By Mikhail Saavedra
The Toronto Jewish Film Festival is back for its 17th edition and all the film fanatics here at Alternavox decided to do some of the homework for you, our readers, and review the films you simply should not miss this time around. With over 90 films to present, from 23 countries and continents, places as distinct and far apart like Chile and India. There is absolutely no doubt that the staff of TJFF went out of their way to bring a diverse line up that will have something for everyone.
These are our top picks this time around!
Reviews by: Mikhail Saavedra, Sofia Ramirez, Shamim Ahad, ‘Yasmeen Finjan, Jennifer Finjan, Hannah Koh, and Valentina Saavedra.
AMERICAN SWING
USA, 2008, 81 min
Director: Jon Hart, Matthew Kaufman
Thursday April 23 • 8:00 PM • Bloor Cinema
This film comes with a few warnings.
Warning one: Graphic sexual content
Warning two: If you are not prepared to have your sexual fantasies forever damaged, don’t watch this film; cuz no one said the graphic sexual content bit was going to be appealing.
Warning three: The story follows the rise, and fall, of Larry Levenson and the infamous swingers’ palace, Plato’s Retreat in New York City. It takes place at the height of the sexual revolution in the 70’s. And the warning? Sex, excess, and the 80’s ringing in a little thing called AIDS.
See it? This one might be better told in print (with no visuals), but if you are curious, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
See it. d war divx
BEWOKET: BY THE WILL OF GOD
CANADIAN PREMIERE
USA, 2008, 66 min
Director: Andrea Mydlarz-Zeller, Sam Shnider
Thursday April 23 • 6:00 PM • Bloor Cinema
Guest: Dr. Rick Hodes
Generously sponsored by Marsha Bronfman
This touching and by turns disturbing documentary follows the humanitarian efforts of Dr. Rick Hodes who in 1990 was hired by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to set up medical clinics in Ethiopia. It also follows the lives of three boys who are forever changed by Dr. Hodes commitment to providing affordable health care to the poorest of the poor.
Dr. Hodes shows an incredible and rarely seen love for humanity and its possibilities and though the story is heartbreaking and tragic at times – it is told with hope and yes, with humour, through the voices of the children. Bewoket, the boy whose name means “by the will of God” defies all the odds and becomes throughout the telling of this story the true hero of the film.
Absolutely see it!
CAMERA OBSCURA
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
ARGENTINA, 2008, 86 min
Language: Spanish, Yiddish with English subtitles
Director: María Victoria Menis
Cast: Mirta Bogdasarian, Fernando Armani, Patrick Dell’Isola, Carlos Defeo
Saturday April 18 • 9:15 PM • Bloor Cinema
Sunday April 19 • 8:00 PM • Sheppard Grande
Opening night guest: Director María Victoria Menis
This sensual film somehow manages to touch all of your bodily senses through your eyes and through your ears. It is a reminder that those things that are important aren’t always seen through a regular lens, but just might be captured by those with the gift for seeing what is truly beautiful. It is the story of Gertrudis, a Jewish immigrant born on the docks of Buenos Aires, a uniquely mystical film that seamlessly blends film, animation, and still photography.
sofia@alternavox.net prison of the dead divx online
See it.
DARLING! THE PIETER-DIRK UYS STORY
AUSTRALIA, 2007, 54 min
Director: Julian Shaw
Thursday April 23 • 7:15 PM • Al Green
Guest: Director Julian Shaw
Every film festival seems to have a darling film that stands out from the rest. Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story is such a film.
It is not often that we witness a balding, drag queen educating students on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Pieter-Dirk Uys is South Africa’s most prominent satirist and AIDS activist. His alter ego, Evita Bezuidenhout, a white Afrikaner socialite, critiques and at times points out flaws in South African government social and health policy. Uys’ performance is not only candid but also poignant. Uys leaves a lasting impression on the students’ lives he touches. Students like Director Julian Shaw, who after seeing his performance left school, traveled to South Africa, and spent two years documenting Uys’ journey into the minds and hearts of South Africa’s youth.
yasmeen@alternavox.net jennifer@alternavox.net
SEE IT! /SEE IT!
