TO LIFE, TO LIFE, L’CHAIFLICKS

By Debra Rich Gettleman

My first question for Neil Friedman, founder of Menemsha films and cofounder of the Jewish and Israeli streaming service ChaiFlicks, was, “What started this passion for Jewish media, specifically film and television?”

I was expecting the usual answer about going to the movies back in the day with a parent or friend and getting hooked. What I didn’t expect was to hear that it all started with Neil’s mom’s brother, uncle Allen, and his second wedding. You see, Uncle Allen (Allen Susman) was a hot shot Harvard attorney working for Universal pictures. He represented the studio and a host of A-list Hollywood biggies.

When Al’s friend, Marlon (Brando, that is), hosted Al’s wedding reception at his home in the Hollywood Hills, 12 year old middle class Neil from Queens found himself pretty impressed at the star-studded guest list which included Wally Cox, Andy Williams, and Elke Sommer, to name a few.