Temple Anshe Amunim will host the second annual TAA Community Film Series beginning this Sunday, January 12, 2025. The fascinating feature documentary “Nathan-ism” and the dramatic short comedy “We Should Eat” kick things off for a wonderfully well-balanced cinematic pairing.
According to its press release:
The TAA Community Film Series will present a selection of powerful films from around the world. The mission of the TAA Community Film Series is to bring entertaining and thought-provoking films to engage the Jewish community, while also providing an opportunity for the greater Pittsfield community to learn about Jewish history, culture and heritage in an open andwelcoming environment. It is our also our mission to keep our events accessible, affordable and safe.
The four films we have selected to showcase in 2025 speak to issues to which people of all backgrounds and experiences can relate: artistic expression, family secrets, higher education andfriendship. Post-screening discussions will follow each film, led by filmmakers and/or experts in the subjects addressed by the film.
What’s screening this weekend
Directed by Elan Golod, “Nathan-ism” introduces audiences to Nathan Hilu, the son of Syrian Jewish immigrants to New York. At the end of World War II, he receives an unforgettable assignment from the U.S. Army: guarding the top Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials in 1946. As Hilu makes clear, his job was to ensure none of them preempted their execution by hanging (i.e., by suiciding first).
Of the 11 who were sentenced to death after these international military tribunals, one Nazi did evade the court’s judgment. But Hermann Göring did not escape death. Somehow he managed to hasten his own demise by ingesting a cyanide capsule the night before.
Of course, we know how Hitler died, too. And don’t forget Nazi war criminal Fritz Sauckel’s last words were, “I am dying innocent. The sentence is wrong. God protect Germany and make Germany great again. Long live Germany! God protect my family.”
Hilu made illustrations of these and other dramatic events for seven decades straight, literally the rest of his life. With urgency and intensity, Hilu’s drawings affirm life in an obsessive, post-traumatic way.
As a documentary filmmaker, Golod’s efforts to verify Hilu’s beguiling story is complicated by his subjects’s congenital eccentricity and advanced age. Still, Hilu’s visual narrative offers a credible account of his unique proximity to some of the worst people ever.
“Nathan-ism” will stay with you. It lingers in my mind because of the ongoing efforts to rewrite violent U.S. history we all witnessed on January 6, 2021. It also reminds me of other Jewish illustrators, especially Art Spiegelman of “Maus” notoriety.
“Nathan-ism” is the perfect choice to kick off the second annual TAA Community Film Series. It lends itself to a rich and robust post-film discussion at a time when there are fewer and fewer people who were here in 1946. The need to appreciate Nathan Hilu’s life simply cannot be overstated.
At nine and a half minutes, Shaina Feinberg’s “We Should Eat” has a lot on its palette-cleansing plate. It wastes no time ribbing Jewish mothers; how could it not? But it also pokes fun at other family dynamics, like agreeing on what to order for dinner. To wit, a couple of the characters here are super “hangry.”
With a fabulous cast that includes Tovah Feldshuh, Jackie Hoffman from “Only Murders in the Building,” and personal favorite Alysia Reiner (Fig from “Orange Is the New Black”), you will enjoy this punchy slice of life.
The return of the marvelous TAA Community Film Series warms my heart.
Tickets are available here.
