FESTIVAL REPORT: FIRST WEEK OF 5TH ANNUAL HOUSTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

Screening on the opening night (3/17) of the 5th annual Houston Jewish film festival, husband and wife directing duo Allen Mondell and Cynthia Salzman Mondell presented their documentary The Monster Among Us, a look at the resurgence of anti-Semitism in present-day Europe. Featuring interviews with various scholars and Jews from six different countries in Europe including Germany, Holland, France, England, Belgium, and Hungary, the film looks at how the interviewees have been directly affected by anti-Semitism, from physical assaults to more subtle but no less painful psychological attacks. Although briefly acknowledging neo-Nazism, the main target of The Monster Among Us is the strain of anti-Semitism being perpetuated by extremist Muslims. The underlying question of the documentary is “If the situation worsens, could another Holocaust be possible?”

A Q&A with the two directors and a moderator followed the screening and audience members raised some important questions, among them why did the directors not do more to differentiate mainstream / moderate Muslims from extremist / fundamentalist Muslims. With only 1 Muslim among the major interview subjects, The Monster Among Us lacks the kind of balance that would characterize a more serious examination of both sides of the issue. However, as the filmmakers themselves mentioned in the panel discussion, their main goal is to raise awareness about a disturbing new trend. Of course, some of the footage taken from Muslim television stations showing blatant propaganda and hate-filled rhetoric is undeniably disturbing and the scenes of young Muslims being taught these lies does not bode well for a peaceful co-existence of Jews and Muslims.

Although the filmmakers succeed in their mission to bring attention to an important issue the effectiveness of their message is undermined by their inability to clearly differentiate peaceful Muslims from extremist Muslims, which may lead some uninformed viewers to judge an entire group of people on the (admittedly terrible) actions of a minority.

On Saturday (3/21), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston screened Claude Miller’s A Secret to a full house. The French film explores the lives of a Jewish family before, during and after World War II, as a young boy discovers his parents’ past. Decent crowds continued to show up at Sunday’s shows. First, there was Children of the Sun, a documentary about the growing up in a kibbutz (a kind of experimental Zionist community whereas a centralized nursery, not the parents, raised the children). The home videos give a rare glimpse of life in the utopian village. If you miss it, there is another chance to see it this coming Saturday (3/28) at 9:00 pm. The second show of the day was Eran Riklis’s Lemon Tree. A Palestinian widow fights in court to keep her family’s lemon from being cut down by her neighbor, who is the Israeli Defense Minister. Lead by the phenomenal Hiam Abbass (Paradise Now), Lemon Tree is definitely one of the strongest films in this year’s lineup. The MFAH concluded the day with first-time filmmaker Hava Volterra’s documentary The Tree of Life, in which she uncovers the history of Jewish Italians while she learns more about her father’s past. The Tree of Life will be shown again on Sunday (3/29) at 3:00 pm.