The New York program has come and gone (January 13-28).  I had the pleasure of seeing some of the NY offerings and Ajami aside, which just received a well deserved Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film, the options were many, and the quality was low.  I'm sorry, but 32 films?  There just aren't 32 recent and great Jewish/Israeli films.  Hell - there aren't 32 recent and great American films.  I say "recent" because the New York selection committee apparently does not have any restrictions on production year.  This was evident from the screening of the 1935 vaudevillian film Bar Mitvzah, which I recommend skipping even if it's on PBS.  The point is - what's the point?  This is a yearly Jewish film festival and there are at least a handful of great, new, topical, Jewish/Israeli films that could be showcased alone.

Which brings us to the Phoenix Film Fest, and really a vast majority of the other smartly smaller film festivals throughout the U.S.  The Phoenix program is just about to begin (February 20-March 4) and features a mere nine films.

The selection ranges from documentary Stealing Klimt, the complex story of 90-year-old Maria Altmann's struggle to recover five Gustav Klimt paintings stolen from her family by the Nazis, to the hilarious comedy A Matter of Size, a charming tale about four overweight Israeli's who launch a sumo wrestling club.  

So back to the question: what's the point?  Well, I think the point of all of the film fests, and Jewish cultural offerings in general, is to create moments of community that can be easily accessed via culture.  The problem with the superstore 32 films model (besides stunning those who aren't in the know with too many choices) is reduction in quality.  As Jews and consumers, we crave quality, and thus the carefully curated experience becomes extremely important if you are asking someone to spend a few hours watching whatever it is you are peddling.

Moreover, community is often about shared experience.  If the aim is to rally the community and generate buzz for certain films and overall, the richness of Jewish culture...well, you get where I'm going: that's pretty hard to do when everyone you know saw a different random film.

I'm a firm believer in the transformative powers of culture and inclusive environments, but much like the movie camera, focus is key.

Jewcy needs interns! Are you an intern who needs Jewcy?

We're seeking editorial interns for spring 2010 - from January to May, thereabouts. Applicants should be college students, grad students, or recent grads based in the New York City area who are interested in Jewish journalism and web media.

You can see the full job description here.

To apply, email Jewcy Editor Lilit Marcus at lmarcus@jewcy.com. Please send a resume attached in MS Word format and in the body of an email explain why you think you’d be a great fit for the position. The subject line should be “Jewcy Intern Spring 2010.”

Yesterday on Twitter I asked what you thought of the Jewcy/JDub combination, and we also had a bunch of comments on the announcement, so I just thought I'd share some of the results in one place:

"Congrats on the great news!!!"

"Good shit!"

"I'm a huge fan.  I'd love to write for Jewcy."

"What are you gonna do together?"

"Make beautiful babies together."

"Just wanted to say Mazal Tov from TCJewfolk.com, the new Twin Cities Jewish blog for Jews in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Jewcy is def one of our fav blogs - Jewish or otherwise, and JDub, well, your music rocks. Congrats to both of your organizations. We look forward to seeing what you do together!"

"Yeah, baby!  I'll make sure to stop by more often now.  Was getting worried there for awhile." 

"Hurray! chazak chazak v'nitchazek."

In the next few weeks, we'll be asking for more of your brainwaves, but until then I urge you to join the conversation. Sign-up to blog on the top right of homepage, join the mailing list, email me and tell me what you really think, donate, and spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, email, telephone, or morse code.  Your ideas will make this community grow.  We’re firm believers in the transformative powers of music, culture, and inclusive environments, and via JDub at least, you have  proven us correct in those assumptions and pushed us to new heights within our mission and vision.  The result is an expanded definition of community, and it is our sincere hope that Jewcy, along with our ’round-the-clock investment in artistry will keep that definition malleable.

Talk to you soon...

When I was little, Yom Kippur scared the hell out of me. Who shall live? Who shall die? The book of life, communal guilt for wrongdoings, etc. etc. - HEAVY SHIT. During my maybe-I’ll-be-a-poet phase in high school, I noticed that my father read the NY Times Obituaries daily, and circa 1998 he began the occasional snail mail package of truly remarkable obits that I maybe (definitely) missed via my own subscription. He treated them like mini-biographies, always noting what he had learned on a Post-it.

A few years ago, one of the packages and Yom Kippur coincided and ever since then I’ve taken note of the remarkable few or unremarkable many that pass away during the closing of the book season. Not to downplay the "summer of death" losses as I admittedly beefed up my Michael Jackson collection by roughly 60 songs over the last 3 months, but I haven't fully conceptualized where celebrities' names fall in the book of life. I imagine Farrah Fawcett's is towards the front of the book and that her name is in a blondish-red, seriffed typeface. Ted Kennedy's is a striking New York Times headline. Ed McMahon's is off to the side on a huge foam core check. David Carradine's is punctuated with a grasshopper. Yes-yes, this is crazy talk - unless you've read a Machzor lately.

So with a nod to Dad and utter confusion toward the universe here are the circa Yom Kippur remarkable few and unremarkable many no matter what you believe. Feel free to add in the comments.

William Safire - Pulitzer Prize winner and speechwriter for Nixon.

Lucy Vodden - Inspired the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”.

Edward Gelsthorpe - Ever used roll-on deodorant or had a cocktail with cranberry juice? This guy made that happen.

Wilma Cozart Fine - A pioneer among female music producers.

Don Fisher - Thanks for the Mom jeans and the pocketed t-shirt - the founder of GAP.

Elizaveta Mukasei - A female Russian spy who lived in LA during World War II, and wrote textbooks for the K.G.B. spy school.

157 dead in Guinea

I rarely have religious experiences.

But yesterday I attended a truly remarkable strategy meeting including a briefing and discussion at the White House. The program was co-facilitated by Jumpstart and JStreet (check em out) and attended by a couple dozen other participants from around the country who are engaged in social entrepreneurship. Roughly speaking, the entire sampling (myself on behalf of JDub included) represented Jewish initiatives that reach over 500,000 participants via about $500 million dollars worth of non-profit investment. Cooler stat: almost none of our organizations existed 10 years ago.

We met with Obama's newly created/rebranded/reshaped Office of Public Engagement and Office of Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships all within the Executive Office of the President. (P.S. They have a new first cousin too - the Office of Social Innovation. Read that again.)

But here's why my eyes are still teary: after we listened to the core issues Obama has asked these Offices to focus on, they not only took our questions, but also listened intently. They brainstormed with us, took notes, talked about next steps and where the White House fits in, and then encouraged us to communicate with them.
I have never felt so immediately empowered - not even the time I told the then Chairman and CEO of Sony Music that Matisyahu was not " the rapping rabbi" and to please stop calling him that. Sure, there's a bit of campaign hangover in my bloodstream (as an individual of course and NOT on behalf of JDub), but this is follow-through I can believe in.

I have now seen with my own teary eyes that there are A LOT of actual people working incredibly hard and efficiently to make sure that the next generation will not have to deal with the same set of issues we currently face. Bluntly put, the White House has a conscience.

We were of course only there for a couple hours, but I walked away with the genuine feeling that the administration understands the complexities of Jewish social issues, the need to broaden the discussion about Israel to actually achieve peace during this Presidency (like I said - rarely have optimistic experiences - I mean religious), and how deeply leadership dynamics play a part in our communities and beyond. Moreover, they are thinking past the band-aids. They are seeking out resources to resolutions on a well-written laundry list of issues and they want our help. As I often say around the Office of JDub: "Let's do it!"