Mishmash of Jewish Films, Lectures, Podcasts, and Programs
Center for Jewish History: Past lectures and programs. Upcoming lectures in April:
Circus of Books: Documentary about a straight Jewish couple who ran Los Angeles’ most popular gay bookstore. Netflix (April 22).
Demon: An allegory of Polish-Jewish relations told through the story of a Dybbuk possessing the groom at a Polish wedding. Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube.
Dreaming of Jewish Christmas: The contributions of Jewish songwriters to Christmas music. iTunes.
Fauda: The third season of the Israeli hit series about an Israeli counterintelligence units operations in the Territories begins April 16. Netflix.
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles: The origin story of the beloved musical. Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube.
The Kiddush Man: Short about a boy who sneaks out of Shabbat services to snack from the Oneg buffet learns to understand why one member of the congregation gets so angry at him:
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels: Premiering April 26, this series follows a Jewish and Latino team of policemen investigating a murder in Los Angeles in 1938 amid a backdrop of Mexican-American culture there and Nazi and American fascists activities there. Showtime
The Saturday Night Seder: There’s still one more day of Passover to enjoy this entertaining, albeit unconventional, Seder.
Wholly Jewish: A program devoted to Jews of color. Click here and here.
Wish I Was Here: Underemployed actor no longer can afford to send his children to a Jewish day school and home schools them. His family copes with his daughter becoming a baal teshuva, the impending death of his father, and the sexual harassment at work of his wife. Netflix.
World on Fire: Dramatic series about how World War Two affected the lives of ordinary people, including some Jewish characters. PBS and YouTube.
*
Laurie Baron, Ph.D, is professor emeritus of European History at San Diego State University; a humor columnist (in his own name and in that of his dog Elona), and is an authority on Jewish-themed movies, particularly those dealing with the Holocaust. To see an archive of his stories, please click on his byline at the top of this page. He may be contacted via lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com