The FJC partners with the Milken Archive: The pursuit of art and $40,000 in prizes! Apply Now! The Milken Archive of Jewish Music in collaboration with the Foundation for Jewish Culture is launching Eye Meets Ear: Visual Arts Competition for Emerging Read More »
Culture Shuk 
Galeet Dardashti and The Naming
Six Points Fellow Galeet Dardashti’s new album The Naming drops in September. Culture ensues. From Galeet. Hi there! September is an exciting time for me, as the long-awaited release of my album “The Naming” is finally here! Please mark your calendar for September 14 and spread the word. Read More »
New Six Points Fellows Announced!
Congratulations to the new cohort of Six Points Fellows ! Music Fellows : Judith Berkson , Judd Greenstein , Alicia Jo Rabins Visual Arts Fellows : Liana Finck , Hadassa Goldvicht , Oded Hirsch Performing Arts Fellows : Hannah Bos , Sylvan Oswald , and Netta Yerushalmy . Read More »
Jewschool on “Budrus”
Interesting Jewschool.com blog entry about watching our 2009 Film Fund grantee Budrus in the West Bank: Seeing “Budrus” in Ramallah . Read More »
Pablo Utin and the New Israeli Cinema
Haaretz profiles visiting Israeli artist Pablo Utin and his impact on contemporary Israeli film. Lone Voice in the Written Void There’s no doubt that Israeli film is flourishing. A slew of films made here in recent years have been well received at home and abroad. Read More »
“There is Nothing Like Jerusalem”: Time Out Covers the JCF
Even Nicole Krauss says that there’s nothing like this city. Read More »
DCJCC Writing Contest
COMMUNITY PRIZE FOR WRITING ON A FESTIVAL THEME TO BE AWARDED AT WASHINGTON DCJCC WASHINGTON, DC – The Washington DCJCC’s Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival proudly announces the COMMUNITY PRIZE FOR WRITING ON A FESTIVAL THEME writing contest. Read More »
100 Voices: A Journey Home on 9/21
On Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 7 pm in theatres nationwide, you will experience 100 Voices: A Journey Home , a documentary based on the largest group of Cantors to ever return to Poland, where it all began, paying homage to the Cantorial tradition. Read More »
Six Points Fellowship in LA Job Opening
Six Points Associate Director, Los Angeles-based Organization The Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists, the leading supporter of emerging artists creating new Jewish culture, has a part-time opportunity (4/5 time) for an Associate Director based in Los Angeles. Read More »
A Film Unfinished: An Early Look
A Film Unfinished hits NYC next week and already the buzz is building. Reprinted from Tablet Magazine. by A.J. Goldmann Months before the Warsaw Ghetto was to be liquidated, Joseph Goebbels commissioned a documentary about Ghetto life. Read More »
A Feeling For Family
A closer look at Jerusalem fellow Shelley Jordon and her work, reprinted from OSU Art Blog Terra . Personal relationships drive Shelley Jordon’s experiments with painting and animation By Angela Yeager When Shelley Jordon was a little girl growing up Read More »
Sneek Peek: “Inventing Our Life,” New From Toby Perl Freilich
Catch a glimpse of grantee Toby Perl Freilich ‘s new film, Inventing Our Life , posted at Tablet Magazine . By Toby Perl Freilich My documentary film, Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment , has its roots in my own biography. In 1968, my sister, then 18, moved to Israel and settled on a kibbutz. My parents were horrified. Read More »
Elise in San Francisco
Elise’s Shabbat in San Francisco. It was my parents’ yahrtzeit last week. Julian, on our staff, found a shul where I could say kaddish. Congregation Magen David was closest to the hotel – a short 3 miles, for which I needed to leave at 6: 30am. Read More »
A Film Unfinished
Recently-uncovered propaganda film and archival footage of the Warsaw ghetto surface in Yael Hersonski’s A Film Unfinished , coming soon to New York City. Read More »
Report from the SFJFF
Elise, in San Francisco for the Jewish Film Festival, gives her impressions of the panel: “Is Dialogue Possible?: How Films Help Us Talk About Israel (Or Not) “ : Report from San Francisco Attended a most interesting panel at the conclusion of the SFJewish Film Festival today. Read More »
Let’s Go to the Movies!
