'A Serious Man' gets the spotlight at Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival
Ethan Coen, left, and Joel Coen, winners of the achievement in directing award for "No Country for Old Men" pose in the press room during the 80th annual Academy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre on Feb. 24, 2008, in Hollywood, California.
Vince Bucci | Getty Images 2008
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Audio transcript
INTERVIEWER: Say perhaps you remember Joel and Ethan Coen better known as the Coen brothers. They released A Serious Man. It's been 13 years since that film was released. The 2009 film was in part a tribute to the Saint Louis Park of their youth and like their most iconic film, Fargo, it was filmed in their home state of Minnesota. A Serious man is getting some serious attention from the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival which is running through Saturday. Ben Cohen is the director of Arts and culture and enrichment at the Minnesota JCC which is hosting the annual fest. Hey, Ben. How are you?
SUBJECT: Hi, I'm good. How are you?
INTERVIEWER: So far so good. Thank you. So before we get into Joel and Ethan, let's talk about your festival. This is the 28th year of your event and I noticed, I was on the website jewishfilmfestival.org, you are joining some 130 other Jewish film festivals around the world. What's the importance of having such an event?
SUBJECT: Well, that's right. It is the 28th year and we're so proud of where this festival has grown over the last couple of decades. This festival brings together a lot of diverse viewpoints about Jewish history, our traditions, and Jewish arts and culture from around the world. And it's an opportunity for our community and a wider community to come together and just experience this rich history of storytelling from our community. And it's amazing to see the festivals from around the world that have grown as well.
INTERVIEWER: It is amazing. How do you choose the films for your festival?
SUBJECT: So I have to give a lot of credit to our curators, Walter Elias and Reeve Shapiro. I assist with some of that curation. I lead the department here that runs our cultural arts programs. But they have put together what I think rivals some of the best Jewish film festivals across the world. If you go and look at our lineup, we're doing a hybrid festival this year. We have 13 virtual films, more than four in-person events and screenings.
And it's a long labor of love that we spend all year watching these films. You can submit films through our film freeway submission process. We also look at what other festivals around the country and around the world are showing. But we watch films all year long. It's probably one of our favorite parts of our jobs and make selections based on quality, and diverse viewpoints, and stories.
INTERVIEWER: You mentioned this is a hybrid event. Do you think that film festivals from here on out will be a hybrid event with the streaming options?
SUBJECT: I do. It's a really interesting and unique time for film in general, independent film, especially. If you're not Marvel's or Minions, it's very hard to get an audience out to see something in person. We have people who want more virtual and we want have people who want more in-person events. So I do see hybrid as our future.
And if there's one thing that festivals talk about with one another, I attend National Jewish Film presenters network meeting pretty much monthly, and unpredictability, in our audiences and what they want is really the name of the game right now. So you're just kind of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks, trying new things, being fresh and experimental and what you offer your audiences is really the best strategy right now.
INTERVIEWER: Let's talk about Joel and Ethan Coen for just a moment here, obviously they've been quite prolific since their debut in 84 and 1984 with Blood Simple. You've decided to show A Serious Man. Why that film?
SUBJECT: Well, A Serious Man is really such a special film for our local community here. And when, I was looking for an excuse to show A Serious Man honestly, and I was sort of researching it and thinking about, well, when, and why, and how could we come up with a reason to present A Serious Man and we had missed the 10th anniversary?
But then I realize it's the 13th anniversary and the film follows, one of the storylines of the film is about a boy studying for his bar mitzvah and I just thought this is so serendipitous. We have to celebrate the 13th anniversary of A Serious Man. And with the timing of lifting of restrictions on our programming with COVID and things like that, we are so excited to be presenting this film on the big screen again.
And creating a space where we hope the Jewish community that participated in the making of this film, the local film community here, that really this was a locally made film in the truest sense of the form, and our independent film lovers in the Twin Cities can all be together and re-experience this beloved film on the big screen. And because it's the 30th anniversary, we'll have a bar mitzvah party.
INTERVIEWER: Oh, fantastic. I was hoping you were going to say that. OK, good. I'm glad to hear that. They are, of course, are pretty elusive individuals. Any luck having them come maybe to the party?
SUBJECT: They we have seats for them if they come. We did invite them and they are very busy folks. They know the events happening. They wished us a lot of Mazel tov and excitement for us. We do have the wonderful actress Sarah Lynch joining us in person. We will have a Q&A with her after the film. We've also engaged with many former cast and crew who even if they can't be there in person, they will make an appearance. And so it's going to be a really special night.
I've been working with the Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish archives of the upper Midwest at the University of Minnesota to curate some behind the scenes photos that we will present at the screening as well. And DJ Mike 2,600 will be spinning a hora for us afterwards. So it's really going to be a special night even though sadly, Joel and Ethan were unable to attend this year
INTERVIEWER: Sounds fantastic. So is there a website that people can go to for information?
SUBJECT: Absolutely, tickets are still available minnesotajcc.org is the best way to find the listing. And we look forward to having everyone out on Saturday night.
INTERVIEWER: Ben, it sounds great. Thank you for joining me. I appreciate it.
