arts&life

film

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It’s going to be one of the highlights of the
film festival.”
Menkin began making On The Map
when an Israeli television station asked
him to research the championship — a
single event that changed the country, he
says.
Menkin was the perfect candidate for
the project, as both a huge sports fan who
— as a child, hoped to become a soccer or
basketball player — and an Ophir (Israeli
Academy) award-winning filmmaker
whose works include 39 Pounds of Love;
Dolphin Boy; Je T’aime, I Love You Terminal;
and Wisdom of the Pretzel.

continued from page 51

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10

2 p.m. Vita Activa: The Spirit of
Hannah Arendt A thought-provoking
documentary about the woman who
coined the term “The Banality of Evil,”
exploring where she lived, worked,
loved — and was betrayed.
5 p.m. Our Father A nightclub
bouncer with frustrated dreams of
becoming a father finds himself entan-
gled in the Israeli underworld.
8 p.m. PATRON NIGHT
On the Map The true story of an
underdog Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball
team’s victory over the Soviets in the
1977 European Championship.
Followed by a discussion with
writer/director Dani Menkin.
A strolling dinner reception with
the filmmaker will be held for Film
Festival patrons at 6:30.

THURSDAY, MAY 11

2 p.m. Persona Non Grata The
extraordinary story of Chiune
Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat who
saved the lives of more than 6,000 Jews
in WWII.
5 p.m. Ben-Gurion, Epilogue Never-
before-seen footage of the 82-year-old
former prime minister, who reflects on
the loss of his wife, his health, politi-
cal legacy and hopes for Middle East

52

April 27 • 2017

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Menkin was 7 years old in 1977, and
the game is one of his earliest childhood
memories.
“Everyone remembers it because
everyone watched it,” he says. “It was
much more than a sports victory — it was
something important in the growth of our
nation. It changed everything for us, and
not only in basketball.”
Some of the American-born players,
including Tal Brody and Aulcie Perry, are
interviewed in the film, which also fea-
tures comments by Natan Sharansky and
Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador
to the United States.

New Jersey native Tal Brody always
dreamed of becoming a basketball star
(or an FBI agent) and had a chance to
play with the NBA before making aliyah in
1970. Brody, who today serves as Goodwill
Ambassador of Israel, is the man who
proclaimed after the team’s victory: “We
are on the map! And we are staying on the
map — not only in sports, but in every-
thing.”
African American player Aulcie Perry
converted to Judaism and made aliyah.
Today a restaurant manager, he sponsors
a basketball camp for children in Israel
and coaches one of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s

youth teams. Perry is the focus of Menkin’s
next film.
All the Maccabi Tel Aviv players were
optimistic but also realistic. “We hope
to lose by not more than 20 points,” the
team’s coach said before the game.
And then this combination of “hard
workers who were competitive, all very
intelligent, a very eclectic group of players
with a wonderful coach who knew how to
take a team and make it greater than the
sum of its parts, with the whole country
behind them, with a lot of spirit and a
little bit of luck,” actually won.

peace.
8 p.m. The Last Band in Lebanon
Set against the backdrop of the Israeli
withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, this
offbeat comedy follows three reserve
soldiers, all members of a military
band, who discover they’ve been left
behind enemy lines.

the film, writers Sheldon Cohn and
Gary Wolfson and director Michael
Manasseri will discuss the movie.
8 p.m. The Women’s Balcony A mis-
hap at a Jerusalem synagogue causes
a major rift in a devout community
in this rousing, comical feminist nar-
rative.

FRIDAY, MAY 12

MONDAY, MAY 15

Noon Moon in the 12th House A
story of family, tragedy, secrets and
reconciliation focusing on two sisters.
Lanny is 21 and cares for her disabled
father. Older sister Mira left home long
ago and now works at a popular night-
club in Tel Aviv.
2 p.m. Amor After years of wander-
ing, Daniel returns to his childhood
home in Israel. He is back to see Lila,
the love of his life, who is bedridden,
with no hope of recovery. Can he give
her the release she cannot achieve
alone?

2 p.m. Summer Solstice In wartime
Poland, two young men, a German and
a Pole who are in love with the same
girl, face painful choices and conse-
quences.
5 p.m. Operation Wedding The
true story of a group of Jewish dissi-
dents who, in 1970, were arrested only
moments before hijacking a Soviet
airplane and flying to freedom. Among
those arrested: Sylva Zalmanson, who
received 10 years in gulag, and Edward
Kuznetsov, who received the death
sentence.
A talk-back with filmmaker Anat
Zalmanson-Kuznetsov will follow
the film.
8 p.m. A Grain of Truth A Polish
prosecutor investigates a series of mur-
ders, with strange clues invoking the
historical blood libel myths, in a small
town.
Followed by a talkback with Rabbi
Aaron Bergman.

2 p.m. The Pracht Inn Holocaust
survivors at a 1960s Jerusalem hostel
battle loneliness and the past while a
widower encourages fellow residents
to keep alive memories of lost loved
ones.
5 p.m. How To Win Enemies A
young lawyer brings home a woman
he meets at a cafe, only to discover the
next morning that his money — and
the woman — are gone. He uses skills
learned in detective books to solve the
mystery in this witty comedy.
Followed by a talkback with Rabbi
Arturo Kalfus.
8 p.m. Norman Lear: Just Another
Version of You A fascinating portrait of
the influential writer and TV producer
responsible for All in the Family, Maude
and The Jeffersons.
8 p.m. at MOCAD SEED: The
Untold Story A portrait of passionate
seed keepers working to protect this
12,000-year-old food legacy.
Followed by discussion with Rabbi
Ariana Silverman and a panel of
local experts.

SUNDAY, MAY 14

2 p.m. The Pickle Recipe Joey Miller,
desperate for money, tries to steal his
grandmother’s famous pickle recipe.
This light-hearted comedy takes
place in Metro Detroit and includes
scenes filmed at Temple Shir Shalom,
Clover Hill Park Cemetery, Woodward
Avenue and Hygrade Deli. Following

TUESDAY, MAY 16

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17

2 p.m. SEED: The Untold Story A
portrait of passionate seed keepers
working to protect this 12,000-year-old
food legacy.
5 p.m. A Quiet Heart A concert pia-
nist escapes the pressures of the music