arts & life
f i lm
Belle and Sebastian
Chagall-Malevich
continued from page 37
He also hopes to change the
world.
His Don’t Divorce the Children,
about the effects of divorce on
children and told from their
point of view, became mandatory
viewing in many family courts
and won a Peabody Award.
With In Search of Israeli
Cuisine, produced through
Sherman’s Florentine Films, he
reflects on the words of many
chefs: “You can’t be my enemy
when sitting at my table.” (A
member of the Israeli film crew
did not want to participate in
a scene involving a Muslim
family lunch, he notes; “I don’t
think he’d ever been inside a
Palestinian home. Afterward, he
thanked us and a year later he
said the film changed his life.
continued from page 37
8 p.m. In Search of Israeli
Cuisine (see previous page).
Talk-back with Roger Sherman
follows the film. (Flint: 5/15)
TUESDAY, MAY 10
2 p.m. Morgenthau A reveal-
ing look at one of this country’s
most influential families.
8 p.m. The Prime Ministers:
Soldiers and Peacemakers An
insider’s look at Yitzhak Rabin
and Menachem Begin.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11
2 p.m. Sabena Hijacking: My
Version A retelling of the 1972
38 April 21 • 2016
That’s why I make films and why
I made this one.”)
Sherman also set out to make a
film that has nothing to do with
politics and war, but instead tells
a story that no one knows.
But first, he had to be talked
into going to Israel.
Sherman is friends with cook-
book author Joan Nathan, who
invited him on a food trip to the
country. He wasn’t interested.
But she insisted, and eventually
Sherman gave in: “She practically
dragged me there,” he admits.
He was immediately amazed
by the food.
“Israel is a tiny country with a
different microclimate every 10
miles,” he says. Mountains with
snow and then, just a drive away,
deserts. Between the land and
the people who have immigrated
from around the world, bringing
with them their diverse cooking
traditions, Israel has some of the
best and most delectable food in
the world.
“The street food is delicious,
the bread is as good as anything
you’ll find in Paris,” Sherman
says. Restaurants are open at all
hours of the night — with wait-
ing lines. He tasted foods he’d
never even imagined existed, like
bitter almonds, and drank an
impossibly tasty drink of fresh
pomegranate and orange juices.
He learned that the cherry
tomato was invented in Israel,
that the country is the world’s
largest exporter of kiwis and that
Israel is growing things “that
would seem to be impossible”
and developing a seedless lemon.
“Going to Israel for me that
first time was an epiphany,”
Sherman says. And he knew he
had the makings of “an ideal
film.”
But two ingredients were miss-
ing: A guide to host the film
(“Because I wanted to follow
someone,” he explains. “I didn’t
just want a series of scenes”) and
financing.
It takes a lot of money to make
a documentary, and Sherman
was responsible for securing
most of it himself. He raised
funds, he put in most of his own
savings and “Kickstarter got us to
the finish line.” (He’s still looking
for financial backing, though, so
he can have his film shown on
PBS throughout the country.)
Black September hijacking.
5 p.m. Rabin in His Own
Words The late prime minister’s
life, using archival footage, pri-
vate letters and home films.
8 p.m. 10% My Child A
young boyfriend, a divorced
mom, a jealous father and a pre-
cocious little girl form a family.
Talk-back with Rabbi Tamara
Kolton follows the film.
attack from Gaza, uses music to
cope with life. (Flint: 5/18)
6:30 p.m. Special Event
screening of Deli Man at the
Hygrade Deli (640 Michigan
Ave., Detroit). Tickets are $10
and include food, followed
by film screening at 7 p.m.
Presented by Detroit City Moishe
House and Repair the World. For
tickets: werepair.org/detroit
8 p.m. A Borrowed Identity
A Palestinian boy moves in with
a Jewish friend, with unimagi-
nable consequences.
the Nazis.
THURSDAY, MAY 12
2 p.m. The Polgar Variant
Three girls are raised from birth
to be chess masters.
5 p.m. Rock in the Red Zone
The surprising way residents of
Sderot, a town constantly under
FRIDAY, MAY 13
Noon Bulgarian Rhapsody
Three teens confront life under
SUNDAY, MAY 15
Noon Raise the Roof
Reconstructing the Gwozdziec
Synagogue of Poland.
2 p.m. Belle & Sebastian A
boy and his dog help resistance
members and Jewish refugees.
5 p.m. Gett: The Trial of
Viviane Amsalem A woman
must battle Israeli courts and
rabbis to secure a divorce.
Talk-back with Rabbi Aaron
Bergman follows the film.
8 p.m. The Farewell Party
Friends ask a resident at a retire-
ment home to build a suicide
machine.
As to the guide, a mutual
friend introduced the film-
maker and the restaurateur when
Sherman was dining at Michael
Solomonov’s restaurant Zahav in
Philadelphia.
The meal began with hummus
— yes, you’ve had hummus, but
not like this, Sherman says.
Then came a series of salads,
including one with beets. “And
you’ve had good beets,” Sherman
says. “But these were remark-
able.”
Then out came the chef him-
self. Michael Solomonov was
born in Israel and raised in
Pittsburgh. He’s a James Beard
award-winning chef and the
co-author of Zahav: A World
of Israeli Cooking, which he
co-wrote with business partner
MONDAY, MAY 16
2 p.m. Imber’s Left Hand A
documentary about artist Jon
Imber, who continued to paint
despite his ALS. (Flint: 4/26)
5 p.m. Once in a Lifetime A
teacher in the inner city encour-
ages her students to enter a con-
test focusing on the Holocaust.
Talk-back with Rabbi Josh
Bennett follows the film.
8 p.m. Apples from the
Desert A woman, raised in an
Orthodox home, seeks her own
identity. (Flint: 5/17)
Flint Only: Rosenwald The
story of the former president of
Sears.