Artists have passionately embraced the potential of electronic images to call forth the beliefs, struggles, and aspirations that embody the world community of Jews. The International Jewish Video Competition's principal purpose is to recognize and conserve these works. This year's festival highlights works produced in Canada. First prize in Animation, Village of Idiots by Eugene Fedorenko and Rose Newlove (Canada, 12:39 mins), observes a lovable fool who leaves his village on a circuitous quest for knowledge, only to find it in very surprising places. Second prize in Animation is Almonds and Wine by Arnie Lipsey (Canada, 5 mins), a joyful short that follows a couple from their arranged marriage in the Old Country to their new life in America. The First Prize in Experimental Video goes to the zesty The Brooklyn Trilogy by Madeline Schwartzman (U.S., 11:40 mins), which evokes family memories of Borough Park, including a surreal band of bearded children, torahs with legs, and lawn jockeys. For the last 400 years, the weight of Western attitudes towards Jews has been borne by Shakespeare's Shylock, the treacherous Jew who seeks a pound of flesh as payment on a loan. Winner of the Award for Intellectual History, Pierre Lasry's Shylock (Canada, 57:11 mins) offers an analysis of this character in literature and film, weaving startling performances by Sir Lawrence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman and rare footage from Orson Welles's unfinished Merchant of Venice together with insightful commentary from directors, historians, and writers.