“A Taste Of ReelAbilities” jews d in the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit’s Opening The Doors and DeRoy Testamentary Foundation are proud to partner with The Lenore Marwil Detroit Jewish Film Festival NO ORDINARY HERO: THE SUPERDEAFY MOVIE SUNDAY Featuring Academy Award Winner Marlee Matlin and John Maucere Director: Troy Kotsur 22 APRIL 1:00 PM USA-2017-79 min.- English, American Sign Language(ASL) Sunday, April 22 at 1:00pm The Berman Center for the Performing Arts SuperDeafy, portrayed by deaf actor, John Maucere, must reveal the man behind the cape to find true love and inspire a young deaf boy, who is being bullied, to believe in himself. A beloved character and role model, SuperDeafy has a worldwide following with t-shirts, posters, dolls and now a movie. The film marks the first time in cinematic history that a SAG feature film is directed by a deaf director and executive produced exclusively by deaf executive producers. Speaker: John Maucere John Maucere, deaf actor, comedian and ASL advocate, portrays a super Hero in the film “No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie”. He has appeared as Adam in ABC’s Switched At Birth, in NBC’s Law and Order and is the creator and host of Live in Hollywood. He founded Deafywood, an ensemble for deaf entertainers and has performed the National Anthem and America the Beautiful with Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson as a spokesperson for the National Association of the Deaf. John was recognized by Los Angeles for exemplary service to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community. Cost: $13 AT EYE LEVEL Directed by Joachim Dollhopf and Evi Goldbrunner Germany-2017-98 min.-English Subtitles Thursday, April 26 at 5:00 p.m. THURSDAY APRIL 26 5:00 PM The Berman Center for the Performing Arts Michi 11, has lived in a group home since his mother’s death, where he has made friends, but is also bullied. He is determined to locate his father, “Tom” after discovering a long lost letter from his mother. Michi’s excitement turns to surprise when he sees that Tom has dwarfism and is the same height. However, together they discover they have more in common than they think and their lives change in unexpected ways. This film is a testament to the remarkable relationships that are possible when perspectives are broadened and individuals embrace each other’s differences. Speaker: Danny Woodburn Danny Woodburn, is an actor and comedian, best known as Mickey Abbott, Kramer’s friend, on NBC’s Seinfeld. Danny has appeared in 30 films and 140 TV shows. He is the recipient of the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Harold Russell Award and 2016 Norman Lear Lifetime Achievement Award. Danny raises awareness of the need for inclusion and understanding of people with disabilities. Cost: $13 Discussion and Dessert Reception with actor following each film. For information on ReelAbilities contact Ellen Maiseloff at 248-432-5530 or sbaruch@jccdet.org For tickets: jccdet.org/filmfestival “A Taste of ReelAbilities” is part of The ReelAbilties Disabilities Film Festival featuring award-winning films dedicated to promoting awareness, appreciation and celebration of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities. Each film will have post screening discussions led by actors. 22 March 15 • 2018 jn Hillel Day School Students Get Results The Matrix Theatre Company in Detroit has removed My Name is Rachel Corrie from its current season following a letter-writing campaign by Hillel Day School eighth graders. Several students had researched the theater as an organzation to support during Campaign for A Cause and Meira Goldman were dismayed to learn that the play about an activist killed by an IDF bulldozer was on the roster. Although an investigation found that Corrie’s death was an accident, the play purports that she was brutally crushed to death. “It gave a negative view of the IDF,” student Meira Goldman said. She and other students wrote letters to the theater express- ing that the play was not a good choice for a company whose mis- sion is to foster social justice. This week, the students received a letter from Megan Buckley-Ball, Matrix artistic director, stating the play will not be performed. “It could never be my intention to present a play that might make a large portion of our community feel alienated,” she wrote. The company will present Kayak, which explores similar themes of the personal costs of activism, in its place, she said. “It’s amazing that she switched it,” Goldman said. “We’re only in middle school! But it made me see that we can still effect change.” •