ON THE LIGHTER SIDE “I remember talking to a Michigan audience as a nice experience with everything very well organized, and I love Forgiveness because I love comedies,” said Shafran, who has been a producer with his own company, Firma Films, for 15 years and has overseen 10 feature movies, TV series and shorts. “This comedy is warm and funny, and it has a meaning that says although someone or something is harming you, you need to try and find a place to forgive. I hope that people will see this film, laugh and cry, and think about how forgiveness is a great thing.” Other festival comedies include Kiss Me Kosher, which is about lovers who don’t seem meant for each other, and If You See My Mother, which is about a young doctor who talks to his mom after her death while starting a romance mom likely would not approve of. Remaining films delve into relationships, wildlife adventure, Holocaust drama, mystery and other topics that draw audiences to plotlines in varied contexts of Judaism. While the documentary On Broadway features bigname stars talking about stage creativity and business, Israeli singer-actress Shiri Maimon, who has starred on Broadway, can be seen in Forgiveness. She is particularly familiar to a Michigan audience who watched her remote musical appearance in a recent Temple Israel program.
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The Lenore Marwil Detroit Jewish Film Festival runs May 2-23. $5 per film per viewer available in a 24-hour time frame. For a full listing of films, associated programming, sponsorship and festival passes, go to culturalarts.jccdet.org/filmfest. (248) 609-3303.
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thing the collection contains — prayer books, rabbinic texts, Biblical texts, personal letters, commercial lists, compositions by people like Maimonides, Judah Halevi poetry, marriage documents and exercises for children learning how to write.” All the documents remain in their original languages, whether Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic or Judeo-Arabic for scholars to translate. “A major point [in the collection] was the great acculturation of the Jewish community in the ArabMuslim community of medieval Cairo,” said Kraemer, who has spoken many times at local synagogues and the University of Michigan. “Jews spoke Arabic, lived in ways very similar to their neighbors and were very much involved with the lives of their neighbors but [remained] powerfully Jewish. [The Geniza] is about people living together in ways that are often quite unexpected.” Other documentaries being showcased this year include Mrs. G, which tells about the woman who designed and established a booming swimwear business; Hollywood’s Second World War, which reveals how successful Europeanborn directors returned to Europe and risked their lives to make films about U.S. Army triumphs, such as the liberation of Dachau; and Maverick Modigliani, which chronicles the life of the Jewish Italian artist.
CHIMPS, LOONEY TUNES, LATE NIGHT, KIDS’ GEMS The HBO special, The Human Chimp, premieres on April 29. In 1964, Univ. of Oklahoma psychologist Maurice K. Temerlin (1924-1988) and his wife, Jane Whitbeck Temerlin, adopted a young chimpanzee whom they named Lucy and raised as a human child. At first, things went well. However, by the time a young grad student, Janis Carter, was hired (1976) by the Temerlins, the experiment had turned sour. Lucy was considered unpredictable and dangerous. The Temerlins told Carter to just feed Lucy and clean up after her. The next year, they asked Carter to accompany them, and Lucy, to a facility in Africa where chimps were trained to go back into the wild. Carter was supposed to be in Africa for a few days, but stayed for a decade, trying to help Lucy and some other chimps. Carter, now 70, was extensively interviewed by the filmmaker. The Hollywood Reporter, which highly praised the film, does note that Maurice did express regrets about how he raised Lucy without contact with other chimps. On a much lighter note, on April 29, HBO will begin streaming new Looney Tunes cartoons. The 10-episode season follows critically acclaimed new Looney Tunes cartoon releases on HBO in 2019 and 2020. I suspect that Jeff Bergman, who voices Elmer Fudd and other characters, is Jewish, but it’s unconfirmed. However, Bob Bergen, 57, who voices
Tiffany Haddish
Porky Pig, is definitely Jewish. In a 2014 interview, he discussed his one-man show, describing it as “the story of a nice Jewish boy who wanted to be Porky.” In the same interview, he related how, at age 14, he bluffed his way into a Hollywood studio and met his idol, Mel Blanc, who originated the Porky voice. Bergen, a threetime Emmy nominee, is a top voice actor. He has been the voice of Porky, in cartoons and ads, since 1990. The Story of Late Night is a six-part original CNN series (starts Sunday, May 2). It’s about the history of late-night talk shows. For whatever reason, there has never been a Jewish host of a “big ratings” late-night talk show. However, Chelsea Handler, 46, who had a “2nd tier” talk show, appears in the series. Also appearing is Lorne Michaels, 76, the creator of SNL and the producer of Late Night (now hosted by Seth Meyers, who isn’t Jewish, but his wife is, and they were wed in a Jewish ceremony.) The second season of the revival of the popular ’60s series, Kids Say the Darndest Things, will begin on CBS on Wednesday, May 5, at 8 p.m. Host Tiffany Haddish, 41, has the ability to coax “real” and often funny comments from the kids. The show also features clips from the original series, which starred Art Linkletter. APRIL 29 • 2021
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