| |
Films
The Columbus Jewish Film Festival will present "Bagels & Docs - A Day of Documentaries" on Sunday, March 14,
at the Gateway Film Center, 1550 N. High St., near The Ohio State University campus.
The first film scheduled is
Menachim & Fred, which will begin at noon. It is the true story of two Jewish brothers who, along with their
parents, are expelled from their home in the small German town of Hoffenheim by an SA officer, Emil Hopp. Hopp then
took over their house and raised his family there.
The brothers are sent to a French orphanage, and shortly after the war, the older brother, Fred, then 16, left
for America and found that assimilation was easier than his Jewish identity. The younger brother, Menachem, then 13, made his way to Palestine
and continued to live a traditional Jewish life. Each had many unresolved issues with the other, including feelings of abandonment and guilt.
The men avoided their history until letters from their mother surfaced after 60 years, and forced them to confront their past.
The documentary travels with them to Germany on an emotional tour of the many homes and refuges they had, including their original family home, a
hiding place when they were driven out on Kristallnacht, an orphanage and a camp. Many surprises are hidden in this documentary, including
that Dietmar Hopp, one of the founders of business software giant, SAP, was the son of Emil Hopp. He in turn, along with his brother and sister, face their
past, try to make up for the terrible deeds of their father and, together with the Mayer brothers, give hope to the future generations.
The documentary is based on the book written by the two brothers,
Are The Trees
Blooming Over There?
Fred Raymes (right), one of the two brothers featured in the movie, will be present at the screening, and will talk about his experiences during
a discussion at 1:30 p.m., after the film. Fred was saved from deportation by the
Quakers, and he will talk about his family's assimilation, as well as their difficulty in confronting issues around the Holocaust. You will
want to hear about his very personal and somewhat difficult reunion with his brother, Menachem, who also is featured in the film. Now retired
from aerospace engineering, Fred Raymes is involved in Holocaust education in the Sarasota, Fla. area, among other activities.
The second film, beginning at 2:30 p.m., is The Jazz Baroness,
the tale of Pannonica Rothschild de Koenigswarter (aka "Nica") and her patronage of jazz pianist and composer, Thelonious Monk.
The Jazz
Baroness was written, produced and directed by Hannah Rothschild, a
British filmmaker who also is Nica's great-niece. Interestingly, Rothschild knew little about Nica beyond what was known in the public and
whispered within the family: that Nica lived with jazz musicians and more than 300 cats, that 20 songs were written for her, and that Charlie
Parker died in her apartment. Rothschild decided to find out the real story and this film documents that ten-year search to solve the puzzle
of Nica's life.
Born in London in 1913, Nica (at right) was the youngest of four children of banker and entomologist Charles Rothschild. Growing up at Waddesdon
Manor, she lived among the British and French aristocracy, eventually marrying Baron Jules de Koenigswarter. She fell in love with Jazz music, although Jules
did not favor it.
In 1951, the beautiful married mother of five left home and went to New York in search of the man who wrote 'Round Midnight - Thelonious Monk (below, left). She
found him and this is the extraordinary account of what happened next. She went to prison for him and gave up everything familiar. But why?
Helen Mirren reads Pannonica's words and Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, TS Monk Junior, Roy Haynes, Curtis Fuller, Chico Hamilton, Clint
Eastwood, Dan Morgenstern, Ira Gitler, Harry Columby, The Duchess of Devonshire and other luminaries tell their side of the story.
Any jazz fan viewing this film - which has been shown both on the BBC and HBO
- is sure to come away with a more nuanced picture of Nica, Monk and the jazz scene of New York City in the '50s
and '60s.
Coming soon: The complete schedule of films, venues, events and ticket information for the 2010 CJFF,
scheduled for Nov. 7-9 and Nov. 14-16.
Back to top
|
