Nonfiction filmmaking comes in many forms. Among the hottest documentaries each year are films that expose a hidden story about a cover-up or other wrongdoing, seeking to inspire change by gaining publicity and exposure. They are important and worthwhile, and very often controversial. Equally valid are documentaries that dramatize events in a way meant purely to tell a story rather than to achieve an objective, presenting as clear-cut and straightforward examination using archive footage and interviews. This is one genre that comes closer to being objective than any other.

The Oslo Diaries, which competes in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, covers the beginnings of the talks that would lead to the historic Oslo Accords. It starts out as a sort of thriller like Man on Wire, in which two Israeli professors and three members of the Palestine Liberation Front meet in secret in Norway to discuss a possibility road towards peace. Initial confrontations are expectedly tense, but common ground soon emerges as they speak to each other as people without the burden of government involvement, preparing a template to bring back to those in power.

This is a popular subject right now, on the heels of the Tony-winning play Oslo, which focuses heavily on the Norwegian diplomats responsible for starting the process, something the film does not, and an announced feature film adaptation produced by Marc Platt. The Oslo Diaries is fittingly named, since much of its dialogue comes from the diaries of those involved in the talks, used as a framework for the film’s chronology. Those who are still alive – or have recently passed away, such as Shimon Peres – are interviewed, and speak openly and honestly about their preconceptions and the difficulties they had seeing eye-to-eye with those considered either occupiers or terrorists.

The magnitude of this start to the peace process is significant: this was the first time that the Palestine Liberation Front and the government of Israel acknowledged each other in an official capacity. On television, Yasser Arafat eagerly reached out his hand while Yitzhak Rabin hesitated before shaking it. For the two of them to stand next to each other, with Bill Clinton serving as a unifying force, was momentous, and the road to that moment is explored in great detail beginning with those whose names and faces aren’t known to the world.

What this film shows, more than anything, is that the people in power on both sides of this long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict were able to come together to reach an agreement despite many obstacles. When the initial documents are signed, protests erupt, and it becomes clear that the battle is not between Israelis and Palestinians but rather between those who want peace and those who don’t, regardless of their national or religious identity. Watching Palestinians place olive branches on Israeli tanks to indicate their desire for peace is inspiring. Learning of the organization of a protest for peace is reminiscent of much of what we see today in American society: people marching for rights rather than against them. In his final interview for the film, Shimon Peres puts its best: “No war is ever finished unless it’s being replaced by peace.”

This film, sadly, is far from the end of the story. Watching Yitzhak Rabin sing the words to “Shir LaShalom” — “Song for Peace”— along with Peres just moments before he was assassinated is especially heartbreaking. Knowing that these events took place more than two decades ago and little has changed is disheartening, and this film serves more as a chronicle of history than any call to action since those involved know that there is no easy solution.

The Oslo Diaries is certainly less controversial than the last documentary filmmakers Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan brought to Sundance. Censored Voices featured recorded testimonies of Israeli soldiers lamenting their misdeeds during the Six Day War, something that, while seemingly true, was seen as easy fodder for critics of Israel to use to denounce it is an imperialist state with an illegal military. Loushy and Sivan seem determined to continue presenting stories that might not always be warmly received, like Sivan’s recent editing of the disturbing documentary Death in the Terminal, which explores the beating and killing of an innocent Eritrean refugee mistaken for a terrorist after an explosion at a bus station. Extensively featuring Bibi Netanyahu in archive footage in The Oslo Diaries railing against Rabin and then being elected prime minister after his death is far from a subtle message that they believe his government isn’t helping the peace process.

There are many stories to tell about Israel and the conflict in which it remains eternally engulfed, and this spotlight on an unlikely early step forward is an optimistic and detailed one, presented as a meeting of two sides in a middle that for so long couldn’t have existed. It’s informative, affirming, and positive while things are going well, and a reminder that there is a way to see the other side.

The Oslo Diaries has three more showings in Park City and Salt Lake City later this week.

Photo by Saar Yaacov, courtesy of Sundance Institute

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Greetings from snowy Park City, Utah, where the 2017 Sundance Film Festival is in full swing! Over a dozen venues around town are showing movies from as early as 8:30 a.m. to well past midnight every day. Jewcy has been keeping an eye out for any films that seem especially Jewish, and there’s one that stands out far from the others. Menashe, from director Joshua Z Weinstein, is showing as part of the NEXT category of innovative films spotlighted during the festival.

This film couldn’t be any more Jewish. Not only is all the dialogue in Yiddish (with subtitles, of course), it’s so deeply immersed in the Hasidic community in Brooklyn that anyone unfamiliar might think it was set in another country – or another time. The film’s protagonist, a well-meaning widower and father described unfavorably by those around him as a schlemiel (no subtitles necessary for that Yiddish), has an older cell phone capable of recording video and occasionally drives the delivery van for the grocery store where he works, but otherwise, there are few instances of modernity – or secularism – to be found here.

Menashe is a strictly observant ultra-Orthodox Jew, but he still finds himself as an outcast withitn his own community. He wears tzitzit and a black kippah, but not a hat or a coat. When he visits the Ruv, as the respected rabbi is called, instead of placing a donation in the tzedakah box, the Ruv slips him money, knowing that he is facing hardship. Miserable at his job, Menashe has also lost custody of his son Rieven since the Ruv has determined that he would be better off in a two-parent home with Menashe’s brother-in-law Eizik, who never liked Menashe and thinks very little of him.

