MHSeattle, Neal Schindler, 9/5/2008

It's September, and the Nextbook literary salon series, which I hope to land at the Kibbutz (aka Moishe House Seattle), won't arrive anywhere until at least October. So I need to plan and lead an event, and I want that event to be a cinema night. I've been looking at Israeli movies online lately, and except for a few films (Broken Wings, Late Marriage), I'm pretty unfamiliar with Israel's cinematic output. But not for long, I hope. I visited Scarecrow Video -- Seattle's premier video store -- yesterday in search of Israeli movies, and I rented two: Sweet Mud, about life on a kibbutz, and Or, which is about prostitution and promises to be a tad intense. I definitely want to program a series that isn't a total downer, and I could be wrong, but Israeli films seem to visit dark themes more frequently than, say, French films.

Anyway, I'm seeing Sweet Mud because a kibbutz-themed movie, provided it's good, would be an apt kick-off selection, and Or because it looks terrific and has an actress from Late Marriage, which I'm also considering screening, though it's devastating -- heartbreaking -- and contains a very, very graphic sex scene. Maybe I'll work my way up to programming that one. It's funny to feel like I have to warn people -- adults like me -- about graphic sex scenes. But of course, everyone has different sensibilities, and we don't want a very awkward room -- we want a room that's been warned about potential awkwardness and has made an informed choice to participate in it. But I digress.

My hope is to have an Israeli film series -- maybe a half-dozen films, maybe a few more -- followed by a series of Jewish films that aren't Israeli. I'll introduce each film, screen it, and then facilitate a discussion. There will be popcorn and sometimes thematically relevant food. My main obstacle is technological: We have a smallish screen that we can transfer DVD playback to, but no projector, and no large-screen TV. We need to either borrow something for the September screening or purchase a projector for the house. A worthy investment, to be sure, but not a cheap one. I'll start looking online at projector prices, and I'll also see if anyone has a projector we can borrow in the meantime. Worst-case scenario, we have the first screening at the house of people with a big-screen TV. But I'm hoping it doesn't have to come to that, because it's nice to have events at the house. Reinforces the whole concept that it's the destination for all -- or at least a significant portion of -- your Jewish cultural needs.

Okay, I'm operating on too little sleep. (I took Masha to the airport this morning, leaving me alone in the house until Monday night. Ah, the crazy parties I'll have here while my fellow Kibbutzniks are away! No, no -- just kidding.) Time to sign off. If anybody out there has run a film night and has helpful hints, let me know. I'm at neal.schindler@hotmail.com.