And, now, it has come to an end, on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
I missed the very start of it, but that's because the newsletter had not arrived in time.
(Thanks, Adam, for keeping me on the newsletter mailing list all these years!)
By the time the Savannah Jewish Educational Alliance news arrived, it was already March 8th and the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival was beginning its second week!
I had immediately contacted mi amiga Barbara, thinking that surely Sandy had told her.
Nope, Boo didn't have a clue!
As good fortune would have it, one of the movies was playing that very night.
Even better, the student she was to tutor that evening had canceled on her.
Would I like for her to pick me up and take me to the JEA for the film?
Why, yes, very much so!
I know, it sounds like some idyllic romp in the country...
but, that's not it at all.
A widower is living in a state-run senior center, after losing his pension to employer mismanagement of the fund, and also losing his house.
But his legal-eagle daughter-in-law starts a seed in his mind: sell the state-allotted marijuana to the public, then take the money to buy back his house.
He even gets others who are 75+ to chip in their free packages of cannabis and soon has a smokin' hot business!
Well, until a rowdy cop sniffs them out!
Hahahaha! Hahaha!
(Like those puns? I couldn't resist!)
She and I had both liked it very much, and we had agreed: this was not a film that would have been shown in the Savannah Jewish Film Festivals of past years.
Then again, that's not what the JEA was presenting for 2022.
For their first SJCAF, films were only part of the entertainment!
The comedy show, some cooking classes, a concert, some meals: all played a role, along with the films, to entertain, to educate, and to enlighten.
Barbara and I agreed to meet for the Thursday afternoon matinee.
I was the only local at a table full of transplants, mostly from Chicago, so the chat was mostly about real estate.
Along with the conversation, there was a very nice salad, plus apple strudel for dessert!
The reason for the German pastry became obvious at movie time... "Schönes Schlamassel", was that day's screening, and the German title translates to "A Fine Mess"... and so it was!
He loves her, but she only loves guys who are Jewish, mostly due to misplaced guilt from something her family had done during WWII, so he pretends to be Jewish.
Meanwhile, his friend loves her friend, but she loves a married man who has been stringing her along for years.
It's all fun and games until someone gets pregnant!
Yes, indeed, quite a fine mess!
Barbara had enjoyed that one, too!
(That was another Tuesday, as it happens, so that tutoring job has issues.)
This movie was one of the few with a familiar name in it: Ed Asner!
In "Tiger Within", he was a Holocaust survivor who stumbles upon a homeless teen with a swastika on the back of her jacket.
He had just visited his wife's grave and, for her sake, he decided to try to help the girl.
Good movie, but the most surprising aspect was the discovery that punk rock has made a comeback, after forty years gone!
Amazing!
The lemon chicken dinner before the screening was pretty amazing, too!
(smile!)
So, there was a brief hiatus while St. Patrick's Day took over the rest of the week.
It would be another Tuesday before another dinner and movie.
But I didn't go alone!
And we dined on New York-style deli sandwiches (meaning rye bread, a mound of corned beef, shaved lettuce, mustard, and dill pickle spears), homemade potato chips, a cucumber-tomato salad, and chocolate chip cookies - my treat!
"A Kaddish For Bernie Madoff" was the filmed version of the musical the artist had been performing for about five years at the time, based on her artist residency on Wall Street during that tumultuous time.
Why had she been so taken with the story?
The man looked like her father, with his kind eyes.
It was just that simple: a Jew who looked like he could be related to her, also a Jew, and who had preyed on Jews.
And after the movie, after the artist had gotten the requisite number (ten) of fellow artists to sing kaddish with her for the excommunication of this man who had disgraced his race, after the credits began to roll, something different happened.
No one clapped.
Not one single person.
Nor did folks linger behind to talk a little after the movie.
That was definitely something different.
The bfe and I talked about it in the car, and I impressed upon him how different these films were from the usual fare at these particular film festivals.
Then, again, this isn't the SJFF; it's the inaugural SJCAF.
Perhaps, in order to show a wider scope of Jewish life - the cannabis-smoking pensioners, the shiksa dating only Jews, the swastika-wearing punk rocker, and this musical centered on a money-grubbing Jew - the name change of the festival was needed.
I know it ended back on an even keel with the old format.
(Trust me, that's an inside joke; you'll have to watch the film.)
"1618" answered the question about the lack of Jewish culture in Portugal.
Set in a harbor town in the northern part of that country, it showed that those who were still Jewish by birth (i.e., born of Jewish mothers) were now "new Christians", being careful to hide any vestiges of their heritage.
Then a representative of the Pope comes to town, seeking to rid it of any people who were still keeping their Jewish names and driving a wedge between the tradespeople and the mayor, as well as the Catholic church.
Matinee movies don't work for working folks!
But that meant I had another good lunch - always such a very good deal at just $7!
This time, it was meatloaf that would have rivaled my velvety version, with a most generous serving of three pieces!
Yes, I ate every one of them, too!
I ate all of the roasted potatoes, as well, and each and every green bean!
How wonderful to have a meal I didn't make!
Plus, thanks to Vera and Jim and Penny, I was able to trot out the story of my name, as well as give a plug for travel to Rome.
(smile!)
That was while we all waited to see what dessert was forthcoming.
Cookies? Cake? Pastry?
None of those baked goods.
Fresh pineapple, fresh and tart oranges, fresh cantaloupe.... oh.
Good, but... not quite "wow".
Good meal and good company, though, so that's what mattered!
(smile!)
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