"World Cinema: Israel"

My book, "World Cinema: Israel" (originally published in 1996) is available from Amazon on "Kindle", with an in-depth chapter comparing and analyzing internationally acclaimed Israeli films up to 2010.

Want to see some of the best films of recent years? Just scroll down to "best films" to find listings of my recommendations.

amykronish@gmail.com

Sunday, January 6, 2013

A Loving Look at a Holocaust Survivor



Sometimes the student films that come out of the film schools are real gems.  It is worth paying attention to Rosenzweig -- Born to Dance, directed by Keren Hakak.  

Avigdor lives in an assisted living facility in Jerusalem where he enjoys watching dance shows on television and doing tap dancing on the parquet floor of his room.  He grew up in Lodz, went to dance clubs and admits that as a young man he admired Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire! He was 20 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and was sent to Birkenau, where he says that tap dancing saved his life because he participated in a dance entertainment program for the Nazis in order to obtain additional food rations.

Today, at the age of 88, Avigdor is quite a charming man who still enjoys dressing up, a bit of ballroom dancing, and even doing the two-step with his walker as he strolls down the long halls of the assisted living facility.  

Rosenzweig -- Born to Dance (17 minutes, documentary) is available from the Ma'aleh Film School.

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