Thursday, April 19, 2012

Robinson Gala Awards Evening

Enjoy the Pittsburgh premiere of six short films as the culmination of the first-ever Robinson International Short Film Competition. Significant cash prizes will be awarded to the top three films.  Over two dozen films from around the world were submitted to the competition organized to honor the memory of Sanford (Shad) N. Robinson, Sr.

The evening will feature the film and award presentations followed by a reception. Tickets are $10. Full-time students with valid ID are $5. Presented by JFilm: The Pittsburgh Jewish Film Forum, a project of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
For more information, call (412) 992-5203.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 7:30pm
SouthSide Works Cinema, Pittsburgh

General Admission: $10
Full-time Students: $5 with valid ID

Click here to purchase tickets.



Delicious Peace Grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean
Director: Curt Fissel, 2010, USA, 39:54 minutes

Jewish, Christian and Muslim Ugandan coffee farmers formed a cooperative to build economic prosperity and peace in the lingering wake of Idi Amin’s regime of terror and intolerance. The cooperative partnered with a Fair Trade US buyer, producing early monetary success and reinforcement of a global message that “peace works.”


Grandpa Looked Like William Powell
Director: David B. Levy, 2010, USA, 4:20 minutes

Sometimes a memento only reminds you how little you know someone. Such a thing happened to me when I came to possess my Grandpa Herman's high school autograph book from 1924.

in bed at 10 p.m.
Director: Asaph Polonsky, 2010, Israel, 15 minutes

Rachel and Motti, both in their 70s, are lovers. When Rachel learns the new rule – when his wife calls twice he must come home -- she finally realizes that she will always be a lower priority.

Seltzer Works
Director: Jessica Edwards, 2010, USA, 7 minutes

In the early 1900s, thousands of seltzer deliverymen criss-crossed the nation, schlepping heavy glass bottles full of fizzy water to millions of thirsty customers. Today, with only a handful of deliverymen left in the country, the siphon machines at Gomberg Seltzer Works don't turn like they used to. But there are still bubbles being made by third generation seltzer filler Kenny Gomberg. In the short documentary SELTZER WORKS, the last bottler in Brooklyn fends off the supermarket seltzer take-over and honors this simple drink's place in history.

Woody/before/Allen
Director: Masha Vasyukova, 2011, Russia/USA/France, 13:17 minutes

An adventurous meditation on past and present, of two former Konigsbergs - a man and a city that no longer use the same name: one, a city which was renamed Kaliningrad, another, a renowned film director who changed his name to Woody Allen. To commemorate the bizarre connection between these two former Konigsbergs, filmmaker Masha Vasyukova makes it her mission to put a statue in Kaliningrad in honor of Woody Allen.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Robinson International Short Film Competition Gala Awards Evening



The Pittsburgh premiere of six short films and announcement of filmmakers winning unprecedented cash awards will highlight the evening, when JFilm: the Pittsburgh Jewish Film Forum holds an event culminating the first-ever Robinson International Short Film Competition, on Tuesday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Southside Works Cinema.

The competition was organized to honor the memory of Sanford (Shad) N. Robinson, Sr., a noted member of the Pittsburgh Jewish community, by the Robinson family.

“My husband was a great film devotee,” explains Judy Robinson.  “He actually made a wonderful Pittsburgh comedy in the 1970s called ‘The Devil and Sam.’ Many people from the local film community worked on the film and will be attending the event.

“It was a wonderful little independent movie, and had he not gotten sick, he would have gone on to make more films,” she continues. “I think it’s a particularly nice way to honor his memory.”

Judy and her children, Heather and David, were instrumental in developing the competition and screening the entries, along with a panel of judges. The evening will feature the Pittsburgh premieres of six short films. Several of the directors will attend the gala event.

The purpose of the competition is to help further the careers of the winning filmmakers by awarding significant monetary prizes and offering exposure for their films. The prize winners will be announced following the screenings. First prize is $10,000 and two honorable mentions will be given at $3,000 each.

The competition was opened to independent filmmakers and had a wide range of submissions from different ages -- ranging from high school students to professionals in the field -- different countries including Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, the US and Vienna, and different subjects. Narrative films were submitted alongside documentaries, and the topics ranged from Jewish, Christian and Muslim Ugandans starting a coffee cooperative to a young Russian woman's journey to bring Woody Allen to her hometown.  Many films were comedic in nature, and there were animated movies alongside experimental art films.  

“I’m thrilled to be doing this,” said Judy Robinson. “I was very impressed by the quality of the entries.”

The criteria included that submissions had to contain an essence of Jewishness as represented by theme, history or culture. There were 28 entries, ranging in length from as short as under five minutes to almost 40 minutes long. 

The evening, hosted by the Robinson family, will feature the film and award presentations followed by a reception. Cost to attend the evening is $10. Full-time students with valid ID are $5. For information or tickets, contact JFilm at www.JFilmPgh.org or 412-992-5203. 

JFilm: the Pittsburgh Jewish Film Forum is a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.