In 1920, Paul Frankenburger was 23 and an up-and-coming German conductor and composer. For the next four years, he assisted two of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Bruno Walter and Hans Knappertsbusch, but by 1933, the Nazis had forced him to immigrate to Palestine. At 36, he had to start over.
It’s September at last, when summer reruns and C-level realty shows cede their timeslots to returning favorites and new contenders. This fall’s offerings include Jewish connections galore, on and off camera; prolific producers J.J. Abrams, Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman are just a few of the series’ creators.
Beirut, Lebanon, 1982, at the dawn of the Lebanese Civil War: A young Palestinian boy living at the Shatila refugee camp forges an unlikely bond with an Israeli fighter pilot. It is this unlikely encounter in the film “Zaytoun,” directed by renowned Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis (“The Lemon Tree,” “The Syrian Bride,” “The Human Resources Manager”), that convinced the director he had not, in fact, exhausted his Middle Eastern stories.
How well can you ever really know your family? If you are Jonathan Holiff, there is only one option — perpetual discovery. Following his father Saul’s suicide, Holiff finds hundreds of letters, audio diaries and recorded phone calls the late music manager had with his client Johnny Cash. Embarking on a moving journey to know his father, Holiff creates a documentary with heart and perhaps some healing. Fri. Various times. $11 (general admission), $8 (ages 11 and under, 62 and over, bargain matinee). Music Hall 3, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 478-3836.
Several tales largely unknown to mainstream audiences are brought to the fore in many of this fall’s cinematic offerings.
The old theater saying that there are no small parts, only small actors, can also be said for opera. Just ask Australian bass Joshua Bloom, who was in town last month to begin rehearsals as Masetto for the Los Angeles Opera production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” The opera’s seven performances run Sept. 22 through Oct. 14 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
In a back booth at Canter’s, Seth Rogen is digging into his matzah ball soup with gusto as his close friend, screenwriter Will Reiser, sips a glass of club soda.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.