Film Festival Time in Toronto

Its film festival season. Sprockets festival of films for children has just ended; Hot Docs is in the middle of its run; and the Toronto Jewish Film Festival is about to begin.

And thats only scratching the surface. Toronto is home to some 50 or 60 film festivals each year. They cover the entire spectrum of the film world. Theres a French film festival and one for Italian films. Theres Inside Out for films dealing with gay issues and theres the Reel World festival dealing with issues confronting people of colour. Theres a festival for short films and theres one for comedy films.

Everyone has their own film festival.

The biggest and the one with the highest public profile is the Toronto International Film Festival held at the beginning of September each year. This is the mother of all festivals that brings all the Hollywood superstars into the city.

Then we have Hot Docs, which showcases the best documentary films from around the world.

This years Hot Docs is screening some 100 films and features a Spotlight on France and a Made In Japan program. Also being featured this year is a retrospective on celebrated Quebecois director Serge Giguere and an Outstanding Achievement Retrospective on the work of legendary director Werner Herzog.

Add to all this a wonderful collection of documentaries from around the world, and we have an unmatched program of great cinema.

Then we have the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (May 6-14, 2006). This is the festival that I am most familiar with as I am the Programme Coordinator for this event.

This is the 14th year that the Toronto Jewish Film Festival has presented its collection of international films.

This year the Festival has a special program put together by Ellie Skrow and Stuart Hands, called Rhythm & Jews, which looks at the correlation between Jewish and African-American music, how they have intertwined and drawn from each others roots.

The Rhythm & Jews program features a collection of 12 films, including From Shtetl To Swing, which examines the Jewish immigrant experience in America and how Jewish composers and performers borrowed from and contributed to the Black experience.

Hitmakers: The Kids Who Stole Pop Music deals with the Jewish kids from Brooklyn, who wrote most of the early rock songs, mainly for Black recording artists. These kids included Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Doc Pumus, Jerry Lieber, Mike Stoller and many more.

Other films in this series include Immaculate Funk, a profile of legendary music producer Jerry Wexler, who recorded some of the leading Black artists for Atlantic Records and then in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

Other highlights include a production of Porgy & Bess by the Glyndebourne Opera; Blue Note--A Story of Modern Jazz, which is a tribute to the Blue Note record label founded by two Jews who came to the United States after escaping from Nazi Germany.

The rest of the Jewish Film Festival is also packed with outstanding films, including Isnt This A Time, a tribute to the late Harold Leventhal, the revered promoter of folk music, and features interviews and performances by Peter, Paul & Mary, the Weavers, Arlo Guthrie, Theodore Bikel and many others.

A film Im very excited about is the German production called Just An Ordinary Jew about Emmanuel Goldfarb, a writer who is invited to speak to a group of German students about what its like to be a Jew. Actor Ben Becker (Downfall, Gloomy Sunday) gives a riveting monologue on the issues facing a Jew living in Germany after the Holocaust.

Steel Toes is a Canadian film about a Jewish lawyer defending a skinhead charged with murdering an Asian immigrant. The lawyer is played by acclaimed American actor David Strathairn.

And Olga is a highly praised Brazilian film about a left wing activist, who campaigned for her beliefs in Europe and South America and wound up perishing in a Nazi concentration camp.

The Festival will open with the edgy, over the top, humour of stand-up comedienne, Sarah Silverman. Her film, Jesus Is Magic is certain to be controversial and start the Festival with a bang.

Another film of note is 39 Pounds of Love, a documentary about Ami Ankilewitz (no relation) who was diagnosed with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy as an infant and given 6 years to live. At age 34, and weighing 39 pounds and confined to a wheelchair, Ami embarks on a trip to find the doctor who made the diagnosis.

The Festival is full of marvelous films exploring different aspects of Jewish life around the world. It is a wonderful opportunity for people of all kinds to come and enjoy high quality films from some 19 different countries that cover the entire spectrum of the human experience. And you dont have to be Jewish to appreciate these film.

For more information go to www.tjff.com, pick up a booklet at your local theatre or come down to the Bloor Cinema (Bloor & Bathurst) or the Al Green Theatre at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (Bloor & Spadina).