not with a bang, but a crescendo

So ends the 17th year of the Savannah Jewish Film Festival, literally and figuratively.
Last year, it had been spread out over two weeks.
For its junior year, the fourteen screenings over the course of four evenings and two afternoons -
in only five days -
kept the celebration of the Jewish culture and history moving briskly.
Busy and fast and interesting -
yep, that's a teenager!

The SJFF began on Thursday for me, with an "Italian Feast" luncheon of chicken ziti, garlic toast, chocolate mousse... and an egg cream, a drink composed of neither eggs nor cream - discuss (like Mike Myers' "Coffee Talk" skits on SNL)! And we did, too!
The slightly chilled drink reminded me of an Italian soda, mildly chocolate-flavored and fizzy.
The first film that day was "Egg Cream", a short, nostalgic piece on the drink's origin.

The second film, "The Last Resort", was also nostalgic,
looking back at Miami's South Beach during the 1960's,
when it became a vacation idyll for elderly Jews.
(The Art Deco area was a luxurious holiday spot for me
as well, back in 2015.)
The film was a showcase of the vibrant, lively hues of the photography of Andy Sweet, with his story told
from the memory of his best friend, fellow cameraman
Gary Monroe.
The photos had been lost after Sweet's death, but were finally found and were restored by his sister's husband.
Beautiful work!

The next day, I was back for the luncheon - chicken schnitzel! - and four short films united by "tradition".
"Wendy's Shabbat" Was about an elderly community keeping rites intact while bonding over fast food.
"Gefilte" was all about the fish dish.
"L'Dor, V'Dor" featured an old father and modern son having a "to bris or not to bris" conversation.
"Absolutely No Spitting" was an insight to the lives of a 50+-year-old and the 4-year-old she'd adopted.

Last night, I was back again, this time for the free dessert reception - ah, sweets for the sweet!
Actually, I was there for the two films related to a favorite musical, "The Fiddler On The Roof".
The animated short, "Der Fidl", set the pace at "lively"!
But it was the feature film, "Fiddler: A Miracle Of Miracles", that kept it there and brought joy to my heart!
There is even a Japanese version of this musical!!!

Tonight, it all ended with a resounding "Crescendo".
The Italian-origin word is defined as "an instruction to play gradually more loudly".
Most of the film is set in Italy, regarded as a neutral area, as a renowned German conductor (son of a Nazi) tries to meld Palestinian and Israeli youths into a harmonious
(get it?) unit.
After one young man is slain by a villager, the experiment in peace is abandoned by the powers that be... but not by the other students.
In the airport, the two disparate groups sit, separated physically by a glass partition, separated emotionally by seventy years of the acrimony and bias of their grandparents drilled into their minds and bones.
While they wait, the television holds on the image of their dead fellow student.
One youth takes up his violin and begins a song. Another accompanies him with a beat. Then, they are all playing, in remembrance of the kind one, in remembrance of the time they all spent together, in remembrance of the goal not yet won.
Onward, onward, ever onward!
And the song?
It was perfect for the occasion.
Starting off slowly but firmly, building power and volume as it proceeded, ultimately marking its presence as a force of strength and promise...
Ravel's "Boléro".
Now, that is a crescendo.
i thank You, God.