From “Surviving Hitler: A Love Story” It’s a big day at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival , with screenings of grantee films Surviving Hitler: A Love Story (1pm) and Budrus (4.15pm) today. Read More »
Chelsea Art Walk
Thursday, July 29th, from 5: 00 – 8: 00 pm, join the first annual Chelsea Art Walk for a dedicated tour of 25 galleries, including Andrea Meislin’s , gourmet foodstuffs, and fun. . Read More »
James Snyder and the Jewish Museum
Congratulations to James Snyder, about whom and whose work revamping the Jewish Museum the New York Times published a grand profile this week: On Monday the museum opens new galleries and public spaces. There will be far fewer objects on display, with twice the space to view them, as well as richer links and explanations. Read More »
Professor Natan Meir Answers the 4 Questions
Natan Meir, one-time recipient of an FJC doctoral dissertation fellowship and currently assistant professor of Judaic Studies at Portland State University, just published his first book: Kiev, Jewish Metropolis: A History, 1859-1914. He sits down with CultureShuk to answer the 4 Questions. 1. Read More »
Wednesday Events!
Lots of happenings today in the world of Jewish Culture. Here’s what’s on offer from some of our favorite grantees. And remember to visit www.localendar.com/public/jewishculture to keep your calendar up to date on the latest grantee events! Four Seasons Lodge at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, NYC, 6: 30 p.m. Read More »
The Art of Town Planning
The Jerusalem Post just published this piece on urban planner Josh Sirefman’s experience in the Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship’s pilot program at Mishkenot Sha’ananim. Read on for a great discussion of the challenge of conceiving projects in a historical, densely populated, and politically charged city. Read More »
Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship: The Movie
Check out the video recap of the Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship’s Pilot Program . . Read More »
An Open Letter to Nicholas Kristof
Lunch with Naim Awasat July 14, 2010 Dear Mr. Kristof, Apparently we overlapped last week at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, where I was overseeing the pilot Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship. Read More »
Author Irina Reyn Answers the 4 Questions
Irina Reyn, acclaimed author and FJC grant recipient for her novel What Happened to Anna K. takes a stab at the 4 Questions, CultureShuk style. 1. What has been the most pivotal experience for you in the last five years? This is a hard one. Publishing ANNA K. is certainly up there. Read More »
Blog entry from art fellow Shelley Jordon
Sketch of Jerusalem by Shelley Jordon Thoughts on her experience from Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship art fellow Shelley Jordon: Jerusalem is a complex and fascinating city; visually stunning and historically rich. Read More »
More Kudos for “Budrus”
2009 Film Fund grantees’ Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha’s Budrus had a very busy weekend in the press. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times namechecked it in his Sunday op-ed, “Waiting for Gandhi ,” and the Jerusalem Post marveled at the film’s success — especially in light of the fact that it has yet to be released. . Read More »
What is “Hava Negilah?”
