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Canadian Jewish Heritage Month
Enjoy this curated selection of films that celebrate the important contributions that Jewish Canadians have made to Canada’s social, economic, political and cultural fabric.
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Perfecting the Art of LongingKitra Cahana 2021 12 minCut off from his loved ones due to the pandemic lockdown, a quadriplegic rabbi in a long-term-care facility is filmed remotely by his daughter. Offering powerful meditations on love and hope, Perfecting the Art of Longing shows us what it means to be alive in a state of profound isolation. -
Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard CohenDonald Brittain & Don Owen 1965 44 minThis informal black-and-white portrait of Leonard Cohen shows him at age 30 on a visit to his hometown of Montreal, where the poet, novelist and songwriter comes "to renew his neurotic affiliations." He reads his poetry to an enthusiastic crowd, strolls the streets of the city, relaxes in this three-dollar-a-night hotel room and even takes a bath.
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MarthaDaniel Schubert 2020 21 minEven at a frail 90, Martha Katz has an impish energy that remains undiminished. She chides grandson-filmmaker Daniel Schubert over his choice of shirt during a visit to her Los Angeles home, but there’s trauma beneath the humour. At 14, Martha and her family were torn from their village in Czechoslovakia and shipped to Auschwitz. A visit to a Holocaust museum ignites painful memories, including a haunting personal encounter with one of Nazi Germany’s most notorious figures. For Martha, however, the emphasis is on a tough but rewarding postwar life in Winnipeg, which she fondly recalls in this warm, intimate portrait of an unrelenting survivor.
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My Yiddish PapiÉléonore Goldberg 2017 7 minA young woman decides not to answer a phone call from her grandfather, unaware that it will be his last. When he dies, she is overwhelmed with guilt and regret and can’t sleep. But then she remembers a promise made long ago: to illustrate his wartime adventures as a member of the French Resistance.
In co-production with Picbois Productions. -
William Shatner Sings O CanadaJacob Medjuck 2011 5 minWhen William Shatner gets a Lifetime Achievement Award from Canada's Governor General, he shows appreciation as only Shatner can. In this short film, the most famous space cadet in showbiz takes helm of our heritage and treats us to a memorable rendition of Canada's national anthem.
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Baghdad TwistJoe Balass 2007 33 minFeaturing a unique collection of archival images, home movies and family photographs from Iraq, Baghdad Twist is a short film that pulls back the curtain on Iraq's once thriving Jewish community. Baghdad-born filmmaker Joe Balass takes us on a journey through the fragmented memories of an Arab exile. This powerful collage forms a portrait of a time and place that no longer exists.
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Congratulations, Mr. LevyRobin Neinstein 2008 5 minA legend in his own mind, as well as a few other places, actor Eugene Levy's (American Pie, Best in Show) eyebrows alone deserve a place in the hallowed halls of national treasures. Join director Robin Neinstein as he engages Levy in an infotainment interview that goes horribly wrong. This film was produced for the 2008 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.
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The People of the BookFelix Lazarus 1973 28 minThis short documentary explores the realities of Canadian Jews dwelling in smaller urban centers. Filmed in the northern Ontario towns of Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay, The People of the Book provides insight into the ancient pattern of ceremony and belief practiced in the synagogue and shows the efforts of Jewish communities to perpetuate their culture and traditions.
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The Jews of WinnipegBill Davies 1973 27 minThis short documentary tells the story of the first Jewish settlers to Winnipeg, people who fled European persecution at the turn of the century and founded a new community in a Canadian city.
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The StreetCaroline Leaf 1976 10 minThis award-winning animation is a poignant interpretation of a short story by Montreal author Mordecai Richler. It makes a strong statement about how many families respond to their old and infirm members. In washes of watercolour and ink, filmmaker Caroline Leaf illustrates reactions to a dying grandmother, capturing family feelings and distilling them into harsh reality.
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The Innocent DoorKenneth McCready 1973 29 minThis short documentary affords us an unusual and privileged view of the old city of Jerusalem, before and after the redevelopment of certain key sectors took place in the early 1970s. The man appointed to try to reconcile the need for change with traditional values is Montreal architect Moshe Safdie. His plans, shown in scale models, are in harmony with ancient architecture and encompass the “innocent doorways” that lead from walled streets to pleasant courtyards.
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Mordecai Richler: The Writer and His Roots1983 57 minThis feature documentary explores Mordecai Richler's cultural and geographic roots as well as his personal reasons for writing. The film includes excerpts from several of his books and movies as well as readings by the author.
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The Socalled MovieGarry Beitel 2010 1 h 27 minThis feature-length documentary is a dynamic kaleidoscopic portrait of Socalled (aka Josh Dolgin), a multi-disciplinary musician and artist whose unique blend of klezmer, hip hop and funk is blasting through the boundaries that separate music of different cultures, eras and generations.
