2008 Woodie Awards
Yeshiva University Film Festival
You Can Bring Culture to the College...
Ben Levy
Issue date: 9/20/05 Section: Arts & Culture
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In an attempt to promote dialogue and enliven culture on campus, President Richard M. Joel and University Professor of Psychology Norman Adler have recently initated the YU Film Festival. Over the course of the year, a series of films will be shown to students and faculty members at the Geraldine Schottenstein Cultural Center on the Beren Campus. This year's festival will primarily deal with the many faces of Jewish identity, their relationships with one another, and their adaptation to our changing, modern world. All films are followed by special discussions with professors or the directors of the film.
The festival began on August 28th with a special screening of The Chosen. Based on the novel by Chaim Potok, this film is an example of how Jewish identities can clash, occasionally in ways that are unpleasant. The ageless argument of whether or not to accept the outside world, or to permit its influence on Jewish culture and thought, is sharply examined throughout the movie.
President Joel is quite optimistic about the festival, calling the Schottenstein center a "hidden treasure" with great potential for cultural advancement. The President contends that Yeshiva students should take advantage of this, even if they are "tremendously occupied with their academic studies."
"These are films that have some nexus to the Jewish experience and we are using our resources to look more deeply into them," he says. President Joel also believes that Torah should ultimately fashion not only how we enjoy and understand other cultures, but how we express ourselves as well. "We view life through the lens of Torah," he explains.
This year's festival also deals with the Holocaust and its effects on Jewish identity in the form of Menachem Daum's Hiding and Seeking. Set in Jerusalem and Warsaw, this documentary focuses on a father's attempt to shape his sons' acceptance of gentiles by teaching them about heroic Poles who saved Jews during the Holocuast. Roman Polanski's award-winning The Pianist is also scheduled to be screened next month.
The festival began on August 28th with a special screening of The Chosen. Based on the novel by Chaim Potok, this film is an example of how Jewish identities can clash, occasionally in ways that are unpleasant. The ageless argument of whether or not to accept the outside world, or to permit its influence on Jewish culture and thought, is sharply examined throughout the movie.
President Joel is quite optimistic about the festival, calling the Schottenstein center a "hidden treasure" with great potential for cultural advancement. The President contends that Yeshiva students should take advantage of this, even if they are "tremendously occupied with their academic studies."
"These are films that have some nexus to the Jewish experience and we are using our resources to look more deeply into them," he says. President Joel also believes that Torah should ultimately fashion not only how we enjoy and understand other cultures, but how we express ourselves as well. "We view life through the lens of Torah," he explains.
This year's festival also deals with the Holocaust and its effects on Jewish identity in the form of Menachem Daum's Hiding and Seeking. Set in Jerusalem and Warsaw, this documentary focuses on a father's attempt to shape his sons' acceptance of gentiles by teaching them about heroic Poles who saved Jews during the Holocuast. Roman Polanski's award-winning The Pianist is also scheduled to be screened next month.