by Malka Percal

Book People. The Alper JCC in Miami/Dade County is launching its 27th annual Jewish book festival, which runs through November 13. Featured speakers include Dalia Sofer, just awarded the Whiting Writers’ Award for fiction, and Lisa Rosenbaum on Oct. 23; Forward arts editor Alana Newhouse on Oct. 30; and Judith Viorst, Judy Gold and Kate Moira Ryan on Nov. 2.
Living Dolls. Maya Escobar’s new exhibit at the Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis includes five dolls created by the artist and accompanying films:

Modeled after MySpace profiles and YouTube video blogs, the films are supposed to appeal to high school aged girls, who are accustomed to the culture of self-promotion that is prevalent in such online communities. In addition, the series is very self-reflective of the artist as it looks at the varying roles that identify her as a daughter of a Guatemalan father and a Jewish mother.

Mame Loshn. KlezKamp, a Yiddish music retreat, this year focuses on “Mame Loshn: Women in Yiddish Culture.” Among the guest artists is klezmer drummer Elaine Hoffman Watts, 2007 NEA National Heritage Fellow. At the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa, Dec. 23-28.
Other Israel. The Other Israel Film Festival, running from Nov. 8-15 in New York City, showcases “the lives, images, voices, and stories of Muslim, Christian, Druze and Bedouin, defined collectively as Arab Citizens of Israel.” Along with award-winning new films, filmmakers Lily Rivlin and Nitza Gonen are slated to appear.
Off the Wall. An art exhibit in San Francisco was canceled due to the title of its catalog, which included the word “Zionist.” Artist Alan Kaufman and the catalog essayists, self-dubbed “the Zionist Five,” are protesting the decision.
Hoo Ha. If you missed the OyHoo Festival’s comedy and burlesque act Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad at Joe’s Pub on Oct. 23, you can still catch OyHoo’s popular Yiddish Singalong, with such guest artists as Adrienne Cooper, Basya Schechter and Debbie Friedman, at Rodeph Shalom synagogue in NYC on Oct. 25.
Now Playing in Boston. The Boston Jewish Film Festival, Nov. 1-Nov. 11, presents Praying with Lior (dir. Ilana Trachtman) on Nov. 4.
This Just In. Fox News reports that actress Halle Berry made an off-camera joke about Jewish noses.
Hava Nagila Week. Yup. We’ll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Moshe Idelsohn’s ubiquitous song in NYC from Oct. 28-Nov. 3.

Posted on October 26th, 2007 Filed under: Uncategorized |