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By Tsafi Saar

Cinematheque Tel Aviv attempted to prevent men from attending screenings of the movie “The Heart that Sings,” according to a man who attempted to purchase a ticket to the film Sunday.

Dr. Yosef Algazi said the woman working at the box office told him the movie was for women only. According to the Cinematheque’s description of the movie in its program that [...]]]> Cinematheque program says the movie creators ‘politely request that only women and girls attend the screening.’

By Tsafi Saar

Cinematheque Tel Aviv attempted to prevent men from attending screenings of the movie “The Heart that Sings,” according to a man who attempted to purchase a ticket to the film Sunday.

Dr. Yosef Algazi said the woman working at the box office told him the movie was for women only. According to the Cinematheque’s description of the movie in its program that came out in early December: “the creators of the movie, ultra-Orthodox women and actors, who cannot, according to Jewish law, sing and dance in front of men, politely request that only women and girls attend the screening.”

Algazi said that only when he protested angrily and when the people around him heard the exchange, did the ticket seller change her mind and state that it was “not a prohibition but a request.” Eventually, Algazi purchased a ticket.

“When the lights went down, a message appeared on the screen that the movie was for women only,” Algazi said, adding that there were only six other men in the theater.

“The Heart that Sings” is a musical directed by Robin Garbose, who is Orthodox. The plot takes place in a summer camp for Jewish girls in New York in the 1950s. It was shown this month as part of the Jewish Film Festival in Jerusalem and was presented at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque three times.

Algazi, a historian and veteran leftist activist, said there were no male actors among the film’s cast. “Ten years ago this would not have happened, either in Israel or the United States,” he said, adding that both Jewish and Christian religious reactionism was increasing in the United States.

The Cinematheque’s director, Alon Garbuz, said he had instructed staff to say that the movie was for women only, but that people who insisted could purchase a ticket. He said he “explained to the film’s creator, who wanted to restrict the audience to women only, that he could not prevent men from coming in and she understood this.”

Garbuz said the request to men not to see the movie is not a problem “because it is not coercion, but rather a request. It shows that we are tolerant to everyone.”

Last week, during Hanukkah, Garbose again proved that Jewish religious art can prevail with the women-only premiere of her second film, “The Heart that [...]]]> By Sarah Trappler Spielman

Orthodox director Robin Garbose is at it again. First she made history four years ago with a red carpet premiere of her movie musical “A Light for Greytowers” in Los Angeles. Modestly clad Orthodox girls and women filled Paramount Studio’s lot at the Sherry Lansing Theater, many attending a movie for the first time.

Last week, during Hanukkah, Garbose again proved that Jewish religious art can prevail with the women-only premiere of her second film, “The Heart that Sings,” at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival. It also screened over the holiday at venues across Israel to both religious and non-religious female crowds.

It is the first time the festival screened a Haredi film and invited only women, possibly insulting male moviegoers. Three years ago the festival withdrew “Greytowers” based on the women-only restriction, for fear of discriminating against male patrons. In response, Garbose held protest screenings at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center located across the street from the Jerusalem Cinematheque.

“We can’t advertise a public screening and not allow half our public to attend,” Daniella Tourgeman, the festival’s curator, said at the time.

After much dialogue and controversy, Tourgeman agreed to screen Garbose’s new film this year in keeping with the festival’s mission “to explore Jewish religious practice and promote cross-cultural understanding.”

Garbose wasn’t sure she’d pull it off, though. Days before the scheduled premiere, she sent emails urging her female fans to attend.

“The Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival has received some angry emails about the festival including a women-only film,” Garbose wrote. “We are concerned that men are going to protest and the only way to counter this is by filling the house with women!”

Although some men did attend the screening, Garbose did not send them away, since the responsibility to not view women’s performance is upon men. The discussion session that followed the premiere raised cultural differences, yet opened a dialogue for secular and Orthodox women in attendance.

“The power of art, especially the cinema, is that it can break through barriers and melt divisiveness by means of story and character, image or song,” Garbose wrote in an op-ed piece for the Jerusalem Post. “Instead of the Cinematheque screenings turning into a battleground for clashing ideologies as I had feared — the film is a musical that stars mostly Orthodox actresses who by heritage and choice do not sing or dance in the presence of men — it served as a catalyst for discussion and interaction, a forum for uplifted encounters and transformational exchanges of ideas.”

It’s been a whirlwind four years for Garbose who, before becoming Orthodox 21 years ago, began her career in theater, directing actors such as Laura Linney, Ricki Lake and Jason Alexander. She taught at Juilliard and NYU, directed 35 plays in L.A. and off-Broadway, and dabbled in Television, directing “Head of the Class” and then — as a Sabbath observant director — “America’s Most Wanted.”

