The Portland Press Herald / The Maine Sunday Telegram

Local color

The Maine Jewish Film Festival opens Saturday with films from around the world, including a healthy helping of close-to-home fare.

By Stephanie Bouchard sbouchard@mainetoday.com
News Assistant

Portland filmmaker Gary Robinov of White Dog Arts couldn't be happier that his first full-length documentary, "Canvasman," is premiering during this year's Maine Jewish Film Festival, which begins Saturday.

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A scene from "Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueberger," which is among the festival's films.

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MAINE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

WHEN: Saturday through March 25

WHERE: Nickelodeon Cinemas, 1 Temple St., Portland, unless otherwise noted.

HOW MUCH: $8 per screening ($6 for students and adults over age 65). Opening-night tickets are $25. Pay $91 for an all-festival pass (valid for all events except the opening-night party and film).

TICKETS: www.brownpapertickets.com

INFORMATION: www.mjff.org

WHAT ELSE: Click here to read Bob Keyes’ 2008 profile of Rob Elowitch, the subject of the documentary “Canvasman,” which premieres during the film festival.

"I'm blown away," he said. "We're really excited to be showing in our hometown."

The films for the Maine Jewish Film Festival come from all over the world, but being able to showcase films with a Maine connection is a goal of the festival's film selection committee.

When the committee screened the trailer for "Canvasman," "We were just thrilled," said Kari Wagner-Peck, the festival's executive and artistic director. Robinov's film offers everything the film selection committee had hoped for: It's made by someone who is Jewish, it's about someone who is Jewish, and it was made in Maine, by a Maine resident, about a Maine resident.

"Canvasman" is about Rob Elowitch, a lifelong Portland resident who is as known for his business as co-owner of a fine art auction house, Barridoff Galleries, as for his hobby, professional wrestling.

Despite Elowitch's notoriety as a wrestler, the film is not a wrestling movie, insists Robinov.

"That's probably the biggest thing (people) should know," Robinov said. "It's a story about how to live a full, wonderful life fueled by passion."

Elowitch, who will be 67 early in April, says he will see the film for the first time at its premiere on Wednesday. Robinov has told Elowitch the film is a love story about him and his childhood sweetheart and wife, Annette.

"That's the part I'm really pleased about, and can't wait to see," Elowitch said.

Being the subject of a full-length documentary film is "about the weirdest thing that's ever happened in my life," Elowitch said.

But his wife says he is tickled. "He loves it -- are you kidding?"

"Canvasman" is one of four films with Maine ties being screened during the film festival.

"Everybody's Uncle Sam: The Life and Legacy of Sam L. Cohen," about the Biddeford native and philanthropist, will be screened Tuesday afternoon. Two short films, "Mustard Doublebreasted" by Lewiston-based Phyllis Graber Jensen and "The Bat Mitzvah Gift" by Portland-based Shoshana Hoose, will be screened Tuesday evening.

The four Maine-related films were selected out of 150 films screened by the festival's film committee, said Wagner-Peck. Viewers will find comedies, love stories, thrillers and documentaries in the festival's selections.

The films are relatable to a wide variety of people because, Wagner-Peck points out, they highlight the human experience.

"Even though the mission (of the film festival) is the Jewish experience," she said, "we're looking at that through a lot of different lenses."

Staff Writer Stephanie Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6455 or at:

sbouchard@pressherald.com

THE SCHEDULE

SATURDAY
WHAT: Opening-night party with light refreshments
WHEN: 6 p.m.
WHERE: Greenhut Galleries, 146 Middle St., Portland
FILM: “Ajami” – urban crime drama that was a 2010 Oscar nominee for best foreign language film. In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles.
WHEN: 8 p.m.

SUNDAY
FILM: “Hey, Hey It’s Esther Blueberger” – the story of a misfit teenager at an elite girls’ school.
WHEN: 1 p.m.
FILM: “Inside Hana’s Suitcase” – free (for those under age 18) youth film about a group of modern-day Japanese students who set out to learn about a young girl whose name was on a suitcase in the Auschwitz Museum. In English, Czech and Japanese with English subtitles.
WHEN: 4 p.m.
FILM: “A Matter of Size” – about an overweight man who is introduced to sumo wrestling. In Hebrew and Japanese with English subtitles.
WHEN: 6 p.m.
FILM: “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe” – two women filmmakers who are sisters explore the life of their deceased father, a radical civil rights lawyer. This film is the Women’s Filmmakers Forum feature, which includes an in-person appearance by the filmmakers, Emily and Sarah Kunstler.
WHEN: 8 p.m.

MONDAY
FILM: “The Debt” – suspense film about hunting a Nazi war criminal. In Hebrew, German and Russian with English subtitles.
WHEN: 5 p.m.
WHAT: Free, behind-the-scenes conversation with filmmaker Erik Kesten, director of “Holy Land Hardball.”
WHEN: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, 561 Congress St., Portland
FILM: “Holy Land Hardball” – a middle-aged Jewish bakery owner sets out to create Israel’s first professional baseball league. In English and Hebrew with English subtitles. The film’s director and two players from the movie will be at the screening.
WHEN: 7 p.m.

TUESDAY
WHAT: Seniors free luncheon (sold out) and matinee (limited to the first 60 seniors age 65 and older who reserve; call 831-7495).
FILM: “Everybody’s Uncle Sam: The Life and Legacy of Sam L. Cohen” – documentary about a Biddeford man who became a well-known philanthropist.
WHEN: Noon luncheon; 1 p.m. film
WHERE: Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress St., Portland
FILM: “The Debt” – see above for description
WHEN: 1:30 p.m.
FILMS: “Zrubravel” – a generational clash between Ethiopian Israelis (in Amharic and Hebrew with English subtitles). Plus, two short films, “Mustard Doublebreasted” and “The Bat Mitzvah Gift,” by Maine filmmakers.
WHEN: 5 p.m.
WHAT: LGBT Film Forum reception with light refreshments (only for ticket holders to “The Secrets”).
WHEN: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, 561 Congress St., Portland
FILM: “The Secrets” – LGBT Film Forum feature that is part murder mystery, part lesbian love story. In French and Hebrew with English subtitles.
WHEN: 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY
FILM: “The Strangers” – an Israeli man and a Palestinian woman begin a love affair, but their relationship is challenged by politics. In English, French, Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles.
WHEN: 5 p.m.
FILM: “Canvasman” – premiere of the locally produced documentary film about Portland resident and businessman Rob Elowitch, with filmmaker Gary Robinov and Elowitch in attendance.
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHAT: “Canvasman” reception – open only to “Canvasman” ticket holders.
WHEN: 9 p.m.
WHERE: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, 561 Congress St., Portland
FILM: “A Matter of Size” – see above for description
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Olin Arts Center, Bates College, 75 Russell St., Lewiston

MARCH 25
FILM: “HAG” – a mockumentary about the contemporary Jewish experience, with the film’s director, Yisrael Lifshutz.
WHEN: 2 p.m.
FILM: “Noodle” – about a flight attendant whose life is changed through an encounter with an abandoned Chinese boy. In Hebrew and Mandarin with English subtitles.
WHEN: 5 p.m.
FILM: “Leaving the Fold” – a documentary about a group of young people raised in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community who wish to leave it, with the film’s director, Eric Scott.
WHEN: 7 p.m.