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“Fill the Void” is a love story from the Hassidic Orthodox Jewish community

  An Orthodox Hassidic Jewish family in Tel Aviv awaits the birth of the middle daughter Esther’s (Renana Raz) first child.  When she goes into labor suddenly and dies giving birth, the family is distraught.  Things grow tense when Esther’s husband Yochay (Yiftach Klein) announces he is moving to Belgium to marry again and Esther’s mother begins to pressure her youngest daughter, Shira (Haddas Yaron)  to marry Yochay. But Shira is only 18, ten years younger than Yochay, and … [Read More...]

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God is watching in “The Great Gatsby”

Nick Carraway (Toby Maguire), a budding financier, rents a flat next door to a mansion owned by the mysterious Jay Gatsby (Leonardo di Caprio) on Long Island during the Jazz Age, 1922 to be exact. Nick’s cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her husband Tom (Joe Edgerton), live in a mansion across the inlet where a green light flashes at the end of the dock - beckoning or warning? Gatsby throws extravagant parties that the rich and famous attend uninvited. The only invitation that Jay ever … [Read More...]

Arts & Faith at Loyola Press Interview

A few weeks ago a blog writer for Loyola Press contacted me for an interview for their "Arts & Faith" page. Here is the interview - thank you so much, Loyola Press (Elizabeth Elliott and Rosemary Lane). Catholic Nun and Film Critic Finds God's Grace at Movies     … [Read More...]

The “Stories We Tell” is art that reveals truth

Canadian director and former child actress (Avonlea), Sarah Polley, has made an fascinating  kind-of documentary about her family, and her parentage especially, in “The Stories We Tell.” From her mother Diane’s death when Sarah was eleven years old, rumors began to circulate that her … [Read More...]

Media Literacy Certificate Course July 7 -13, 2013 Register now!

  Some of the 2012 students on the tour of Sony Studios Announcing our "Advanced Certificate in Media Literacy Course" Sunday, July 7 - Saturday July 13, 2013 Click here for details & registration form For more information contact Sr. Jennifer at … [Read More...]

Your script and how to find a Hollywood literary agent

As time goes by I continue to receive inquiries about writing or reading a script that will save the world and change Hollywood.  Today someone asked me how to get an agent so he can get his script to Mel Gibson. Gibson's office finally replied to him after a year that they will only consider a … [Read More...]

There’s Something in the Air (“Après mai”)

This French film won Best Screenplay at the 2012 Venice Film Festival, but I am not quite sure why. It tells the personal story of the filmmaker Olivier Assayas, a kind of semi-autobiography. It starts off well enough in a high school classroom in Paris 1971, when a teacher reads from Blaise Pascal: … [Read More...]

“Midnight’s Children” and the search for identity

Indian/Canadian director Deepa Mehta's cinematic interpretation of Salmon Rushdie's 1981 Booker Prize-winning novel "Midnight's Children" is a vibrant epic that spans about 30 years and has a cast of thousands. It tells the story of two baby boys who were born precisely at midnight on Aug. 15, … [Read More...]

“This is Our Time” is a movie with a message

  On the day five friends graduate from college their hopes soar as high as their mortarboards.  Ale’ (Erin Bethea) and Ethan (Shawn Caulin-Young) are brother and sister and are very close with Catherine (Kate Cobb),  Ryder (Matthew Florida), Luke (T.J. Dalrymple). Bob (Eric … [Read More...]