Out of Faith Blog: Maine Jewish Film Festival

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Maine Jewish Film Festival

Just a quick post to thank everyone who helped make our screening tonight a big success! Nancy Rosenbaum, the Festival Executive Director, Deb Tenenbaum, Festival Assistant, George and Roberta Gordon, who shared their home and a wonderful meal with Wayne and Jo Ann Goodman, who made sure I got me to where I needed to be, and me, and Robin Rubinstein, who got me into town without incident, all made my stay absolutely wonderful. And a preemptive thank you to Eleanor Goldberg, who will be getting me to the airport tomorrow morning so that I can get back to my wife and beautiful daughters.

Also, thank you to everyone who opened their hearts to me during our post screening discussion. .clearer -->

2 Comments:

MakorWoman said...

I emailed a letter on the contact section but it bounced back to me. I saw the movie at Makor. If the goal of the film was to provoke conversation, it certainly did. Conversations carried on into the hallways.

As a veteran of the Jewish singles scene (I am still single but don't do the scene anymore) I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It is tragic to see many women still going to the same events, running into the same guys, complaining they can't meet anyone, decades after they started. If they would do some other activities they might meet new friends and new dates. Even if they don't meet the 'one', I think they would be happier people.

Lisa Leeman is right. She says in one of the blogs that you shouldn't sacrifice personal happiness to make a sociological statement. I know people (myself included) who did this to an extreme. Even for children and grand-children of Holocaust survivors, their personal lives can not replace or bring justice for the dead.

I do agree with Marc and Steven Cohen (really good paper) that in-marriage makes it more likely and easier to raise Jewish children. The interesting thing about J-Date is how many people describe themselves as 'traditional' without checking the boxes for kosher or other21032007">
Thank you,
L. Mark DeAngelis

Labels: assimilation, holocaust, interfaith marriage, intermarriage, jewish, jewish identity, judaism, maine jewish film festival, OUT OF FAITH, shoah, survivor

2 Comments:

MakorWoman said...

practices. My plumber, who is upset over his daughter's Christian fiance, says he 'keeps the traditions' because he takes off on Yom Kippur. This is the ethnic identity that Cohen talks about. But I bet if we look at the under 30 group on J-date or in Cohen's study, there are less such people.

As I think about the film after some time, it succeeds as a case study of Jewish attitudes across generations. We spent the past thirty years memorializing the holocaust. (Discussion was somewhat suppressed till the 1970s. There are several good books on changing attitudes) The stories are all recorded as the survivors fade. But where does it take us into the future?

It is flawed as a family profile because too many members did not participate. The audience had a hard time keep track of the relationships between people. Danny's mother's conversion comes up in the middle but Betty never explains her feelings about being Jewish. The audience had a hard time keeping track of the relation-ships between people. Some of the situations seemed forced. The focus on Leah borders on hagiography.

People are entitled to their attitudes. Judaism is pluralistic enough to accept those who find comfort or meaning in traditions and text without word-by-word revelation. But some attitudes are self-limiting. Marc wants to get beyond the personal and should be commended.

shoah, survivor

2 Comments:

MakorWoman said...: lass="comment-timestamp">Sunday, March 25, 2007 1:07:00 PM
Eliezer Films said...: Dear Makor Woman :-):

I would like to thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts to our blog. And yes, our goal has always been to stipulate discussion. I am glad you agree we have accomplished this goal.

In response to your thoughts. . . There is no doubt you are correct that we Jews are a pluralistic people. And quite honestly, one need not argue if this is good or bad. I definitely have my opinions about the manner in which many of us choose to express our “Jewishness,” but this is not even the most pressing discussion. One only need look at the facts, the almost irrefutable demographic evidence of which families are preserving their Jewish identities, as evidenced by their own self-identification from one generation to the next, and which are not.

So my point is always quite simple: if one cares about Jewish preservation, there are very few paths that will lead the way. Young Jews especially need to be honest about whether they care how their young--or future--children will manifest their Judaism. I think it is quite clear by now, what I, and the growing evidence, suggest is the only way. However, if one comes to the honest conclusion that the identity of their children is just not that important, all that really matters is their own gratification and “happiness,” then why put on the facade that Judaism is important. Simply surrender, assimilate to secularism or a more “popular” faith and be done with it.

Regarding your comments about the film specifically . . . OUT OF FAITH began from the very beginning and was always primarily a story about Leah and her relationship with her family. Unfortunately, in documentary filmmaking, one cannot alter reality to fit ones desired thematic outcomes. The facts of Leah’s family were what they were: Leah was the dominant matriarch and certain members did not wish to participate (for various reasons). I can assure you that we did not force any issues or push any agenda; in fact, you are the first to state that any scenes seemed forced. Every scene was natural. Our director Lisa Leeman is a strict vérité filmmaker—she does not force scenes, she simply captures them. Finally, given that an equal number of viewers tell me that Leah comes across quite poorly in our film, to say the film was hagiographic seems inappropriate. Most saints do not have nearly the number of detractors as do Leah Z”L.

Regards,

L. Mark DeAngelis
Producer
OUT OF FAITH

P.S. If you had trouble following the relationships, I recommend you get on our DVD waiting list so you can buy a copy of the film for yourself to get it all straight. ;-); Monday, March 26, 2007 1:28:00 AM

Eliezer Films said...

Dear Makor Woman :-):

I would like to thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts to our blog. And yes, our goal has always been to stipulate discussion. I am glad you agree we have accomplished this goal.

In response to your thoughts. . . There is no doubt you are correct that we Jews are a pluralistic people. And quite honestly, one need not argue if this is good or bad. I definitely have my opinions about the manner in which many of us choose to express our “Jewishness,” but this is not even the most pressing discussion. One only need look at the facts, the almost irrefutable demographic evidence of which families are preserving their Jewish identities, as evidenced by their own self-identification from one generation to the next, and which are not.

So my point is always quite simple: if one cares about Jewish preservation, there are very few paths that will lead the way. Young Jews especially need to be honest about whether they care how their young--or future--children will manifest their Judaism. I think it is quite clear by now, what I, and the growing evidence, suggest is the only way. However, if one comes to the honest conclusion that the identity of their children is just not that important, all that really matters is their own gratification and “happiness,” then why put on the facade that Judaism is important. Simply surrender, assimilate to secularism or a more “popular” faith and be done with it.

Regarding your comments about the film specifically . . . OUT OF FAITH began from the very beginning and was always primarily a story about Leah and her relationship with her family. Unfortunately, in documentary filmmaking, one cannot alter reality to fit ones desired thematic outcomes. The facts of Leah’s family were what they were: Leah was the dominant matriarch and certain members did not wish to participate (for various reasons). I can assure you that we did not force any issues or push any agenda; in fact, you are the first to state that any scenes seemed forced. Every scene was natural. Our director Lisa Leeman is a strict vérité filmmaker—she does not force scenes, she simply captures them. Finally, given that an equal number of viewers tell me that Leah comes across quite poorly in our film, to say the film was hagiographic seems inappropriate. Most saints do not have nearly the number of detractors as do Leah Z”L.

Regards,

L. Mark DeAngelis
Producer
OUT OF FAITH

P.S. If you had trouble following the relationships, I recommend you get on our DVD waiting list so you can buy a copy of the film for yourself to get it all straight. ;-)

Monday, March 26, 2007 1:28:00 AM

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