WE ARE NOT ASHAMED ANYMORE. WE LOVE YIDDISH AND WE'RE PROUD !( EVEN IF WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT) There's something sad and ironic that Jews throughout history have helped save every dying culture. From Kabuki to ancient Chinese cultures. Yet time and again in the 20 and 21st centuries they've done everything to kill their own culture. It seems Jews are ashamed of this culture which is softer and gentler than many other cultures. An old culture that worships the importance of family might be looked down on in a society that has over 50% divorces. A society drugged on VICODIN, ZANAX, and PROZAC to the point of making life one big numb experiene- perhaps can only mock a culture that focuses on feelings- and always mixing all of them- from love, to hate-from laughter to tears, sometimes in the same sentence. Yiddish is a culture which is not afraid to mix laughter with tears and tears with laughter. A culture which has the power to look at people in a loving and forgiving way, with self humour. It was created in a different time, when people didn't take themselves so seriously, and didn't think they're the center of the universe. Yiddish is a culture which is very warm, which is the opposite of the cold culture, which seems to be prevelant today. Perhaps the Jews have realized that love, family and warmth are not popular in the new age- Which seems to worship, greed, evil, and above all poker face coldness.__________________________________________________ Several young filmmakers have missed the warmth of the old days, and realizing that if no one will do anything this warm and wise culture will not survive they set out to make their voice heard for the need to keep this beautiful culture alive. Well it's time, Jews stop feeling the shame and look at their MAGICAL old culture. It's existed for 1100 years for a reason. So stand up and listen to the music people. Don't be afraid to feel the love, the tears running down your cheeks, or the warm fuzzy feelings fill your body. The tough Israeli filmmakers, felt these strong feelings, and they didn't even understand the Yiddish language, which is an old Germanic dialect. So it means anyone who still has a few open corridors in their hearts will feel the same. Grandma, this one's for you. We're fighting back... We're no longer ashamed and hopefully we'll find a few more people to come with us on this amazing journey.
People who believe the words NAIVE and INNOCENCE are strengths and not weaknesses. People who want to go see movies to feel something and not just be desensetized on CGI special effects. ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------UPCOMING SCREENINGSWE ARE GETTING A THEATRICAL SCREENING IN LA NY AND TEL AVIV ISRAELAs for the screening dates: IN LA- Starting Nov 30 2007 Laemmle Theater http://www.laemmle.com/viewmovie.php?mid=3304 In NYC - Starting Nov 21 2007 Two Boots Pioneer Theater (Please scroll down to the bottom of the homepage for info about our film:) http://www.twoboots.com/pioneer/ In Tel Aviv, Israel - Starting Nov 15 2007 Lev Theater- Dizengoff Center
ARTISTS’ STATEMENT:Dan Katzir was vacationing in New York in December 2000 when he stumbled across Zypora Spaisman. If she would have been 60 years younger, he probably would have fallen madly in love with her. Zypora in her nineties had an amazing energy – forcing him to see her show in Yiddish. For him it was a first, since Yiddish represented for him something he had always been ashamed of, because for him Yiddish represented an old world that he never liked or cared about.However, by the end of the show, Dan had fallen in love with Yiddish, Yiddish Theater, and the actors who were struggling to keep their show from closing. They asked him if he could help in some way, and he suggested documenting their show. He lived for one week with this fascinating group of actors in a show that kept getting more and more positive reviews by the major press, yet got less and less audience. He was shocked that no one had come to see the show, even when they were voted one of the top ten off Broadway shows for 2000.Thus it became a journey not only into our grandparents’ culture and heritage – but also into the real meaning of art. As young artists it was an intense journey into every artist’s nightmare in which there are no more people who speak the language of their art. In that week we learned the meaning not only of perseverance, but also of the love of art for art’s sake, even when there may be no audience for it.
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About the Filmmakers: Dan Katzir (Director) acclaimed films won 22 International awards in the U.S., Europe and Asia and a nomination for the Israeli Academy Award. His films were shown in hundreds of film festivals and in many prestigious TV stations around the world. His film Out for Love...Be Back Shortly became an instant classic expressing the voice of his generation and becoming the most important film about the Rabin era in Israel. It was screened in the US on HBO on Valentines Day. Before becoming a leading Israeli filmmaker, Katzir graduated from Tel Aviv University Magna Cum Laude. He also holds an MFA from the American Film Institute (AFI) in Hollywood. Dan recently finished his first fiction novel which is now being edited by a large Israeli publishing house and is also working on his first fiction feature in the US. Katzir was born into a family of great political and social prominence in Israel. His great uncle Efraim Katzir was the fifth president. He is also related to Israel's second Prime Minister, Moshe Sharet. Dan served in the Israeli army in the prestigious paratroopers (Red beret) unit and finished his army service with the rank of Lieutenant
Ms. Ravit Markus (Producer) is a graduate of the Film and TV Department at Tel Aviv University. Her final thesis film aired on the Israeli Cinema Channel (Channel 4, Cable TV). She worked on several TV films in Israel and since moving to Los Angeles has produced Yiddish Theater: A Love Story and a documentary for Channel 4 (UK) which aired in April 2005 to rave reviews and has since aired on the Sundance Channel in the US and on numerous TV stations around the world. She is currently developing a few fiction features.
SCREENINGS : UPCOMING SCREENINGSLOS ANGELES JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL APRIL 25 7:30 PM UNIVERSITY OF JUDAISM http://www.lajfilmfest.org/PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL APRIL 24 1:30 PM Muvico Parisian 20 at CityPlace 545 Hibiscus Street, West Palm Beach http://www.pbifilmfest.org/2007_festival/film_schedule.html