THE FIRST YIDDISH MOVIE IN 60 YEARS: A GLIMPSE
INTO THE PRIVATE REALM OF THE ORTHODOX JEW
Dateline: January 24, 2006 ... Monsey, NY
Contact Name: Yakov Kirsh, Kosher Entertainment Productions
Contact Phone: 845-705-1456
E-mail: agesheft@yahoo.com
Web Address: http://www.agesheft.com
Men in Black Make a Movie: Kosher Entertainment Productions Presents "A Gesheft"
MONSEY, NY - January 24, 2006 - The latest arrival on the independent
filmmaking scene is two Orthodox Jews, wearing the traditional black
garb, who put up their last dollars and a year's worth of Sundays to
make an action-packed drama about a religious school flunky run amok.
This 90 minute film was produced by Kosher Entertainment Productions.
"A Gesheft" is the brainchild of two brothers, Yakov and Mendy Kirsh,
a bookkeeper and a real estate agent respectively, who have no prior
filmmaking experience. "We decided that religious Jews needed their
own movies far from the dangerous influence of Hollywood," comments
Mendy Kirsh. "There's no treyf (things that are non-kosher) in this
movie!"
The film is full of colorful images of Orthodox Jews in their own
environment, speaking their own language. The entire film is in
Yiddish. The Yiddish spoken in the film is a deeply accented,
religious Yiddish sometimes called Hyemish. This is a world of
insiders where everyone speaks Yiddish. The ambulance driver, the
doctor, the construction worker and the gangster all speak Yiddish.
Even when an African-American police officer calls in on his radio, his
English spoken lines are subtitled in Yiddish!
This was the first movie-making experience for all of the actors in
the film and many of the filmmakers. Even so, some of the best actors
in this film are some of the least trained. The head of the yeshiva (a
religious day school) exudes a rare comical earnestness. The
filmmakers gambled much of their savings making this film. The
director recalls, "I was worried about my wife, I spent most of our
money and left her at home alone to take care of the three babies
while I was out shooting."
The community of Monsey, densely populated with Hassidic Jews, was
largely supportive of the filmmaking effort. The film was shot, on
location, in religious schools and business establishments and most of
the people involved were practicing Jews. Personnel from the local
ambulance services and officers from the Ramapo Police Department have
significant roles.
The one professional filmmaker on the project was Roland (Ruvn)
Millman, an editor at Bright Screen Productions. Millman took on the
project because of his personal interest in the Yiddish language.
"I've dreamed of making a modern theatrical film in Yiddish for
years," Millman recalls.
A thriving industry of popular Yiddish filmmaking existed until the
end of World War II. With the destruction of secular, Yiddish-speaking
communities, film studios no longer considered films in Yiddish a
lucrative business. The Orthodox Jewish Community is not normally
interested in popular media but it has shown unexpected enthusiasm
regarding this film's release. There has been a steady exchange of
chatter and information about it over the Internet. The official
website, http://www.agesheft.com is receiving a steady flow of hits
since its first posting. Much of the debate centers around the fact
that any use of television in an Orthodox home is strictly taboo.
What is kosher about this Kosher Entertainment? You won't find any
women in this movie. Orthodox Jewish men aren't allowed to be
entertained by female actors or even hear a female voice. The only
mention of a woman in the film is when the main character's wife is
taken to the hospital on a stretcher. She is played by a male actor
covered head to toe with a white sheet. Yakov Kirsh, the film's
artistic director, talks about the Jewish ideals he intended the film
to relate. Kirsh says, "It teaches us lessons about Middos (Jewish
ethics), the proper perspective on life as well as lessons in good
conduct."
"But the film was made for entertainment," says Kirsh. It has plenty
of action: there are high-speed car chases, bribery, break-ins and
even a car crash. "When a car crashed into a van all the Hassidim
standing around gave a gevaldik cheer!" remarks Kirsh.
"A Gesheft" in English means "The Deal". Peretz, the main character is
a wheeler dealer who finds himself straddling his Orthodox Jewish
background and what he calls, "the real world." Peretz's color and
flamboyance, in this film is what gets him in trouble and also makes
him so appealing. His bold threat (to his creator perhaps?), "Nobody
messes with Peretz Grossberg!" may be the beginning of his downfall.
Rabbi Wolf is the sage and counterpoint to Peretz. He holds fast in
his belief in the "creator of the universe" even as he sees his life
crumble before his eyes shackled in a damp cellar. In the end Peretz
and Rabbi Wolf find their lives intertwined in what Wolf describes as
"bashert" (G-d's master plan). They are left to teach each other about
their place on earth.
It is a bit out of the ordinary to make a film targeted to a community
that shuns the use of television sets. "It's a little bit of
chutzpah," confesses Kirsh, "but if it sells and I get out of debt I
may do it again." But he adds with a self-conscious chuckle, "Dont
tell my wife."
"A Gesheft" is available on DVD at http://www.mostlymusic.com. The
filmmakers are hoping for a festival tour in the coming year.
To view the movie trailer, visit: http://www.agesheft.com
For more information, contact:
Yossel Grossman
Actor, Main Character
917-560-4701
joe2gro@yahoo.com
Yakov Kirsh, Director
Kosher Entertainment Productions
845-705-1456
agesheft@yahoo.com
Mendel Kirsh, Producer
Kosher Entertainment Productions
973-930-9272
mendyk@optonline.net
Roland Millman, Editor
Bright Screen Productions
201-418-8980
roland@brightscreenproductions.com
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