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| Filmaker, Jeff Lieberman |
My brother Jeff and I not only look alike, we both have an interest in the arts. While I write books, Jeff makes films. His first film, Re-emerging: The Jews of Nigeria, was about a group of Igbo people in rural Nigeria who believe they are Jews. Through the internet they have learned about Jewish rituals and customs, learned Hebrew and built synagogues and communities. The film raises interesting questions about who is a Jew and who gets to define Judaism. The film has played at film festivals around the world and been well received by the press.Now Jeff is working on a new project, a documentary about the life of singer Nina Simone. Nina Simone took to the piano to demand racial and gender equality over 50 years ago - a cry for freedom equally resonant today. I've watched an early draft of the film and I was spellbound with the power of Nina's singing and her lyrics. And her own life, from classical piano student in rural North Carolina, to jazz and style icon in the US and Europe, is a fascinating story.
Jeff has financed the film entirely on his own so far, but he needs funds to pay for the rights to the music, videos and pictures, funds that will ultimately go back to the artist who created them. He has a campaign on Kickstarter than you can check out and maybe you'll be inspired enough to donate. Click here for the link to Jeff's Kickstarter campaign.
For future reference:
ReplyDeleteActors of fully Jewish background: -Logan Lerman, Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mila Kunis, Bar Refaeli, James Wolk, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julian Morris, Adam Brody, Esti Ginzburg, Kat Dennings, Gabriel Macht, Erin Heatherton, Odeya Rush, Anton Yelchin, Paul Rudd, Scott Mechlowicz, Lisa Kudrow, Lizzy Caplan, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Gal Gadot, Debra Messing, Robert Kazinsky, Melanie Laurent, Shiri Appleby, Justin Bartha, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Margarita Levieva, Elizabeth Berkley, Halston Sage, Seth Gabel, Skylar Astin, Mia Kirshner, Alden Ehrenreich, Eric Balfour, Jason Isaacs, Jon Bernthal.
Actors with Jewish mothers and non-Jewish fathers -Jake Gyllenhaal, Dave Franco, James Franco, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Radcliffe, Alison Brie, Eva Green, Emmy Rossum, Rashida Jones, Jennifer Connelly, Nora Arnezeder, Goldie Hawn, Ginnifer Goodwin, Amanda Peet, Eric Dane, Jeremy Jordan, Joel Kinnaman, Ben Barnes, Patricia Arquette, Kyra Sedgwick, Dave Annable.
Actors with Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers, who themselves were either raised as Jews and/or identify as Jews: -Andrew Garfield, Ezra Miller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alexa Davalos, Nat Wolff, Nicola Peltz, James Maslow, Josh Bowman, Winona Ryder, Ben Foster, Nikki Reed, Zac Efron, Jonathan Keltz.
Oh, and Ansel Elgort’s father is Jewish, though I don’t know how Ansel was raised.
Actors with one Jewish-born parent and one parent who converted to Judaism -Dianna Agron, Sara Paxton (whose father converted, not her mother), Alicia Silverstone, Jamie-Lynn Sigler.