Film Fund grantee Roberta Grossman ( Blessed is the Match ) has been making great progress on her new documentary about the mysterious, inescapable Hebrew song, Hava Negliah. Check out the new trailer on YouTube, in which she collects answers from people in Jewish delis: . Read More »
Final Report from Elise
Elise’s last report from the Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship’s pilot program, which ended this week. July 8 Sunday afternoon we met James Snyder, head of the Israel Museum, for coffee at their little café. Read More »
Photos from Kidron Valley Master Plan Project
Big update from Elise. Photos from the tour of the Kidron Valley with environmental lawyer Richard Laster, planner Muhammad Nakhal, and entrepreneur Naim Awasat. Click to view slideshow. . Read More »
Announcing: New (and enormous) database of Israeli films is now live
The Israel Film Center announces the launch of the largest online resource for Israeli films, intended to highlight the already-blossoming Israeli film industry, which continues to draw international attention and acclaim. Read More »
Opportunity Alert! NYC UrbanCanvas Design Competition
Registration is open now for the NYC UrbanCampus design competition to beautify construction sites with temporary art. From www.nyc. Read More »
“My So-Called Enemy” a Highlight of the SFJFF
Or so predicts IndieWire : Of the documentaries, Lisa Gossel’s “My So Called Enemy” stands out. In 2002, 22 Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls came to the U.S. to participate in an American “peace camp.” Gossel’s film follows six Jewish and Palestinian girls over seven years, and recounts their individual experiences. . Read More »
Charming Hostess Presents: The Bowls Project
Music ensemble Charming Hostess collaborates with the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco to present the Bowls Project, an interactive sound sculpture/immersive performance installation offering an ecstatic investigation into sex, magic and secrets of the home. Read More »
More From Jerusalem
Update from Elise in Jerusalem: July 1, 2010 Hiriya’s CEO Danny Sternberg This week we went to Ariel Sharon Park where the CEO Danny Sternberg (a biologist by training) gave us a fantastic tour of what I consider to be one of the ultimate examples of Israeli ingenuity. Read More »
Amir Gwirtzman’s Southern Swing
The Jewish Week reports on Visiting Israeli Artist Amir Gwirtzman’s four-month tour through the South. Growing up along the shores of the Mediterranean, where a football is round and the sport is played by men in shorts on a grass-covered pitch, you don’t learn much about the huddling, helmeted brand of the NFL game beloved on the bayou. Read More »
Dispatches from Jerusalem
Blog post from Elise in Jerusalem June 28, 2010 So much to digest. Environmental Lawyer Richard Laster organized an incredible group of people working across borders and languages to figure out solutions to arguably any cities most pressing problem – water and sewage. Read More »
Grantee Film Screenings this Weekend
TWO great chances to see TWO great grantee films! Budrus at Silverdocs – Saturday the 26th Budrus is back at the AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival in DC for a second day, following its tremendous reception on Thursday. Click for more info. Read More »
Shelley Jordon’s Sketches
Two portraits of other Jewish Cultural Fellowship participants by Graphic Arts Fellow Shelley Jordon: . Read More »
Is Dialogue Possible? How Films Help Us Talk About Israel (…Or Not)
Announced today, this San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Special Event features the films of grantees Ronit Avni ( Budrus ) and Lisa Gossels ( My So-Called Enemy). Read More »
More from the Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship
From Elise in Jerusalem: June 19, 2010 So much has happened since I last wrote – my family is here so I’ve been a bit distracted. The wonderful thing (one of the) about Israel is how many different terrains you can cover in a couple of hours. We went to Kibbutz Ein Gedi , abundant in flora, astonishingly so given the desert all around. Read More »
‘Disturbing the Universe’ debuts on POV 6/22
From POV : POV’s 2010 Season Kicks Off with 2008 Film Fund grantees Emily and Sarah Kunstler’s William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe Next Week When they were small, Emily and Sarah Kunstler idolized their father, who was famous for having championed the underdogs in some of the most important civil rights and anti-war cases of the 1960s. Read More »
Film & Video Festival – Call for Entries
From Film Fund.org : Call for Entries: Eligibility To be eligible, projects must have received full or partial funding for production, distribution and/or outreach from a private, community, operating, or corporate foundation; a corporate giving program; or a donor network. The grantmaker does not have to be a member of the Council or GFEM. Read More »
Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship – First Thoughts from Elise
Our fearless leader, Elise, is in Israel this moth superintending our Jerusalem Cultural Fellowship pilot program at Mishkenot Sha’ananim. She will be blogging about her experiences and impressions. Here are her first entries. Read More »
Love, Hate, and the Jewish State 3.0
Check out this great New Israel Fund event, co-sponsored by us, on June 24: Do your social justice values impact the way that you relate to Israel as the Jewish state? Social justice and Israel are often polarizing and separate conversations. Read More »
Historian Jonathan Gribetz Answers the 4 Questions
Jonathan Gribetz recently completed his PhD in History from Columbia University. His dissertation was entitled Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the ‘Arab-Zionist’ Encounter: A Study of Mutual Perceptions in Late Ottoman Palestine . Read More »
Vocalist Galeet Dardashti Answers the 4 Questions
Middle Eastern vocalist and composer Galeet Dardashti, a Six Points Fellow, is the first woman in her family to continue the family tradition of distinguished Persian and Jewish musicianship. Read More »
Sukkah City
From 07 grantee Roger Bennett : Friends, family, colleagues, countrymen: We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Sukkah City , an international design competition we have co-organized Joshua Foer to radically reinvent the sukkah within its traditional design constraints. Read More »
Doctoral Dissertation grantees announced!
