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US. Rep.
Barney Frank
will discuss
the upcoming
documentary
on his life.
`Let's Get Prank'
E
arly in his life, Barney Frank, now the Jewish
Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, used to
worry more about being a Jew than being gay. He thought
there was a "glass ceiling" against Jews that was blocking his
advancement. Then he realized the glass ceiling was affect-
ing him more as a homosexual.
But the controversial Frank overcame the odds, graduat-
ing from Harvard Law School, getting elected to the
Massachusetts State House, teaching, and now serving
more than 20 years in Congress, holding high positions on
the House Judiciary and Financial Services committees.
His story will be told in a new documentary film, Let's
Get Frank: The Barney Frank Story, by New York produc-
er/director Bart Everly. Jewish film festival audiences will
get a preview of the film in a 10-minute "trailer" to be
shown 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, in Commerce Township,
Frank and Everly will both be there to talk about the film,
which is still being edited and will be 70-80 minutes long.
The screening of The Times Of Harvey Milk, a documen-
tary about another gay politician, follows. The San
Francisco supervisor and the city's mayor were shot and
killed at city hall by a former supervisor in 1978.
Frank met Everly at a fund-raiser around the time of the
impeachment proceedings against former President Bill
Clinton. "We decided it would be very interesting to cap-
ture the events on film, while following Rep. Frank around
in his role as No. 2 person on the Judiciary Committee,"
Everly explained.
"It's very flattering to be the subject of the film," said
Frank from his Washington, D.C., office. "It's an excellent
production, centering around the impeachment hearings,
but Bart has gone way beyond that, covering how life can
be tough as a Jew and a gay." (Frank, 62, had a traditional
Jewish upbringing with a bar mitzvah at an Orthodox syna-
gogue.)
A filmmaker for 10 years, Everly, 42, a Purdue University
graduate, once won a prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival
for a feature titled Are You Anywhere? He spent more than
three years shooting 80 hours of film of Frank in
Washington and in his congressional district in Newton,
Mass.
Frank is shown crafting legislation, speaking caustically
against Republicans, with his mother and with his compan-
ion. The film includes interviews with Alan Dershowitz,
Ted Koppel, Cokie Roberts and Ellen DeGeneres.
"It was easy to broaden the film into all aspects of
Barney's life - mainly the Jewish issue and the gay issue
- and how they have affected his life and political career
as he works to pass legislation for all Americans," said
Everly.
"The film also shows how the Clinton investigation was a
witch hunt and a waste of $70 million."
Part of the film is about Frank's attempt to keep his
homosexuality a secret. In 1987, he publicly acknowledged
his homosexuality to his constituents. In 1990, Congress
reprimanded Frank for a well-publicized episode in which
he hired a male prostitute.
The film was funded by a grant from the New York
Foundation for the Arts, said Everly, but he still needs
about $8,000 to finish it.
"The Harvey Milk documentary and Let's Get Frank are
parallel films about gay Jewish politicians, and the films
have important things to say about the struggles in their
lives," said festival director David Magidson.
"The films depict how Frank and Milk didn't hide, but
got involved and made something of their lives. They didn't
let the Jewish and gay issues marginalize them."
- Bill Carroll
Lelli's of
Auburn Hills
welcomes you to
experience Detroit's
Annual Rollback.
In celebration of this
event, Lelli's will "Roll
Back" it's prices to
1992...
One Decade Ago!
tzi
We specialize in Prime
Steaks, Chops
and Seafood.
"Time of
Favor" earned
an Oscar
nomination
for Best
Foreign Film
in 2001.
Try our Famous Filet
Mignon Dinner served in
the Traditional Italian Six
Course Meal for
$2300
Your Choice of Veal Lelli,
Marsala, Picatta or
`Thne Of Favor'
Parmigiana for
$ 850
J
oseph Cedar, 33, lean and intense with a yarmulke
perched on his close-cropped hair, is the writer and
director of Time of Favor, Israel's contender in last year's
Oscar race for Best Foreign Film, the first Israeli film in 16
years to win a spot among the five final nominees. Only four
other Israeli films have made it that far in the last 50 years,
and none has ever won an Oscar.
Time of Favor - or Hahesder (The Arrangement) as the
film is known in Hebrew - features fine performances by
some of Israel's top actors, a combination of low-key
romance and nerve-tingling action, an authentic insider's
portrayal of Israel's settler community, and a plot that
appears ripped from today's headlines on the turbulent
Middle East.
It will be shown 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, in
Birmingham; 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, in Commerce
Township; and 5 p.m. Monday, May 6, in Ann Arbor.
The film is set in an isolated West Bank settlement, sur-
rounded by the stark Judean hills and desert. The head of
the settlement's yeshivah is charismatic Rabbi Meltzer -
played in a bravura performance by filmmaker Asi Dayan,
son of Moshe Dayan and a fervently secular leftist - who
foresees a time when Jerusalem's Temple Mount will be
cleared of Muslims and restored to Jewish hands.
Meltzer has convinced the army to establish an all-
Orthodox unit attracting the finest yeshivah students, who
will form the "spearhead" - for what purpose is unclear.
Commanding the unit is Menachem, played by hunky
Aki Avni, who is both Orthodox and a professional soldier.
Among his men is the frail Pini (Edan Alterman), who has
the making of a brilliant talmudist, and to whom Meltzer
C__,1
Our Rollback Menu has many
N
more Delicious meals you can
choose.
Roll Back Dates
June
13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24,
27, 28, 30
July
I, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18,
19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29
August
ter
1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15,
16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29,
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The Rollback Menu is not Valid with any
other promotions or coupon.
Family Owned Since 1939
Call for reservations
248.373.4440
885 N. Opdyke
(112 Mile North
of Silverdome)
Auburn Hills
TIME OF FAVOR on page 74
r
4/19
2002
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