THE DEBT
ISRAEL, 2007, 93 min
Language: Hebrew, German, Russian with English subtitles
Director: Assaf Bernstein
Cast: Gila Almagor, Neta Garty, Edgar Selge, Oded Teomi, Itay Tiran, Yehezkel Lazarov, Alex Peleg
Saturday April 25 • 9:15 PM • Bloor Cinema
It’s 1997. Rachel Berner (played by the legendary Gila Almagor) is celebrating the launch of her book about her role in capturing the infamous Nazi war criminal, the “Surgeon of Birkenau”, while working for the Mossad in the 1965. When an old colleague lets her know that they have some unfinished business to attend to, Rachel must confront the truth of what really happened more than 30 years ago. This suspenseful tale examines the complexities of revenge and heroism by expertly weaving back and forth from the present to the past.
See it
El BRINDIS
TORONTO PREMIERE
CHILE, 2007, 100 min
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Shai Agosin
Cast: Ana Serradilla, Pepe Soriano, Francisco Melo, Alejandro Trejo, Andrés Velasco, Carmen Disa
Wednesday April 22 • 6:00 PM • Bloor Cinema
Thursday April 23 • 6:15 PM • Sheppard Grande
Emilia, a photographer (played by the stunning Mexican actor Ana Serradilla) flies from her native Mexico to Chile to restart her relationship with her long lost father. She finds an eccentric family, a new perspective, and love. El Brindis is director’s Shai Agosin first film and while deceptively simple in its premise, it’s seductive. It is also well acted and brilliantly shot; the director obviously has a love affair with the city of Valparaiso, a UNESCO world heritage site known for its colorful and unique streets and hills.
If you enjoy movies with a heart at their core, you could not go wrong with El Brindis.
See it
LOVE LIFE
CANADIAN PREMIERE
ISRAEL/GERMANY, 2007, 113 min
Director: Maria Schrader
Cast: Neta Garty, Rade Serbedzija, Tovah Feldshuh, Stephen Singer
Monday April 20 • 8:30 PM • Sheppard Grande
I love movies that tell complete stories. This one, based on a bestselling Israeli novel by Zeruya Shalev, introduces us to a young woman at the height of her love life, a newlywed that throws it all away and becomes involved with an older man, an old friend of her father. We witness an almost violent expression of unconscious, self-destructive drives. However, the fuel behind this erotic affair reveals itself as we learn the secrets behind her family’s past.
Definitely See it
REFUGEES
CANADIAN PREMIERE
ISRAEL, 2008, 75 min
Language: Hebrew, English and Arabic with English subtitle
Director: Shai Carmeli Polak
Thursday April 23 • 3:30 PM • Bloor Cinema
This is the story of a brave group of African refugees and the Israeli volunteers who dare to confront Israel’s government policies. The heartbreaking challenges are told through the stories of refugees from Darfur and South Sudan facing deportation. One volunteer helping to shelter the refugees puts it quite clearly, “this is a private solution, not a public one.” The film shows the barriers that African refugees face seeking safe haven in Israel and emphasizes the humanitarian reasons that explain why support among Israelis is growing for a sustainable solution.
See it.
WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN?
USA, 1959, 105 min
Director: Delbert Mann
Screenplay: (Teleplay:) Budd Schulberg, Stuart Schulberg
Sunday April 26 8:30 PM Bloor Cinema
“Don’t be overawed, Mr Glick: it doesn’t match your personality”
Shown mostly through the eyes of Sammy Glick’s “best friend” and “mentor” Al Manheim, this movie chronicles the rise of Sammy, a Jewish boy who rises from the ghettoes of New York to become one of 1930s Hollywood’s wealthiest and most influential men. Based on a book written by Budd Schulberg, the movie was originally screened as a two-part television series in 1959, and the resulting grainy black and white film and tinny music, when watched in 2009, serves to enhance the gritty, slightly dirty feeling that viewers have as they watch Sammy slime and schmooze his way to the top. Definitely a must-see, if you want a down-and-dirty portrayal of the shadier side of the Golden Age of Hollywood!
See it.
I saw American Swing at TIFF in September last year. I agree with Sofia’s warnings… See it, if you’re indeed curious.
Thanks for the great highlights… There are a lot of interesting films to choose from at TJFF this year.
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