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Movie sparks memories of curve balls and ‘having a catch’
By Dave Schechter, CNN Senior National Editor
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) – I loved to play baseball as a boy, but any illusions I harbored about making it to the big leagues ended at age 12, when I faced – and watched, the bat not moving – my first curve ball.
That pitch came from the left arm of Ross Baumgarten, a junior high school classmate in a suburb north of Chicago, who went on to pitch for the hometown White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates.
That curve ball was just one of the memories I recalled as my wife, our 12-year-old son and I watched “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story,” a film directed by Peter Miller, written by New York Times sportswriter Ira Berkow and narrated by actor Dustin Hoffman.
The movie is touring the country, mostly at Jewish congregations and film festivals, including in Atlanta, where it debuted on opening night.
Baumgarten may have been omitted, but the film tells the story of a somewhat surprising number of Jewish ballplayers who succeeded beyond the dreams of most boys, reaching the major leagues
.Before the film rolled, a youth choir led 2,500 people at the historic Fox Theater in singing the National Anthem. Then came “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” – lyrics by Jack Norworth, an Episcopalian, and music by Albert Von Tilzer, a Jew. Accompanied by the theater’s organist, most of the crowd sang along. Then, wearing a baseball glove and tossing a ball in the air, a local cantor performed it again as a solo – this time in Yiddish.
Immigrant Jews in the 20th century, many from Eastern European communities where Yiddish was spoken, wanted their children to retain their religious heritage while adopting a new national identity. Playing baseball was one way of achieving this goal.
A handful of those Jewish pros gained prominence over the decades. Two became legends in many Jewish households.
Hank Greenberg was a big man, physically and otherwise, a power-hitting first baseman in the 1930s and 1940s who won individual honors, threatened Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record and led the Detroit Tigers to championships.
“Jews and Baseball” takes note of an incident in May 1947, the last season of Greenberg’s career. Playing first base for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was knocked to the ground in a collision with Brooklyn Dodgers rookie Jackie Robinson, the first African-American player in the modern era of the major leagues, who laid down a bunt and scampered to second base on the play.
Robinson had suffered racial abuse throughout that season, shouted from the stands and even from opposing dugouts. An inning later, when Greenberg reached on a walk, he told the Dodgers’ first baseman, "Don't pay attention to these guys who are trying to make it hard for you. Stick in there. I hope that you and I can get together for a talk. There are a few things I've learned down through the years that might help you and make it easier."
Robinson, in turn, told The New York Times, “Class tells. It sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg.”
Greenberg later explained, “Jackie had it tough, tougher than any player who ever lived. … I identified with Jackie Robinson. I had feelings for him because they had treated me the same way. Not as bad, but they made remarks about my being a sheenie and a Jew all the time."
Greenberg’s particular legend among Jewish fans stems from his decision not to play on Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar – at a crucial time in the 1934 pennant race. Instead, he received a standing ovation when he walked into a Detroit synagogue.
Greenberg had played 10 days earlier on Rosh Hashanah, hitting two home runs. The next day, the words “Happy New Year” appeared in Hebrew in a Detroit newspaper headline.
And what Greenberg was to his generation, Sandy Koufax became to the next, to my generation.
In his prime, Koufax was, as the movie suggests, a Picasso, painting masterpieces from the mound, baffling batters with his fastball and a curve that seemed to drop off a table. He won individual honors and led the Los Angeles Dodgers to championships.
“Jews and Baseball” contains a rare interview with Koufax, who retired at the prime of his career because of pain in his pitching arm and has avoided the public spotlight in the decades since.
Like Greenberg before him, what made Koufax a hero in the Jewish community was his decision not to pitch Game One of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur.
That these Jewish stars were proud enough of their faith to sit out on the holiest of days gave me pause as I watched the film and remembered my childhood.
My wife noticed my emotions at the mention of fathers and sons “having a catch” – as my father, a lifetime New York Yankees fan now in his 80s, did with me, and as I did with my two sons (though, they, along with their sister, favor soccer, the “other religion” in our house).
“Jews and Baseball” blends interviews with rabbis, academics, authors and collectors of memorabilia with such celebrities as film director Ron Howard and former CNN talk show host Larry King.
Besides Greenberg and Koufax, the film features such former players as Al Rosen and Shawn Green (who spoke after the screening in Atlanta and stayed around to sign autographs), along with players’ union lawyer Marvin Miller (who belongs in the Hall of Fame for his impact on the game) and current baseball commissioner Bud Selig.
For those curious, current Jewish players shown in the film include Kevin Youkilis of the Boston Red Sox, Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers and Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Click here to for more information on Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Click here to read the article on CNN.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The First Movie selected to SXSW Film Conference and Festival
Los Angeles, CA (February 17th, 2011) – 7th Art Releasing announced today that Mark Cousins’s THE FIRST MOVIE has been selected for the 2011 South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival, which starts on March 11th.
