Monday, February 3, 1997
EXHIBIT:
‘Translations’ shows how Jewish culture interacts with the
cultures of othersBy Trinh Bui
Daily Bruin Contributor
After centuries of fleeing and resettling, the challenges that
Jews face in their new countries are documented in "Translations:
The Jewish Diaspora On Film."
The Skirball Cultural Center for cultural education celebrates
survival and the Jewish experience with "Translations," a film
series that began on Feb. 2. The exhibit focuses on the impact of
Jewish culture on different societies and a perspective of the
Jewish lifestyle.
"Translations" is the second installment of the history of
Jewish heritage put on by the cultural center. For this exhibit,
six films from Europe and North America were chosen to portray the
different aspects of Jewish life. Although some of these films deal
with the theme through humor and others take a more serious angle,
all concentrate on how the Jewish culture interacts with a foreign
environment. Films for the exhibit were chosen from a stock of
international movies.
Pavel Cerny, an independent film curator, was in charge of
finding appropriate films for the exhibit. By working with
festivals and museums in San Francisco and New York, Cerny had the
opportunity to search through a collection of films that correlated
with Jewish Diaspora (the dispersion of Jews from Israel to other
countries). Originally, Cerny wanted to do something bigger than a
series of exhibits.
"I actually wanted to do a festival of Jewish films but the
center didn’t have the budget. Instead the funding for the series
was approved," stated Cerny.
Presently, he has created two exhibits for Skirball: this year’s
"Translations" and last fall’s exhibit on Jewish immigration around
the world. His choices for "Translations" revolve around Jewish
life outside of Israel and maintaining Jewish roots. Cerny hopes
the exhibit offers audiences insight on the heritage and culture of
Jewish life in different countries.
"We need to keep in touch with the lives of Jews around the
world. We have to humanize the experience so it will not be
abstract images of life but concrete examples of life in another
country," Cerny says.
As for the films themselves, they are diverse portrayals of the
Jewish experience. "The Golet In The Valley," a Czech film making
its West Coast premier with "Translations," presents the lost ways
of Jewish life through various nostalgic episodes. "The Angel
Levine," starring Harry Belfonte, is a fantasy piece about a
guardian angel who saves a man’s wife. James Woods appears in the
Canadian movie "Joshua Then and Now" as a Jewish writer smitten by
love. Other movies in the series deal with the Holocaust and family
relationships. Together these movies tell a complete story of the
Jewish experience. Most of the movies in the exhibit received
funding either from business donations or from their respective
countries.
"Translations" is part of Skirball’s plan to interpret the
Jewish experience, to nurture American Jewish identity and to
strengthen American society. Complimenting "Translations" are
various art and literature exhibits that attempt to examine Jewish
life from antiquity to the present.
Skirball presents many cultural programs including concerts,
lectures and exhibitions. Film and television is another medium
that Skirball likes to experiment with.
For this exhibit many Jews in the community and around the world
contributed their experiences of Diaspora. The series attempts to
take different slices of Jewish life on different continents and
society within the past 100 years. According to Assistant Program
Director Jordan Peimer, "Translations" deals with Jewish people
overcoming adversities.
"Despite different cultures, different experience, different
repression, different government, different freedoms I believe the
basic Jewish identity has managed to survive," says Peimer.
Peimer believes that Diaspora is an important topic in Jewish
life especially during Passover, an upcoming religious holiday.
Passover itself is associated with Diaspora because it celebrates
the Jews’ escape from slavery in Egypt. The dispersion of Jews
helped to shape the society and culture they settled in while
trying to preserve their individuality. Identity is often an issue
that is brought up in "Translations." The exhibit examines how Jews
exist and assimilate into a different society while still
maintaining a unique identity.
"I think that the two-pronged experience of maintaining religion
and maintaining different cultures is addressed in the festival. It
looks at the events of people around the world and finds that they
are similar."
A theme in all the films is to look at all the diverse
environments that Jews must face in urban and rural areas. Even
though they come from different backgrounds, they still share
similar experiences. If the audience can take only one message from
the exhibit, Peimer hopes it’s the message of survival.
"Translations" runs from Feb. 2 Â March 23. Tickets can be
purchased at the Theatix office or by telephone (213) 266-1767.