Talkback on Tuesday, July 6th, 7:30 PM with Matthew Van Meter, Author, Deep Delta Justice, the book that inspired Director Nancy Buirski to make A Crime on the Bayou
Matthew Van Meter works with people whose voices have been ignored or silenced, both as a journalist and as the Assistant Director of Shakespeare in Prison. His reporting on criminal justice has appeared in The Atlantic and The New Republic, and he is currently editing the first critical edition of Shakespeare written entirely by incarcerated people. Raised Quaker on the East Coast, he now lives in Detroit.
"A seminal work of impeccable scholarship. Recommended to all working in the intersections of law, criminal justice, and social activism." - Library Journal
For Ticket Holders of Magic Men - Bonus Feature Recorded Interview with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Available July 26th-August 30th.
Albert Bourla was the son of Greek Holocaust survivors. His fascinating interview with Robert Krulwich was generously shared by the Museum of Jewish Heritage -- A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and will be available beginning July 26th for Season Pass holders and Magic Men ticket buyers.
Talkback on Wednesday, August 4th, 4 PM with The Invisible Line-America's Nazi Experiment Director Emanuel Rotstein
Emanuel Rotstein currently holds the position of Senior Director Programming at A+E Networks Germany, overseeing all strategic program planning, commissions and acquisitions for The History Channel and Crime + Investigation in the German speaking territory. He is an award-winning filmmaker and programming executive with passion for stories with purpose and relevance. His filmography includes The Invisible Line - America's Nazi Experiment, Total Control, Guardians of Heritage, The Liberators - Why We Fought, The Legion-German War In Vietnam, The Teacher Who Defied Hitler, The Eleventh Day-The Survivors of Munich 1972, I Survived 9-11, Mogadishu, Max von Oppenheim - The Kaiser's Spy, The Fifth Dimension and Kill Hitler.
Talkback on Wednesday, August 4th, 4 PM with Ron Jones, Teacher of The Wave, The Invisible Line-America's Nazi Experiment
Ron Jones is a native San Franciscan. He shares his Haight Ashbury home with his wife, grandchildren, and a peaceful garden. He is a graduate of Stanford University Master's degree program in education. Upon retirement from the Janet Pomeroy Center, where he taught theater and sports to the physically and mentally disabled for 30 years, he got involved with writing and performs as a spoken word artist. http://ronjoneswriter.com/
Talkback on Wednesday, August 11th, 7 PM with A Father's Kaddish Director/Producer Jen Kaplan and Steven Branfman, Potter.
Jen Kaplan's first love was always the magic of stories – listening to them, learning from them and telling them in a visual way through film, since 2000. Her first film “Mixed Blessings: The Challenges of Raising Children in a Jewish-Christian Family” was shown in film festivals across the globe and aired on several PBS stations. She worked as a Fundraising Producer at Connecticut Public Television and served as the Associate Director of Filmmakers Collaborative in Boston. She currently serves as a member of the Newton Cultural Commission. Since 2011, she has focused her efforts on producing 5-7 minute films for a variety of clients. A Father’s Kaddish is her most recent film from her company Spencer Films.
Talkback on Tuesday, August 17th, 4 PM with Winter Journey Director Anders Østergaard.
Anders Østergaard was born in 1965 in Copenhagen and graduated from the Danish School of Media and Journalism in 1991. After five years in advertising and public relations, he wrote and directed his first documentary Johannesburg Revisited in 1996. An international breakthrough followed in 2004 with Tintin and I, and in 2006 he launched Gasolin' - the best selling documentary in the history of Danish cinema followed by the Oscar-nominated Burma VJ - Reporting From A Closed Country, which caught global attention and received 47 international awards. In 2014 he launched 1989, a cross-genre drama on the political game that led to the fall of the Iron Curtain. Winter Journey is his latest development of the cross-genre format applying a wealth of new story-telling techniques.
Talkback on Tuesday, August 17th, 4 PM with Winter Journey Writer Martin Goldsmith
Martin Goldsmith is the author of The Inextinguishable Symphony: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany. Hailed as a literary journey reminiscent of Art Spiegelman's 'Maus,' the book tells the riveting story of the Jewish Kulturbund, an all-Jewish performing arts ensemble maintained by the Nazis between 1933 and 1941, an ensemble that included Mr. Goldsmith's parents. Martin Goldsmith is also director of classical music programming at XM Satellite Radio in Washington, DC. For ten years, from 1989 to 1999, he served as the host of Performance Today, National Public Radio's daily classical music program. During Mr. Goldsmith's tenure as host, PT won the coveted Peabody Award for R&Broadcasting. In September 1998, Mr. Goldsmith was awarded a Cultural Leadership Citation from Yale University in recognition of service to the cultural life of the nation. He joined NPR in 1986; before that he worked at member station WETA-FM in Washington, DC, for a dozen years, serving as producer, announcer, music director and, eventually, program director. He began his radio career at commercial classical station WCLV in Cleveland, where his mother was a violist in the Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. Goldsmith was born in St. Louis, where his mother spent 21 years as a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, he has sung in the chorus of the Baltimore Opera Company and made a guest appearance with the Washington Opera. He has also acted in many roles in Washington-area theaters, including Arena Stage.
Talkback on Wednesday, August 18th, 3 PM with Comrade Dov Director Barak Heymann
Barak Heymann joined Heymann Brothers Films in 2003. Together with his brother Tomer, he created the TV series Bridge Over the Wadi (2005), which won the Best Series Award at the Israeli Documentary Competition and was adapted to a one-hour film co-produced with the American ITVS company. His award winning films include Bridge Over the Wadi, Dancing Alfonso, Lady Kul el-Arab, Sayed Kashua - Forever Scared. Together with Tomer Heymann, he directed the series Debut (2008) which won the Best Series Award at the Israeli Documentary Competition. Barak's other productions include the 8-part TV series, The Way Home, I Shot My Love, The Lone Samaritan.The Berkshire Jewish Film screened the 2016 documentary Who's Gonna Love Me Now? directed by Barak and Tomer Heymann, exploring the life of Saar, a gay HIV-positive Israeli man living in London. Currently Barak is working on a new TV series dealing with couples after their divorce. Barak teaches cinematography in Israel.
Talkback on Wednesday, August 18th, 3 PM with Dov Khenin
Dov Khenin is an Israeli political scientist, lawyer, and former member of the Knesset. He founded the Social-Environmental Caucus of the Knesset and was previously the Chairperson of "Life and Environment" - The coalition of environmental organizations in Israel. He legislated more than 40 laws concerned with human rights, worker's rights, women's rights, animal protection, and environmental protection.