Empathy and Community through Film
The Rochester Jewish Film Festival is underway.
It can’t be easy to host a Jewish Film Festival right now, which is what Rochester’s Jewish Community Center is doing this week. Feelings of discontent have been growing against Israel due to its role in current Middle Eastern conflicts. If anything might serve as an antidote, it might be a film festival that deepens our understanding of a community that has faced more than its share of persecution. The films are timely looks at Jewish identity, both historic and current, coming at a moment when we need to understand each other more than ever. If art has a special ability to foster empathy, it may help our community navigate divisive current events.
The festival is covered this week by our first Rochester Overture contributing writer, Sudha Brightman. Sudha draws on degrees in film and media studies from Syracuse University, where she also directed and produced films. A psychotherapist by day, she also spent years appearing in New York City’s top comedy clubs by night. It’s a pleasure to have her insights on film in Rochester Overture.
Here are some stories you can catch right now at Rochester Overture:
Films at the Intersection of History and Modernity Featured at 26th Rochester Jewish Film Festival
Rochester Jewish Film Festival Spotlights Actress Tovah Feldshuh with Documentary and Q&A
Sudha will also be putting together some short reports of the films she saw throughout the festival. Keep your eyes on Rochester Overture’s “Field Notes.”
Last week, the Finger Lakes Opera also hosted a performance of the Kurt Weill/Bertold Brecht/Elisabeth Hauptmann musical theater/quassi-operatic work Happy End at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The production is returning to the Glimmerglass Festival this week as part of a multi-company collaboration among Glimmerglass, Finger Lakes Opera, Opera Saratoga, and the Seagle Festival. The direction of the wacky work about gangsters and missionaries engaged in metatheater, with moments exposing the theatrical framing, which was on par with Brechtian techniques. You can read more about the production, as well as some information about the Finger Lakes Opera’s upcoming production of The Marriage of Figaro in August:
Finger Lakes Opera Collaborative Production Features High Comedy and a Happy End
Early August coverage will be a little lighter as we get prepared for the fall arts season, with previews and interviews. Rochester Overture is committed to highlighting some of the great artistic work happening throughout the main arts season in our creative city.
Featured photo: A still from Swedishkayt, about Jews living in Sweden, which will be shown at the RJFF on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in the JCC Hart Theater.