Congratulations to our 2010-2011 Doctoral Dissertation Fellows! Dina Danon (History, Stanford University), a historian of modern Sephardi history, is writing on “The Transformation of the Jewish Community of Izmir. Read More »
‘After the Cup’ Opens in NY & LA
2007 Film Fund grantee AFTER THE CUP: SONS OF SAKHNIN UNITED opens Friday, May 21st in New York City Cinema Village 22 East 12th Street Showtimes: Fri-Thurs @ 1: 00, 3: 00, 5: 00, 7: 00, 9: 15 Opens Friday, May 28th in Los Angeles Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 9036 Wilshire Blvd. Read More »
Salon No.5 on the Jewish Channel
As the Jewish Channel reports: The woman at the center of the controversy over ordaining women as Orthodox rabbis, Rabba Sara Hurwitz, joins the conversation at The Salon, sharing her perspective on the Rabbinical Council of America’s “2010 Convention Resolution: Women’s Communal Roles in Orthodox Jewish Life. Read More »
J Street Movie Nights, featuring Film Fund grantee “Encounter Point”
There’s been so much buzz around Budrus , why not revisit Just Vision’s previous Tribeca hit — and Lynn and Jules Kroll Fund for Jewish Documentary Film grantee — Encounter Point ? It’s a bit like re-watching Gladiator before racing off to see Robin Hood . Read More »
Advice from Goldberg-winner Gary Shteyngart
The new site Days of Yore posted a lengthy and detailed interview with Goldberg Prize winner Gary Shteyngart , who now teaches at Columbia. He has some valuable advice for young writers: I always tell my students to find a non-profit job because non-profit means that there is no bottom line! Or some kind of municipal job. Read More »
“Budrus” Keeps Making Headlines
Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival screning After debuting for Queen Noor and then at the Tribeca Film Festival , 09 Film Fund grantees Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha’s Budrus keeps getting bigger. Read More »
Scholars Lunch with Jonathan Gribetz
2009-2010 Doctoral Dissertation grantee Jonathan Gribetz is poised to defend his nearly-complete PhD thesis, Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the ‘Arab-Zionist’ Encounter: A Study of Mutual Perceptions in Late Ottoman Palestine . Read More »
Building an Audience for “Budrus”
2009 Film Fund grantees Julia Bacha and Ronit Avni’s contender for the World Documentary Prize, Budrus , has been generating buzz for weeks leading up to its debut on Sunday the 25th at the Tribeca Film Festival . Tickets for the premiere and the first showing are sold out, though some remain available for showings later in the week . Read More »
Four Questions with Idan Cohen
Idan Cohen premiered his Swan Lake in New York last Wednesday, and I got to sit down with him beforehand to ask him the “Four Questions. Read More »
JSEP Events April 13-14
Today Paula Fass, Margaret Byrne Professor of History at UC Berkeley, gave the annual Lazaroff Lecture hosted by the History Department at Ohio University, home of JSEP Fellow Jarrod Tanny . Fass is the author of Inheriting the Holocaust: A Second-Generation Memoir recently published by Rutgers University Press. Read More »
NYFA Boot Camp
via NYFA : The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is now accepting applications for the “Artist as Entrepreneur” Boot Camp. Applications are due on April 26 and classes begin June 12, 2010 . Read More »
PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature
PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature New York City, April 26-May 2, 2010 A week-long celebration of books and writing from around the globe, featuring 50+ events, 150 writers, and 40 countries. Read More »
Grantee Films at Upcoming Festivals
Budrus is showing at the É Tudo Verdade/It’s All True Film Festival in São Paulo , Brazil! Show times are: April 9 at 11: 00 pm, April 10 at 4: 00 pm, April 15 at 7: 00 pm, and April 17 at 1: 00 pm. Then, Budrus will have its U.S. Read More »
