Blacks and Jews

Not agit-prop but agit-doc, this seemingly conventional, mild-mannered documentary is actually a bold look at the evolving relationship(s) between the African American and Jewish communities. The film's most agitating aspect is that it seeks to offer no answers or even conclusions; rather, it acts as an opening to a conversation on long-cherished assumptions and wounds-and on the role of media in fomenting them. Local filmmakers Deborah Kaufman, Alan Snitow, and co-producer Bari Scott look at multiple realities behind several prominent news stories, among them the Crown Heights incident where a Hasidic Jew was beaten to the ground but then, not widely reported, was saved by a Caribbean man of color who became his hero; Louis Farrakhan interpreted by a former Nation of Islam insider; and the student body president who openly challenged Gov. Pete Wilson during the Schindler's List incident at Castlemont High, and paid a price.

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