THE FIRST MOVIE is a tribute to the imaginative resilience of children. When filmmaker Mark Cousins and his crew travel to Goptapa, a small Kurdish Village in Northern Iraq devastated by Saddam Hussein's regime, they discover children who have known nothing but war their entire lives and have never experienced the magic of cinema. Through these children Cousins recalls his own childhood in Northern Ireland surrounded by the violence and war starting in the late 60s. The filmmakers sew together a movie screen from old sheets and set up a projector, instantly creating a movie theater that plays children's classics in the village center. But the real magic happens when the children receive Flip camcorders and create their own movies filled with a child's wonder and boundless imagination. The resulting films are the true gift of THE FIRST MOVIE; they are tickets to see a different Iraq, and the world, through a child's transformative eyes. The film conveys the power of cinema to enchant and inspire, even amidst the bloodshed of war.
Mark Cousins has made numerous documentaries on Neo-Nazism, Gorbachev, the first Gulf War and Iranian cinema. Cousins has also published four books, was a BBC TV presenter, and was director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
THE FIRST MOVIE will screen at SXSW Film Festival on Friday March 11 at 6:00pm, Sunday March 13 at 1.30pm and Wednesday March 16 at 8.15pm.
Click here to go to the SXSW Film Festival Website for more details.
The Anti-Defamation League chose to honor Francisca Halamajowa, subject of Seventh Art Releasing's film No. 4 Street of Our Lady with its Courage to Care Award.
No. 4 Street of Our Lady tells the remarkable, yet little-known, story of Francisca Halamajowa, a Polish-Catholic woman who rescued 16 of her Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust, while cleverly passing herself off as a Nazi sympathizer.
The award, which honors rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust era, was presented to Halamajowa's granddaughters, Grace Kucharzyk and Jolanta Steron, in recognition of Francisca's bravery and selfless acts during the Holocaust.
Click here to read the press release on the ADL website.
For more information on purchasing the film go to the No. 4 Street of Our Lady film page.
Ann Murray Paige, subject of our doc film The Breast Cancer Diaries, was admitted to hospital on Friday for yet another surgery.
This week Ann has been featured on the front page of Discovery Health and in their list of top expert bloggers. She will continue to update Discovery readers and viewers as she confronts a new chapter as a young woman with breast cancer.
7th Art Releasing is sending out positive vibes to Ann, hopes she gets well soon and is on the fast track to recovery.
Click here to read Ann's blog and learn more her struggle with breast cancer.
Film Review - Love During Wartime
By Alissa Simon
A 7th Art Releasing (in U.S.) release of a Story Film, Pause Film, Tanja Meding production with support from the SFI, DFI, Nordisk Film and TV Fund, Filmregion Stockholm-Malardalen, SIDA, EU Media Plus, SVT, YLE. (International sales: Story Film, Stockholm.) Produced by Tobias Janson, Jenny Ornborn. Executive producers, Goran Olsson, David Aronowitsch. Co-producers, Louise Koster, Anna-Maria Kantarius, Tanja Meding. Directed by Gabriella Bier. With: Jasmin Avissar, Osama Zatar. (Hebrew, Arabic, English, German dialogue.)
When an Israeli and a Palestinian marry, they lose the security and social network taken for granted by other citizens. Well-crafted docu "Love During Wartime" uses the story of Jewish dancer Jasmin Avissar and Muslim artist Osama Zatar (aka "Assi") to examine this little-discussed fallout from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Swedish helmer Gabriella Bier poignantly shows the indomitable pair's increasing frustration and outrage as circumstances prevent them from living as a couple among family and friends in either country. Broadcasters, fests, Jewish-interest and human-rights events should take note.
When the controversial Israeli citizenship law prevents Ramallah-born Zatar from living with Avissar in Israel, and harassment from locals eliminates the possibility of them living in the West Bank, they opt for Germany, where Avissar's mother was born. But Teuton visa restrictions and apparent prejudice create problems. Speaking separately and together, the articulate, attractive young people display a wry humor about the price they have to pay for love. Commentary from Avissar's liberal parents, an attorney and Zatar's siblings and friends in the Palestinian territories adds insight. Intimate production package feels as warm as its subjects. Helmer is cousin of Oscar-nommed Susanne Bier.
Camera (color, DV), Albin Biblom; editors; Dominika Daubenbuchel, Thomas Lagerman; music, El Perro del Mar. Reviewed at Gothenburg Film Festival (Swedish Premieres), Feb. 5, 2011. Running time: 93 MIN.
Click here to read the article on Variety
