At first I thought the Cannes Shabbat dinner was another clever networking angle. Religion is big at the box office these days. And what better way for a couple of young producers to rub shoulders with some of Hollywood\’s big movers and shakers than to invite them to a Shabbat dinner?
\”West Bank Story\” was one of a handful of Jewish-themed films screened at the Sundance Film Festival, which ended Sunday night in Park City, Utah. With the deafening chatter around this small town about which studio picked up which film for how many millions of dollars, it\’s hard to sniff out, not the hottest films — but the most Jewish.
We call it the Festival of Lights, but Chanukah starts in a very dark place. It begins with two stories, each very serious.
Robb Zelonky is scheduled to appear in Irvine after a two-month tour of California, bringing a special show with songs tailored to Jewish culture. He has also produced four secular CDs.
Brutal heat was the dominant feature of the May 2 Israel Independence Day Festival in Van Nuys, as 99-degree temperatures kept thousands indoors and away from the sprawling Woodley Park celebration.
Three Jews, four opinions — right? Of course right. Now mix in something as subjective as one\’s taste in movies.
It\’s official. American Jews are now the People of the Book Festival.
Nowadays, literature in general — and Jewish literature in particular — have become much more public entertainments.
\”More booths, more vendors, more of everything\” is how festival co-chair Nancy Parris Moskowitz described this year\’s Los Angeles Jewish Festival.
With chapters organized by decades, \”Stars\” devotes chapters to some shopworn but necessary rock pioneers — Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Bob Dylan, Roth — as well as more eclectic entries: late T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan, Lee Oskar of WAR and Phish bassist Mike Gordon, suddenly topical after he was arrested Aug. 16 and charged with endangering the welfare of a minor.
Festival Chair Itzik Glazer said he was pleased by the number of people willing to come out to the festival, despite it falling on Mother\’s Day.
\”People have told me it\’s the best festival yet,\” said his wife, Mikki Glazer.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.