 SEPTEMBER 3 • 2020 | 37

C

haiFlicks, a new stream-
ing service dedicated to 
Jewish and Israeli enter-
tainment, has just launched and 
the timing is perfect. 
Created as a Jewish Netflix, 
ChaiFlicks has over 150 
acclaimed movies, TV series, 
documentaries, short films and 
theater selections, including 
multiple award-winning and 
classic films, and it is available 
on every major streaming 
device. It’
s founded by Neil 
Friedman and Heidi Bogin 
Oshin of Menemsha Films, and 
Bill Weiner, formerly of New 
Regency Productions.
“It’
s a one-stop-shop for 
Jewish entertainment,
” Oshin 
said. “We are thrilled to bring 
quality Jewish and Israeli pro-
gramming to the streaming 
universe.
” 
The inspiration for ChaiFlicks 
was a response to the real Net-
flix creating more of its own 

original content and purchasing 
fewer titles from distributors. 
Although Friedman sold two 
movies to Netflix in the past, 
the company declined 1945, a 
Hungarian drama about the 
Holocaust which brought in 
$1 million at the box office 
and earned 97% on Rotten 
Tomatoes. 
“We threw up our arms and 
said we can’
t run our company 
relying on others to make our 
acquisitions… It’
s time for us to 
be the masters of our own desti-
ny,
” he said.
In this COVID-19 pandemic, 
with movie theaters shuttered 
for an indeterminate amount 
of time, the founders knew this 
was the right plan at the right 
time. 
“We knew people are at 
home with nothing else to do. 
They can’
t go to the office and 
work. We should start this now,
” 
Friedman said.

With 80 Jewish and Israeli 
titles from Menemsha’
s library 
and programming acquired 
from the American Sephardi 
Federation and the Jewish 
Women’
s Theater, they built 
a catalog to appeal to every 
interest.
The most viewed title so far 
is Left Luggage, winner of the 
1998 Berlin Film Festival. Set 
in 1970’
s Antwerp, a Holocaust 
survivor is obsessed with finding 
the luggage filled with items he 
buried when he escaped from 
the Nazis. His daughter, a non-
observant young philosophy 
student, becomes a nanny for a 
Chasidic Jewish family and as 
the story unfolds, they all learn 
powerful lessons from each 
other. Left Luggage portrays the 
power of love to transform lives, 
and the heartbreak of sudden 
tragedy; it is one of those movies 
that you think about long after 
the movie ends. 
Another delightful show, Soon 
By You, is a hilarious, Friends-
style relatable story of a group of 
young Modern Orthodox men 
and women dating in New York 
City. From awkward first dates 
to building friendships, you will 
want to see every episode.
For those wanting to know 

more about Israel’
s food, the 
documentary In Search of Israeli 
Cuisine shows “the complexity 
of things here and the beauty of 
things here.
” From home chef to 
restaurant owner, many cuisines 
are displayed as they debate the 
question: “Is there an Israeli 
cuisine? 
”
This is just the beginning. 
According to Friedman and 
Oshin, three new titles are 
added each week. By the end of 
this year, they expect to have 300 
films, and by the end of 2021, 
they plan 1,000 titles and grow-
ing. Other plans for ChaiFlicks 
include more Sephardi titles, as 
well as theater, dance groups, 
orchestras and programming for 
youth. 
“We are trying to include 
everyone. It’
s a great way to get 
back in touch with your Jewish 
values,
” Friedman said. “Our 
culture is storytelling, right? You 
feel a connection with other 
people who have experienced 
the culture and the history that 
we have. These stories are in our 
DNA.
” 

For more information, please visit 
www.ChaiFlicks.com, download the 
ChaiFlicks app to your device and start 
a free 14-day free trial. Subscriptions 
are $5.99 a month, or $65.99 a year. 

One-Stop-Shop for 
Jewish Entertainment

ChaiFlicks streaming service has arrived.

CHERYL WEISS CONTRIBUTING WRITER 

Arts&Life

television

CHAIFLICKS

1945 –
ChaiFlicks

Dough –
ChaiFlicks

La Rafle – ChaiFlicks

The Women’
s Balcony 2 – 
ChaiFlicks

