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whatever is on the screen is some-
thing of my choice feels really good.
It's all me.
"Making films is endlessly educa-
tive, and even now, when I make
something, I always learn something
new," adds Podeswa, a single film-
maker consumed by his work. "It
feeds my creative juices."
Podeswa credits his Orthodox
Jewish upbringing for the film's sense
of empathy.
"Talmud teaches you a way of hav-
ing an inquiring mind, of how to
look at a subject from a lot of differ-
ent perspectives," says the Toronto-
based filmmaker.
"You are expected to observe the
Commandments, but at the same
time you are also encouraged to ques-
tion everything. That degree of intro-
spection and intellectual approach to
things had a very profound impact
on me.
"I'm not overly concerned
with flash or hipness, but I
am really concerned with
using film expressively to say
things that I find are impor-
tant. When I read about the
senses, it made me look at
the world in a fresh way and
realize all the bounty that we
tend to ignore or trivialize.
"That made me think
about our relationship to the
natural world and other peo-
ple. I think we tend to take a
lot of things in our lives for
granted and not just the senses," he
says.
Podeswa attended Jewish private
school in Ontario through high
school, donning tefillin every morning
and keeping kosher. He rebelled as a
teenager, "drifting" away from
Orthodox Judaism.
But he never rebelled against his
parents, he recalls. "My parents are
extremely moral people and I was
affected by that growing up. I could
never tolerate intolerance and I could
never tolerate malicious behavior."
Podeswa included one scene in
The Five Senses that hints at a charac-
ter's Jewish identity ("I like to reveal
things about characters in unexpected
ways to surprise people," he con-
fides).
"Including Judaism is something
I've thought about for a long time,"
says the filmmaker, who, growing up,
also attended a private Jewish sum-
mer camp in Michigan.
"There are other vaguely religious
things in the movie — a man going
into church, choral music and talk of

faith. No matter what their religious
affiliation or inclination in that direc-
tion, everyone is dealing with similar
issues of looking for love and looking
for understanding."
Podeswa's next film, based on Anne
Michaels' best-selling novel, Fugitive
Pieces, brings Jewish themes front and
center. With a Jewish character, a
Polish orphan who survives the war,
the epic follows the course of one
man's life through 50 years after the
Holocaust. It will be produced by
Robert Lantos (Sunshine).
"It's not like I was looking for a
Jewish story to tell," says Podeswa.
"But I was hugely moved by this
novel. It's a story about the Holocaust;
it's about the legacy of it and living
with it. It's about memory and tran-
scending the past and finding a way to
deal with unimaginable things. I
found the book extremely poetic and
moving."

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Nadia Litz portrays Rachel, a teenager
who, distracted by her fascination with
watching others, unwillingly loses a
child entrusted to her care.

Podeswa's father is Polish and also
was orphaned, so the filmmaker has a
special connection with the novel.
But don't expect a sweeping, senti-
mental adaptation.
"I hope the film is going to be
really moving and powerful, but it's
not going to have a thousand vio-
lins," Podeswa asserts.
"I don't like being exhibitionist
with emotional things. I find that,
in the end, the most moving and
profound experiences you have are
the quiet ones that sneak up on
you." ❑
— San Francisco writer Michael
Fox contributed to this article.

The Five Senses, rated R, opens
Friday, Aug. 11, at the Maple Art
Theatre. (248) 855-9090.

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