Every part of this movie is built around Menashe and his identity as an observant Jew. He may disagree with a prospective match about whether women should be allowed to drive – as permitted or prohibited by the rabbinic authorities – and clash with his boss about whether unwashed lettuce should be considered kosher because of the potential for worms, but there is no point at which Menashe questions his commitment to his faith. He strives to impress the Ruv and respects his authority, and he doesn’t feel his attire should make him any less of a Hasid. When he tries to be a good person and put on a memorial for his late wife, his neighbor scoffs at his request for a kugel recipe and reluctantly gives him one that she deems “bachelor-proof” that he still manages to screw up.

While this film is so intimately and explicitly Jewish, its story is a very relatable one, however specific its particular events may be to this community. There are no title cards or introductions to explain that this story could easily have happened and that these people really do live and exist in their own giant bubble in a borough in New York City. Audiences may be confused about certain traditions and behavior, and fortunately this film more than makes up for any insider content with a truly human and universal narrative.

A major part of what makes this film work is the sympathetic lead performance from Menashe Lustig, who achieved some fame for publishing a few YouTube videos. The real-life Hasid brings with him a tremendous authenticity, which has to do with his own life story inspiring Weinstein’s film. Menashe is far from an impressive man, never seeming to do the right thing even if though he tries – not always that hard – yet he has an endearing energy about him, and it’s impossible not to relate to his experiences and the way he’s perceived by others. Ruben Niborski, who plays Rieven, is also a find, and this almost entirely Hasidic cast is just what this film needs.

More than anything, it’s especially cool that one of the most talked-about (and well-reviewed) movies at Sundance this year is this Yiddish-language project that might seem completely insular and unappealing to the masses at first glance. Anyone who sits down to experience the film should appreciate that it’s much more than that, bringing culture gaps and language barriers to offer up an honest drama that doesn’t sugarcoat or tone anything down. Keep an eye out for this one, since it seems unlikely that its energy and positive reception will end at Sundance.

Film Still via Sundance.org

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Ben Schwartz, aka Jean-Ralphio Saperstein from Parks and Recreation, announced on his Tumblr that a short film he starred in, I’m a Mitzvah, is headed to the Sundance Film Festival. Mazel tov, Ben!

The film’s plot goes a little something like this:

The short was written by Ben Berman and Josh Cohen, directed by Ben Berman and the music was composed by Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. It follows a young American man (me) who spends one last night with his deceased friend while stranded in rural Mexico. The story is dark and beautiful and was so much fun to film.

“Your eyes are about to piss tears,” is what Jean-Ralphio would say before showing you this trailer. Really, it looks wonderful. Watch, enjoy, and get excited for what will probably be a very limited theatrical release (sigh…).

Mitzvah Teaser from Abso Lutely on Vimeo.

(Photo by Young Hollywood/Getty)

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A documentary based on the life and death of the late, great rebellious soul singer Amy Winehouse is sitting in the film incubator. Asif Kapadia, the award-winning director of Senna, will reportedly weave never-before-seen archival footage into his narrative of Winehouse’s musical ascent and tragic decline.

The Wino doc has yet to be titled, because it has yet to be sold—international buyers will bid at the Cannes Film Festival in May. According to the New York Times‘ ArtsBeat blog, the Winehouse family said that although they had been approached many times by filmmakers interested in telling Amy’s story, they believed Kapadia and the film’s producer, Gay-Rees, would “look at Amy’s story sensitively, honestly and without sensationalizing her.”

Winehouse, a London-born Jew, was found dead at her home from alcohol poisoning in July 2011 at the age of 27. No doubt the singer’s fans will be waiting with bated breath for a glimpse at the new footage—hopefully the film will bring with it some unreleased Winehouse tracks too.

In other Winehouse news, Beyonce recorded a version of the late artist’s hit song, “Back to Black” for the upcoming blockbuster film, The Great Gatsby, which Winehouse’s father, Mitch, was reportedly not happy about. “I don’t think she brings anything to it,” he told the British press, adding, “I wasn’t asked for my permission if they could record it.”

He has since agreed to its use in the film, but only if the studio pays up: “They have got to pay for the privilege, which is what they are doing. I can’t tell you how much it is but it’s a lot of money.”

(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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The 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah was full of fantastic films and celebrity appearances. From among the more than 100 movies and countless screenings scheduled, here are the top five Jewish moments:

1. The Way, Way Back (Premieres)

While discussing her role as a water park employee in this hilarious comedy, actress Maya Rudolph said at a Q-and-A session, “I’m usually a funny person, but when it comes to this movie, I’m a kvelling Jew.”

2. Fill the Void (Spotlight)

In this Judaism-centric film from Orthodox director Rama Burshtein, Shira is devastated by the death of her sister during childbirth and must decide whether she wants to marry her widower, a decision which would be acceptable, if the rabbi approves, in her ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv community.

3. Kill Your Darlings (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

Daniel Radcliffe’s Allen Ginsberg arrives at Columbia University in 1943 and meets his roommate, who asks him, “Are you Jewish? I’m getting really good at being able to tell.” Later, a sexual encounter in the library produces a similar statement from the librarian.

4. Afternoon Delight (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

In Jill Soloway’s first feature-length project, Kathryn Hahn’s Rachel gets drunk while hanging out with her fellow JCC moms and lets slip the derogatory nickname she and her friends have for one especially religious member of their group: Kosher Amanda. When Rachel confronts her later, Amanda tells her that she doesn’t even keep kosher, since she likes cooking and doing so would prevent her from making some of her favorite dishes.

5. Concussion (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

Lesbian mom and new prostitute Abby (Robin Weigert) gets nervous when a client turns out to be someone she knows, citing the fact that she’s on the board of her synagogue as one of her main concerns for being outed.

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