APRIL 20 • 2023 | 43

“The film excerpts will be shown in 
Yiddish with English subtitles. I’ll be 
singing the original Yiddish lyrics from 
these shows.
”
Yashinsky, whose Yiddish work moved 
him from using the first name of Michael 
to the first name of Mikhl, was a European 
history and literature major at Harvard 
University while tied to experiences with 
grandparents that stirred his interest in 
Yiddish. He learned the language more 
thoroughly while attending various 
educational programs inside and outside 
the United States.
Yashinsky writes for Yiddish publications, 
translates Yiddish literature and teaches 
Yiddish in addition to appearing in musical 
productions.
“I’ll be singing a few songs from the film 
Mamele, which starred Molly Picon and 
was made in 1930s Poland,
” said Yashinsky, 
a member of Actors Equity Association. 
He explains that the film is about an oldest 
daughter who takes charge of the family 
after her mother’s death.
“Yiddish has become the language of my 
artistic soul,
” he said.

ISRAELI BASEBALL
Kramer, one of three directors of the film 
Israel Swings for Gold, is looking forward 
to hearing audience comments about the 
movie being shown April 30 as part of the 

celebration of the Israel anniversary.
“This movie for me is really personal,
” 
he said. “This is the second film I’ve 
made about these players. I know a lot of 
them personally, and I love these guys. 
They’re talented, smart and funny. I’m 
so invested in them it’s almost like I’m 
looking at friends.
“They’re doing something extraordinary 
— competing in the Olympics under pretty 
unusual circumstances representing Israel. 
They face a lot of anti-Israel sentiment and 
antisemitism. 
“I watch it with this sense of wonder 
about how they’re able to manage 
everything — the social and political 
pressures and the pressures of playing a 
game at the highest level.
”
Kramer, 51, who has been making films 
for some 25 years with Ironbound Films, 
explained that this is not a film restricted to 
baseball or sports fans. Rather, it tells about 
the relationship between Israeli Jews and 
American Jews.
The filmmaker, raised in New Jersey, 
started in community college as a history 
major and decided he wanted to make 
documentaries. He moved on to the 
University of the Arts in Philadelphia and 
found early film work in New York.
Although he has made a variety of films 
on various topics unrelated to Judaism, 
he also covered the topic in the movie 

Resistance: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans. 
“I’ve screened many of my films in 
Michigan,
” he said. “I’m working on one 
about antisemitism on college campuses.
”

MORE VARIETY
Among the other 20-plus films being 
shown throughout the festival are Paris 
Boutique, a rom-com that unravels a 
mystery; The Way to Happiness, a story 
about a Holocaust survivor who becomes 
a restaurant owner; Back in Berlin, a tale 
that unravels family secrets revealed in a 
suitcase; The Students of Umberto Primo, an 
exploration about Nazis and a school, and 
iMordecai, a placement of Judd Hirsch as 
the star finding adventures after getting his 
first iPhone.
“We are excited to share so many 
incredible movies from around the world,
” 
said Eric Lumberg, chairman of this year’s 
festival. “There is nothing like watching 
these great films together with friends and 
family. The laughs are bigger; the tears 
seem more heartfelt, and the bonds we 
build with one another are stronger and 
more relevant now than ever.
” 

Details
The Lenore Marwil Detroit Jewish 
Film Festival runs April 27-May 
7 at the West Bloomfield Jewish 
Community Center (JCC) and 
has repeat screenings May 8-9 
at Emagine Royal Oak, 200 N. 
Main Street. Most tickets are $12. 
To get more information on the 
entire program, go to jccdet.org/
filmfestival/. To purchase tickets, 
go to theberman@jccdet.org or call 
(248) 406-6677.

Mikhl 
Yashinsky 

GATELY WILLIAMS