Since 1989, Boston's Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the city of Haifa have worked together to build bridges between their two communities, while collaborating on Haifa's social and economic needs. Haifa, Israel's third largest city, is a diverse cultural and ethnic center, home to Jews, Arabs, and Druze, and known for its spirit of co-existence.
For the sixth year running we are proud to present this exciting program of Israeli and Jewish cinema. This year's offering will include a special tribute and a program of films. The tribute will be a selection of four classic Yiddish films directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and a documentary about the director and an international conference about Yiddish cinema and culture, "From the Shtetl to the Silver Screen".
The Haifa Film Festival and the Boston Jewish Film Festival are proud to continue with the "Boston-Haifa Film Connection" program. The program aims to introduce, promote and market Israeli cinema in Boston; to encourage a dialogue between Israeli and foreign filmmakers, both in Haifa and Boston; and to look closely at the changing facets and expressions of Jewish identity in cinema.
This program showcases the Cinema of Identity, a cinema that explores the multifaceted reality of the Jewish experience past and present, and the common themes of oppression, resistance and exile.
Both festivals will showcase, in 2005, films that explore the conflicts resulting from Jewish existence around the world, under the heading of "Jewish Identity around the Globe".
Radu Mihaileanu's "Va, Vis Et Deviens" will be the opening film of the program. The film follows the struggles of a young Ethiopian boy to find his identity. In the documentary film "2 oder 3 dinge, die ich von ihm weiss" German director, Malte Ludin, confronts his past and the father he never knew, a father who was a senior office in the Third Reich. Malte Ludin and producer Iva Svarcova will be our guest and discuss the film with the audience. Karin Albou's "La Petite Jerusalem" follows the trials and tribulations of 18-year-old Laura when neither Torah nor the classic works of European philosophy will suffice in the face of sexual desire.
The Boston Jewish Film Festival will be screening the following films: "Va, Vis Et Deviens" by Radu Mihaileanu, "Fateless" by Lajos Koltai, "Little Jerusalem" by Karin Albou, "Metallic Blues" by Dan Verete, "The Syrian Bride" by Eran Riklis, "Turn Left at the End of the World" by Avi Nesher, and "Campfire" by Joseph Cedar.
The Yiddish Cinema of Edgar G. Ulmer
The Haifa Film Festival, the Boston-Haifa Connection and the National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University have collaborated to present a program of four classic Yiddish films directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. These award-winning films, restored by the National Center for Jewish Film, are Edgar G. Ulmer's only Yiddish productions. The films represent four of the best Yiddish titles produced for a thriving ethnic market during the Golden Age of Yiddish cinema, an independent alternative to Hollywood.
Ulmer’s films were made in New York and New Jersey, and star some of the great performers of the Yiddish stage and screen - David Opatashu, Herschel Bernardi, Leo Fuchs, Moishe Oysher, Isidore Cashier, Anna Appel, Helen Beverly, Michael Goldstein, and Dena Drute. Today, these films are unique documents, reflecting the cross pollination of Yiddish cultural production (three of the films are based on well-known plays or novels), and offering rare explorations of the immigrant experience and Jewish life in pre-war Europe.
Born 1904 in what is now the Czech republic, Edgar G. Ulmer began his career as a theater set designer and actor. The director of the highly successful horror film, "The Black Cat" (1934), the quintessential film noir "Detour" (1945), and a host of independent and low budget features, Ulmer was one of the most versatile and resourceful filmmakers in movie history. An underground auteur, largely unrecognized during his lifetime, he has since taken his place among cinema's legendary figures - an inspiration for the French new wave and a precursor of the American independent film movement, as well as an innovative and unique stylist in his own right.
From the Shtetl to the Silver Screen - An international conference within the Edgar G. Ulmer Tribute
The Yiddish cinema allows us to glimpse two worlds. What we see on the screen is the tension between two worlds, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. Scholars and filmmakers will discuss within the conference the different aspects of Yiddish culture and cinema. Participants: Prof. Avraham Novershtern, Mrs. Sharon Rivo, Dr. Marcos Silber, Mrs. Rivka Aderet, Dr. Rachel Rojansky, Dr. Israela (Ella) Bauer, Mrs. Oshra Schwartz and Mr. Arnon Goldfinger.
Thursday, 20 October, 10:00-14:00, The Mirrors Hall, Beit Hecht.
Boston-Haifa Connection
The National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University Presents:
Four classic Yiddish films directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
"Green Fields" (1937) - 35mm
"Singing Blacksmith" (1938) - 35mm
"The Light Ahead" (1939) - 35mm
"American Matchmaker" (1940) - 35mm
The National Center for Jewish Film, located at Brandeis University, is the largest archive, resource center, distributor of Jewish film, video and DVD's in the Diaspora. The Center has received international recognition and awards for its revival of Yiddish cinema, rescuing watershed films like "The Dybbuk" (1937) and "Tevye" (1939) from virtual oblivion. By restoring and distributing pristine new copies of 34 Yiddish features with new English subtitles, The Center has reintroduced modern audiences to a unique cultural and cinematic experience.
National Center for Jewish Film
Brandeis University
Lown 102 MS053, Waltham, MA 02454-9110 USA
Tel. +1 781 899 7044
Tel. +1 781 736 8600
Fax. +1 781 736 2070
www.jewishfilm.org
jewishfilm@brandeis.edu