While Garbose considers her films professional by Hollywood standards, they have challenged the entertainment industry by demonstrating that modestly dressed actresses and religious themes can entertain thousands of fans. Crowds turned up for the premiere of “Heart” across the U.S. last Passover and “Greytowers” screened to 50,000 women in the United States, Canada and Israel. Made on a budget — “Heart” cost $350,000 to produce — Garbose attained $18,000 in completion funds through Kickstarter.com.

Nearly all of Garbose’s young actresses are alumni of Kol Neshama Performing Arts Conservatory, which Garbose created 12 years ago in Los Angeles to provide professional artistic training and performance opportunities for Orthodox girls with a “burning desire to perform,” she said.

Two other secular venues, The Tel Aviv and Rosh Pina Cinametheques, also screened “The Heart that Sings” last week. Based on the short story “Miriam’s Lullaby” by Gershon Kranzler, the film is about a young Holocaust survivor named Miriam who lives in New York in the 1950s and spends a summer at a girl’s camp in the Catskills as drama director.

Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/148863/#ixzz1iPwpWRtn
Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/148863/#ixzz1iPwjXrEO

On one hand, Jewish law and traditions of female modesty are very important to me. Although I did not grow up in an observant family, I came to embrace the value of personal modesty as an adult. Especially in Southern California, where the popular culture glamorizes and profits from immodesty, I have found tzniut [...]]]> By Robin Garbose

As an Orthodox woman – hassidic, even – it has been hard for me to watch the news and developments from Israel in recent weeks.

On one hand, Jewish law and traditions of female modesty are very important to me. Although I did not grow up in an observant family, I came to embrace the value of personal modesty as an adult. Especially in Southern California, where the popular culture glamorizes and profits from immodesty, I have found tzniut (the laws of modesty) to be a refreshing, counterculture expression of honoring female dignity. I resent the fact my eight-year-old son has to be assaulted in the street by sexually explicit, in-your-face billboards. Why must we have these images imposed upon us? Because somebody is making money, a lot of money.

On the other hand, Orthodox communities abroad successfully maintain appropriate, halachic standards of modesty without segregated buses, burkas and banishing women from public life, as have made headlines here, despite what’s going on around them. In Los Angeles, haredim (ultra- Orthodox) peacefully co-exist with each other as well as everyone else. Women manage to be both modest and attractive. Accomplishment is encouraged.

But here in Israel, extremists seem to rule the day. Fringe groups on the Left viciously attack haredi values, while fringe groups on the Right have imposed ever-more extreme measures in the guise of piety. It is a volatile and polarized climate.

In the context of these issues, it is significant that the Jerusalem Cinematheque, a bastion of secular Israeli culture, agreed to include my film, The Heart That Sings, in the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival. For the first time the festival featured a film made exclusively for women, with a request for men not to attend, in keeping with its mission “to explore Jewish religious practice and promote crosscultural understanding.”

The premier of the film and the discussion session that followed showed clearly that, while deep cultural divisions do indeed plague Israeli society, secular and Orthodox Israelis, especially women, can still find a common language and the ability to discuss these issues in a fruitful, productive manner.

THE POWER of art, especially the cinema, is that it can break through barriers and melt divisiveness by means of story and character, image or song. Instead of the Cinematheque screenings turning into a battleground for clashing ideologies as I had feared – the film is a musical that stars mostly Orthodox actresses who by heritage and choice do not sing or dance in the presence of men – it served as a catalyst for discussion and interaction, a forum for uplifted encounters and transformational exchanges of ideas.

Though we asked men not to attend in deference to the wishes of the performers, we have not and will not stop anyone from seeing the film. Indeed, some men did attend the opening. One man approached me after and in a quiet, halting voice said, “I want you to know, I am very touched. I have religious family and I am going to call them to come see the film.”

I thanked him, and, though I believe he violated the spirit of halacha (the actual law prohibiting a man from hearing a woman sing pertains to live performance) by watching the movie so I couldn’t condone his presence, it was clear to me that God wanted him to have this experience.

Another woman, who looked to be secular, argued that the film should have been shown in a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) venue, but said it certainly did not belong at the Cinematheque. I told her that I understood the philosophical challenges our special request posed, but I strongly disagreed with her position. This festival, more than any other in the world, was where we most belonged. By engaging in cross-cultural dialogue about modesty, the movie has served to open up channels of communication. It would also be like saying all Jews get to participate in the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival except for Orthodox Jewish women.

For secular women and men in the audience, the discussion session helped them understand that kol isha – the halachic ban on a man hearing a woman sing – is a mainstream Orthodox position. It is not a fringe position.

Furthermore, in my view the film’s charm derives precisely from the fact that the actresses knew they were not performing for men and were therefore artistically free to express themselves…

Continue reading this article at the Jerusalem Post website

** Nitza, Ramat Beit Shemesh ** December 27 @ 19:30

** Matnas Efrat ** December 29 @ 20:00