: Canada/UK
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 106 minutes
SOURCE: CFP Distribution, Canada. Handmade Film, London. Or Paragon Entertainment, 119 Spadina Ave, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario, Canada m5v 2Li, Tel: 416-977-2929 Fax: 416-977-8247
TEXT: Based on a Bernard Malamud 1957 novel. A languid drama about Frank Alpine (Gil Bellows), a desperate drifter who helps to rob a struggling grocery store run by Jewish refugees, the Bobers (Morris Bober played by Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ida Bober played by Joan Plowright, daughter Helen is played by Kate Greenhouse). When the Bobers have no money, one of the robbers makes anti-Semitic remarks. In order to deal with is guilt, Frank later returns to the store, and becomes part of the Bober family enterprise.
Children of Jerusalem - Gesho
TITLE: Children of Jerusalem - Gesho
YEAR: 1994
DIR/PROD: Beverly Shaffer
COUNTRY: Canada
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 25 minutes, 16mm
SOURCE: National Film Board of Canada. 1-800-542-2164, 22-D Hollywood Avenue, HoHokus, NJ 07423 USA, Tel: 201-652-1989.
TEXT: A documentary. Gesho is the story of 13-year-old Gesho Mamu, an Ethiopian boy living with his nine brothers and sisters in a temporary trailer park outside Jerusalem. Gesho aspires to become a professional soccer player. Gesho arrived in Israel as part of the Operation Moses Airlift in 1991. The film explores the difficulties faced by the Jews who left Ethiopia and their future optimism.
Odessa Steps
TITLE: Odessa Steps
YEAR:
DIR/PROD: David Mehlman
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 18 minutes
SOURCE: David Mehlman, 408 Eighth Avenue, Apt 1C, Brooklyn, NY 11215 Tel: 718 768 8644 Email: mctdlm@aol.com
TEXT: Short documentary on the Americanization of Russian (Ukranian) Jewish schoolchildren living in San Francisco via ballroom dancing lessons.
Hot Bagels
TITLE: Hot Bagels
YEAR: 1979
DIR/PROD: Nick Manning
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 7 minutes
SOURCE: Chicago Filmmakers Library, 22-D Hollywood Avenue, Hohokus, NJ 07423. Tel: 800-343-5540
TEXT: Short doc on hot bagels.
There's No Such Thing As A Chanukah Bush, Sandy Goldstein
TITLE: There's No Such Thing As A Chanukah Bush, Sandy Goldstein
YEAR: 1994
DIR/PROD: A. Paige Goldberg
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 21 minutes
SOURCE: Jane Jordan Browne, Multimedia Product Development, 410 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 724, Chicago, IL 60605-1465, Tel: 312-922-3063
TEXT: A children's story about celebrating your own holidays
Off The Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's
TITLE: Off The Menu: The Last Days at Chasen's
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman / Julia Strohm
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
TIME: 90 minutes I n16mm
SOURCE: A La Carte Films, 65 West 95th Street, #17G, New York, NY 10025. Phone 212.222.0621
TEXT: Funny and filled with Hollywood glitz, the verite film captures the humor and drama surrounding the end of an era, the last two weeks of the legendary Beverly Hills restaurant, Chasen's. The Hollywood elite all try to get reservations as the closing day approaches. Many celebrities of yesteryear drop by to reminisce. The film also chronicles the last wedding banquet and Oscar party. The real stars of the film are the members of the staff, such as the elegant waiters, coat checkers, bartenders, and captains, who have spent their careers attending to the rich and famous (a story of class, race, celebrity, and service.) Includes Don Rickles, Martin Landau, and Roy Scheider
The Boat Is Full
TITLE: The Boat Is Full / Das Boot ist voll
YEAR: 1980
DIR/PROD: Markus Imhoof
COUNTRY: Switzerland
LANGUAGE: German w/ English subtitles
TIME: 101 minutes
SOURCE: Pro Helvetia/the Arts Council of Switzerland
TEXT: A group of refugees pose as a family in an unsuccessful attempt to enter Switzerland during WWII
The Last Chance
TITLE: The Last Chance
YEAR: 1945
DIR/PROD: Leopold Lintberg
COUNTRY: Switzerland
LANGUAGE: German with English subtitles
TIME: minutes
SOURCE: Pro Helvetia/the Arts Council of Switzerland
TEXT: In this neo-realistic classic, three Allied soldiers reluctantly lead a group of Jewish refugees across the Swiss border.
Kaddisch
TITLE: Kaddisch
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Beatrice Michael and Hans Strum with Villi Herman
COUNTRY: Switzerland
LANGUAGE: German w/ English subs
TIME: minutes
SOURCE: Pro Helvetia/the Arts Council of Switzerland or contact Ralph McKay at the Film Department of Brooklyn College
TEXT: A young woman's investigation into her father's life from the Holocaust through survival, forms a deeply personal kaddish
Second Watch - Mishmeret Shniya
TITLE: Second Watch - Mishmeret Shniya
YEAR: 1997
DIR/PROD: Udi Ben Arie - student filmmaker
COUNTRY: Israel
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/ English subs
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