SUBJECT: Thank you, Cathy.
INTERVIEWER: Best of luck. Ben Cohen is the director of arts, culture, and enrichment at the Minnesota JCC which is hosting the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. As you heard, you can attend in person or online. Details at minnesotajcc.org. Sounds fantastic. It would be great to see the Coen brothers, wouldn't it? And the movie, by the way, if you've never seen A Serious Man, it really is a great film.
SUBJECT: Hi, I'm good. How are you?
INTERVIEWER: So far so good. Thank you. So before we get into Joel and Ethan, let's talk about your festival. This is the 28th year of your event and I noticed, I was on the website jewishfilmfestival.org, you are joining some 130 other Jewish film festivals around the world. What's the importance of having such an event?
SUBJECT: Well, that's right. It is the 28th year and we're so proud of where this festival has grown over the last couple of decades. This festival brings together a lot of diverse viewpoints about Jewish history, our traditions, and Jewish arts and culture from around the world. And it's an opportunity for our community and a wider community to come together and just experience this rich history of storytelling from our community. And it's amazing to see the festivals from around the world that have grown as well.
INTERVIEWER: It is amazing. How do you choose the films for your festival?
SUBJECT: So I have to give a lot of credit to our curators, Walter Elias and Reeve Shapiro. I assist with some of that curation. I lead the department here that runs our cultural arts programs. But they have put together what I think rivals some of the best Jewish film festivals across the world. If you go and look at our lineup, we're doing a hybrid festival this year. We have 13 virtual films, more than four in-person events and screenings.
And it's a long labor of love that we spend all year watching these films. You can submit films through our film freeway submission process. We also look at what other festivals around the country and around the world are showing. But we watch films all year long. It's probably one of our favorite parts of our jobs and make selections based on quality, and diverse viewpoints, and stories.
INTERVIEWER: You mentioned this is a hybrid event. Do you think that film festivals from here on out will be a hybrid event with the streaming options?
SUBJECT: I do. It's a really interesting and unique time for film in general, independent film, especially. If you're not Marvel's or Minions, it's very hard to get an audience out to see something in person. We have people who want more virtual and we want have people who want more in-person events. So I do see hybrid as our future.
And if there's one thing that festivals talk about with one another, I attend National Jewish Film presenters network meeting pretty much monthly, and unpredictability, in our audiences and what they want is really the name of the game right now. So you're just kind of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks, trying new things, being fresh and experimental and what you offer your audiences is really the best strategy right now.
INTERVIEWER: Let's talk about Joel and Ethan Coen for just a moment here, obviously they've been quite prolific since their debut in 84 and 1984 with Blood Simple. You've decided to show A Serious Man. Why that film?
SUBJECT: Well, A Serious Man is really such a special film for our local community here. And when, I was looking for an excuse to show A Serious Man honestly, and I was sort of researching it and thinking about, well, when, and why, and how could we come up with a reason to present A Serious Man and we had missed the 10th anniversary?
But then I realize it's the 13th anniversary and the film follows, one of the storylines of the film is about a boy studying for his bar mitzvah and I just thought this is so serendipitous. We have to celebrate the 13th anniversary of A Serious Man. And with the timing of lifting of restrictions on our programming with COVID and things like that, we are so excited to be presenting this film on the big screen again.
And creating a space where we hope the Jewish community that participated in the making of this film, the local film community here, that really this was a locally made film in the truest sense of the form, and our independent film lovers in the Twin Cities can all be together and re-experience this beloved film on the big screen. And because it's the 30th anniversary, we'll have a bar mitzvah party.
INTERVIEWER: Oh, fantastic. I was hoping you were going to say that. OK, good. I'm glad to hear that. They are, of course, are pretty elusive individuals. Any luck having them come maybe to the party?
SUBJECT: They we have seats for them if they come. We did invite them and they are very busy folks. They know the events happening. They wished us a lot of Mazel tov and excitement for us. We do have the wonderful actress Sarah Lynch joining us in person. We will have a Q&A with her after the film. We've also engaged with many former cast and crew who even if they can't be there in person, they will make an appearance. And so it's going to be a really special night.
I've been working with the Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish archives of the upper Midwest at the University of Minnesota to curate some behind the scenes photos that we will present at the screening as well. And DJ Mike 2,600 will be spinning a hora for us afterwards. So it's really going to be a special night even though sadly, Joel and Ethan were unable to attend this year
INTERVIEWER: Sounds fantastic. So is there a website that people can go to for information?
SUBJECT: Absolutely, tickets are still available minnesotajcc.org is the best way to find the listing. And we look forward to having everyone out on Saturday night.
INTERVIEWER: Ben, it sounds great. Thank you for joining me. I appreciate it.
SUBJECT: Thank you, Cathy.
INTERVIEWER: Best of luck. Ben Cohen is the director of arts, culture, and enrichment at the Minnesota JCC which is hosting the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. As you heard, you can attend in person or online. Details at minnesotajcc.org. Sounds fantastic. It would be great to see the Coen brothers, wouldn't it? And the movie, by the way, if you've never seen A Serious Man, it really is a great film.
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