I was raised in a New York labor union Jewish family, and from my childhood through my teens my parents sent me to a commie Quaker camp, so I missed out on summers working on a kibbutz. My engagement with Israel transpired through celluloid images as an audience member of the San Francisco Jewish Film…
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TV & Film
Celebrity Jews
Amy Schumer ‘feeling pretty’; Joaquin’s next flick; and a young Jewish Picasso
At the movies “I Feel Pretty,” a comedy-drama opening April 20, marks the directorial debut of the screenwriting team of Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein,…
TV
Berkeley’s arts ambassador tries a new beat: TV
Susan Duhan Felix, 80, was all bubbly about the Alvin Ailey dance flash mob she would join later in the week on the Berkeley campus. She was equally…
Film
Bollywood meets klezmer at Sacramento Jewish film fest, April 19-22
The Sacramento Jewish Film Festival kicks off on Thursday, April 19, offering a long weekend of features and documentaries, with a special focus on Israel…
Film
In Hungarian director’s ‘1945,’ silence speaks
A train arrives in a Hungarian village. It’s 1945 and a hot summer’s day when the appearance of two Jewish men, one old and one young, stirs up guilty…
Film
10 Israeli films to watch on Israel's 70th
It is always hard to choose the 10 “best” films out of many decades of filmmaking. As with any evolving national cinema, the number of movies made in…
Film
First, S.F. Jewish Film Fest — next, the Oscars?
CORRECTION: This article initially said that any documentary short that shows in the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is eligible for the Oscars, which…
Film
‘Itzhak’ reveals genius and generosity of the violin superstar
Itzhak Perlman, arguably the most famous violinist in the world, has heard plenty of questions in his 50-year career. But when asked if his religious…
Talking With ...
Pixar artist sees his Jewish abuela in ‘Coco’
Jason Katz, 47, has spent nearly his entire career at Pixar and was part of the team that made “Coco,” which just won the Oscar for best animated feature.…