The First Yiddish Movie in 60 Years: "A Gesheft"

Wednesday, 08 February 2006 13:42

MONSEY, NY- The latest arrival on the independent filmmaking scene is two Orthodox Jews, wearing the traditional black garb, who put up their last dollars and a year's worth of Sundays to make an action-packed drama about a religious school flunky run amok. This 90 minute film was produced by Kosher Entertainment Productions. "A Gesheft" is the brainchild of two brothers, Yakov and Mendy Kirsh, a bookkeeper and a real estate agent respectively, who have no prior filmmaking experience. "We decided that religious Jews needed their own movies far from the dangerous influence of Hollywood," comments Mendy Kirsh. "There's no treyf (things that are non-kosher) in this movie!" The film is full of colorful images of Orthodox Jews in their own environment, speaking their own language. The entire film is in Yiddish. The Yiddish spoken in the film is a deeply accented, religious Yiddish sometimes called Hyemish. This is a world of insiders where everyone speaks Yiddish. The ambulance driver, the doctor, the construction worker and the gangster all speak Yiddish. Even when an African-American police officer calls in on his radio, his English spoken lines are subtitled in Yiddish! This was the first movie-making experience for all of the actors in the film and many of the filmmakers. Even so, some of the best actors in this film are some of the least trained. The head of the yeshiva (a religious day school) exudes a rare comical earnestness. The filmmakers gambled much of their savings making this film. The director recalls, "I was worried about my wife, I spent most of our money and left her at home alone to take care of the three babies while I was out shooting." The community of Monsey, NY densely populated with Hassidic Jews, was largely supportive of the filmmaking effort. The film was shot, on location, in religious schools and business establishments and most of the people involved were practicing Jews. Personnel from the local ambulance services and officers from the Ramapo Police Department have significant roles. The one professional filmmaker on the project was Roland (Ruvn) Millman, an editor at Bright Screen Productions. Millman took on the project because of his personal interest in the Yiddish language. "I've dreamed of making a modern theatrical film in Yiddish for years," Millman recalls. A thriving industry of popular Yiddish filmmaking existed until the end of World War II. With the destruction of secular, Yiddish-speaking communities, film studios no longer considered films in Yiddish a lucrative business. The Orthodox Jewish Community is not normally interested in popular media but it has shown unexpected enthusiasm regarding this film's release. There has been a steady exchange of chatter and information about it over the Internet. The official website, http://www.agesheft.com is receiving a steady flow of hits since its first posting. Much of the debate centers around the fact that any use of television in an Orthodox home is strictly taboo. What is kosher about this Kosher Entertainment? You won't find any women in this movie. Orthodox Jewish men aren't allowed to be entertained by female actors . The only mention of a woman in the film is when the main character's wife is taken to the hospital on a stretcher. She is played by a male actor covered head to toe with a white sheet. "But the film was made for entertainment," says Kirsh. It has plenty of action: there are high-speed car chases, bribery, break-ins and even a car crash. "When a car crashed into a van all the Hassidim standing around gave a gevaldik cheer!" remarks Kirsh. "A Gesheft" in English means "The Deal". Peretz, the main character is a wheeler dealer who finds himself straddling his Orthodox Jewish background and what he calls, "the real world." Peretz's color and flamboyance, in this film is what gets him in trouble and also makes him so appealing. His bold threat (to his creator perhaps?), "Nobody messes with Peretz Grossberg!" may be the beginning of his downfall. It is a bit out of the ordinary to make a film targeted to a community that shuns the use of television sets. "It's a little bit of chutzpah," confesses Kirsh, "but if it sells and I get out of debt I may do it again." But he adds with a self-conscious chuckle, "Dont tell my wife." "A Gesheft" is available on DVD at www.mostlymusic.com. The filmmakers are hoping for a festival tour in the coming year. To view the movie trailer, visit: www.agesheft.com For more information, contact: Mendel Kirsh, Producer...Kosher Entertainment Productions This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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