Socalled is unstoppable: a pianist, singer, arranger, rapper, producer and composer – as well as magician, filmmaker and visual artist. The "Socalled" Movie offers a nuanced picture of an individual who's artistically fearless. -
Poet: Irving Layton ObservedDonald Winkler 1986 52 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of the life and work of Canadian poet Irving Layton. Here, the artist who long masked himself in controversy, unexpectedly agrees to be unmasked in front of the camera. The 1981 Nobel nominee not only reads and explicates his own writings, but also speaks incisively about Canadian literature itself, defining it metaphorically as a "double hook" that combines "beauty and terror."
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I Was a Child of Holocaust SurvivorsAnn Marie Fleming 2010 15 minThis short animation is director Ann Marie Fleming’s animated adaptation of Bernice Eisenstein’s acclaimed illustrated memoir. Using the healing power of humour, the film probes the taboos around a very particular second-hand trauma, leading us to a more universal understanding of human experience. The film sensitively explores identity and loss through the audacious proposition that the Holocaust is addictive and defining.
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Village of IdiotsEugene Fedorenko & Rose Newlove 1999 12 minBased on a Jewish folk tale adapted by playwright John Lazarus, this animated short tells the story of Shmendrik, a simpleton living in a small Polish village. Weary of daily life in his native Chelm, Shmendrik sets out on a quest for knowledge that brings him to a new Chelm, a place eerily reminiscent of his old Chelm. An amusing take on our tendency to romanticize what we don't have.
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After Mr. SamArthur Hammond 1974 1 h 17 minThis full-length documentary is the 7th and final part of Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. This installment documents a 3-day conference held in the corporation's lodge north of Montreal. There, faced with the stepping down of Sam Steinberg as president, ambitious top-level executives thrash out their differences on matters of corporation policy and objectives. But who will replace Mr. Sam, the man who built the business? Sprinkled with Sam Steinberg's reminiscences and reflections on business, full of insights into the workings of a large corporation and clashes of interest and character, the film presents an unusually close view of a struggle for position and power.
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Robert Lantos: A Meta Narrative, AbridgedJill Sharpe 2016 4 minIn this short collage-like documentary that celebrates Robert Lantos’ career - memory, dream and story collide in a flickering state of imagination. Scenes from Lantos’ landmark films are playfully re-purposed to underscore a few of the key moments that have motivated him to be a producer.
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The Basketball GameHart Snider 2011 5 minThis animated short tells the story of an epic basketball game between kids attending Jewish camp and students of a notorious local Holocaust denier. Nine-year-old Hart is attending Jewish summer camp for the first time. He is both curious and afraid. What awaits him on the basketball court?
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Making Movie History: Jacques BensimonJoanne Robertson 2012 5 minLateformer NFB commissioner Jacques Bensimon, who headed the Film Board from 2001 to 2006, recalls coming into the NFB as a director in the early 1960s, at a time when the institution was seeking to broaden its horizons and expand its reach.
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A Composer's DreamBarbara Willis-Sweete 2011 7 minThis short film demonstrates how Howard Shore has distinguished himself as one of Canada's most accomplished - and versatile - composers.
During woodland rambles with his beloved dogs, Shore gives free rein to his ceaseless creativity. Whether composing delicate counterpoint or Oscar®-winning movie music, Shore is keenly tuned to a remarkable range of musical expression.
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The Concert ManTony Ianzelo 1982 27 minThis documentary short is a portrait of violinist, composer and dreamer Maurice Zbriger, who shared his music with Montrealers for over half a century. He hired musicians and singers and conducted them in free concerts financed with income from his ownership of Schwartz's, the famous smoked meat restaurant. The Concert Man looks at Zbriger's life, his passion for music and the people who were a part of his dream.
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Raymond Klibansky: From Philosophy to LifeAnne-Marie Tougas 2002 50 minThe filmmaker did not suspect that meeting a philosopher would have such a profound effect. It compelled her to shed light on the exceptional life of Raymond Klibansky, his uncommon destiny and his path to humanity. As a German Jewish philosopher of action, he lived in times of upheaval, war and hate. As a young man, he moved in the circles of Karl Jaspers, Erwin Panofsky, Marianne Weber, Ernst Cassirer and Albert Enstein. Early in his career, he made his mark as a historian of ideas and a philosopher, and his work was known around the world. Then came the Nazi lie, which he condemned and, better yet, fought. In the prime of his life, he was Chief Intelligence Officer in the British Secret Service during World War Two. He moved to Montreal in 1946, where he has continued to promote tolerance and fight for freedom on all fronts.
