40 | APRIL 29 • 2021 

ARTS&LIFE
FILM

F

rom a documentary 
about finding and 
remotely circulating 
priceless historical documents 
to a fictional comedy about 
bumbling bank robbers, this 
year’s Lenore Marwil Detroit 
Jewish Film Festival, run-
ning May 2-23, offers virtual 
viewers a variety of cinematic 
themes and relevant speakers. 

On the serious end of the 
spectrum, From Cairo to the 
Cloud: The World of the Cairo 
Geniza explains how a cache 
of medieval materials was 
uncovered in the storeroom 
(geniza) of an Egyptian syn-
agogue (Ben Ezra), divided 
mostly between Cambridge 
University in England and the 
Jewish Theological Seminary 

(JTS) in New York and 
made available to interested 
researchers through the web. 
David Kraemer, director of 
the JTS library and JTS pro-
fessor of Talmud and rabbin-
ics, appears in the film and 
will be interviewed online 
about the movie content and 
implications of the materials.
On the comedic end of 
the spectrum, Forgiveness
explores evolving reconcili-
ation attitudes of two inept 
conspirators, one who is 
imprisoned and one who gets 
away. The Israeli film, with 
English subtitles, is produced 
by Adar Shafran, who spoke 
remotely to Michigan audi-
ences when an earlier festival 
presented his production 
Douze Points.
This year’s event breaks 
away from the web for one 
evening (Thursday, May 6) by 
offering a drive-in opportu-

nity showcasing classic Marx 
Brothers films. The closing 
night (Sunday, May 23) pres-
ents a remote discussion by 
award-winning actors Carol 
Kane (Hester Street) and Amy 
Irving (Crossing Delancey) 
as they remember working 
with pioneering director Joan 
Micklin Silver. 

HISTORICAL 
SIGNIFICANCE
“From Cairo to the Cloud does 
an exceptional job in telling 
about what is arguably one of 
the most significant historical 
discoveries of the last centu-
ry-and-a-half,” said Kraemer, 
who will be interviewed by 
Susan Adelman, Michigan 
author of After Saturday 
Comes Sunday, which exam-
ines the history of Christian 
and Jewish communities in 
Mideast countries. 
“We have samples of every-

A Feast 
of Films
The Lenore Marwil Jewish Film 
Festival will be presented online.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

LEFT: Forgiveness. CENTER: From Cairo to the Cloud: The World of the Cairo Geniza. RIGHT: Carol Kane (Hester Street) and Amy Irving (Crossing 
Delancey) will discuss their memories of working with pioneering director Joan Micklin Silver May 23.

