Yes, for the last time, Jewish pirates were totally a thing.

But, of course, not everyone is on board (get it?) with a chapter of history until there’s a movie version. So the time has come for a film about Jewish pirates!

That film is The Pirate Captain Toledano, currently nearing the end of its fundraising campaign on Jewcer.

The Pirate Captain Toledano is about a Jewish stowaway on a pirate ship fleeing the Inquisition, and the captain who must decide whether or not to accept the refugee into his ranks.

The captain of this ship is Arnon Shorr, an observant Jewish filmmaker who’s been in the industry for years, and is excited that his project (he’s both writer and director) will offer onscreen diversity.

“They’re all Sephardi,” Shorr tells Jewcy about his Jewish pirates. “When was the last time you saw Sephardi Jewish characters in a mainstream Hollywood film? Somehow, according to Hollywood, we’re all Ashkenazi, and we’re either totally secular of Hasidic.

“They aren’t the typical ‘nebbishy victim’ that Hollywood often portrays,” he adds. “Quite the contrary— these were ambitious adventurers who sought opportunity for themselves and for their people.

Plus, most pirate stories are tired these days, he says, and Jews breathe new life into a genre that never seems to explore new themes.

“Jewish pirates are unique in that they have a motivation for piracy that’s far deeper and more complex than a simple thirst for gold or lust for adventure. The’re out for revenge, or a sort of vigilante justice against Spain— which was the maritime superpower of the era!

“And they’re also looking for opportunities in the New World to claim some land and settle their families— a safe haven, out of reach of the Inquisition. When have we ever seen a pirate story where the pirates have such grand and ultimately noble ambitions?”

It certainly is a step apart from the convoluted lore of the Caribbean franchise (no need for supernatural curses to create drama, here).

The short film is currently on track to begin filming in only a few weeks, but you can still help it get to its fundraising goal here.

Image via YouTube

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Taffy Brodesser-Akner talked to 24-year-old actress Zosia Mamet, who these days is always getting recognized for—and sometimes even confused as—her breakout role as the earnestly naive Shoshanna Shapiro on Lena Dunham’s HBO hit Girls. But she’s quick to point out that she’s no Shoshanna.

The most noticeable difference between the insecure Shoshanna and the self-assured, articulate Mamet, who’s trying her hand at theater next, is confidence. Mamet, who “says ‘like’ a lot and curses plenty” almost seems like the anti-Shosh (except for the ‘like’ habit), aware of exactly why her show has become the cultural sensation it has but maintaining that she, unlike her character, isn’t lost:

Still, she gets it, in theory. She certainly gets why “Girls” has hit a nerve. “Your 20s are weird, but nobody tells you that,” she says. “I think that’s what Lena’s trying to say. Everyone tells you that your adolescence, that’s going to be hard. High school is going to suck. But nobody tells you that your 20s are going to be rough, that basically you’re cast into the real world and told to figure it out.”

Here’s what else David’s daughter had to say:

On her grungy Girls audition: “I did my tape in one of my father’s oversize sweaters and no makeup and dirty hair,” she says.

On her casual WASP-dom: “The only WASPy part of me is that I like gin,” she says. “Oh, and I ride horses.”

On being really awesome: “if I were not an actress, I would be a pirate.”

Catch Mamet in all her Shoshanna glory when Girls Season 2 premieres January 13.

Zosia Mamet Is Still Getting Used to Being Your New Best Friend [NYT] Previously: ‘Girls’ Scene-Stealer Zosia Mamet Follows Dad, Makes Off Broadway Debut
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Shoshanna?

The post Zosia Mamet Curses, Loves Pirates, and Is Definitely Not A ‘Shoshanna’ appeared first on Jewcy.