Jason goes to Jewfest South--Opening Night

So, just as SVJFF is about to wind down for another year, I finally get around to writing about opening night. And what a night it was.

EAST JERUSALEM, WEST JERUSALEM is a studio "making of" documentary about a really remarkably recording project. David Broza is a world renowned musician and humanitarian (and, rather sheepishly, I admit I had never heard of him before.) The movie follows his process of collaborating with musicians around the world to make the titular album in a recording studio in East (i.e., Palestinian) Jerusalem. His Israeli, Spanish, and English influences meld with the Palestinian and American influences of his friends and collaborators, and makes for a beautiful experience. It's not a solution to the conflict there, but at least an oasis from it, and some of the most beautiful and moving scenes are just him and his friend and cameraman sitting on the roof chatting. A nice way to start the festival, and kind of left me wondering how the rest of the festival would live up to that (don't worry, it's been fine.)

And then afterwards we were treated to a live David Broza concert, which included a young Palestinian musician as a surprise guest (I forgot his name. Sorry that's what happens when you wait sever weeks to write up an event.) It was pretty amazing, and in just a few hours I went from knowing nothing about David Broza to being a fan.

Running Time: 80 minutes
My Total Minutes: 406,365