Cat Segment?

Re-watching the footage of myself in preparation for interviews this weekend. Conversation goes as follows:

Voice off-camera: who are you looking to interview for this film?
Rebecca: I'm hoping to interview as many individuals (looks off camera, pauses). Can that cat be in the shot?

Here's hoping my interviewees have few cats, because cats are one of few things I cannot resist (or, maybe I could just have a "cat segment" in my documentary).

Interviews Soon!

I have been sick! Oh no. For the past couple of days I have been doing things like
sleeping,
sitting under blankets next to purring cats,
& waking up every so often and feeling confused about which day/month/year it is.

I'm beginning to feel better, though! Which is great timing, because at the end of this week I have quite a few interviews lined up with some lovely folks from around the Portland area.

Next week I have a couple more interviews, and I am especially excited to interview some of the students who attend Levey Day School in Portland. I have heard that Levey is a school that gathers students of a variety of Jewish backgrounds and identities, and allows them to further solidify their individual ideas of what it means to be Jewish. Which, besides sounding great in general-identity-terms, will be super applicable to my specific search of finding out what exactly it means to be Jewish in Maine.

Additionally, it seems fit to mention here that the Maine Jewish Film Festival provides opportunities for young folks to be involved - when I attended Hebrew school, I participated in the MJFF Free Youth Program (and it was kind of great. Granted, I was infatuated with it because I probably was able to skip a class or two to attend the film, but as an adult I'll look back and say that it was, in actuality, a very valuable experience).

Anyway, I hope that all of you in internet-land are feeling well and enjoying the loveliness of October thus far (Autumn is so wonderful in my mind. Maybe this song is about winter but it's still kind of great). There will be many updates soon, post-interviews!

Interactive Displays

Earlier today I attended an interactive art installation in Winthrop, ME, beautifully constructed by Amy Stacey Curtis (information about the installation found here, her general website here).

As my friend and I drove the hour + back to Portland, with Marina & the Diamonds serenading us all the way, I spent some time thinking about how special the installation had been. It is not often that I have the opportunity to interact with art in any unique way. I have been to the Portland Art Museum many times, and have wandered through the Old Port during First Friday Art Walk. However enjoyable these experiences are, they do include an awful lot of standing and looking and pondering, and maybe some discussion with the person standing nearby.

What is lacking, however, and what was so plentifully available in Amy Stacey Curtis' exhibit, is physical interaction.

Throughout her installation there was movement, sound, touch, picking up of pieces (with hands covered in white cotton gloves provided). There was a need to comprehend the instructions presented, and friendly folks available to answer any clarifying questions.

I found myself reacting with surprise and enjoyment as the nine sections of the installment drew me into experiences in unique and interactive ways.

You may be wondering what this has to do with my entry for the MJFF. This is it:

On her website, Amy Stacey Curtis writes that "without participants my work is incomplete". While traveling home from Winthrop, I thought much about how the unique set-up of this particular installation allowed for me to experience another person's ideas in a different way. By walking through, and physically touching things, my perspective shifted and I became more enveloped in the artwork than I would have been otherwise. No, if you're wondering, I will not be bombarding my interviewees with hugs and other such physically interactive displays.

However, I believe that it will be important to keep in mind that I am making something; a film, a collection of other people's ideas, concepts, and stories. How it is really the experiences of these individuals, all reacting in unique ways to the same list of questions, that will make the collective experience more remarkable. How it would be so neat if I were able to gather these folks' stories in a way that allowed for deeper interaction than simply gazing at them as they are interviewed.

I will do my best to stay true to these folks' experiences, to depict them as they express themselves. Because, just like Amy Stacey Curtis suggested, my work would definitely be incomplete without participants. This film may be in part a way for me to discover deeper meaning in my own Jewish identity, but I consider it an additional goal to portray my interviewees as the unique individuals that they are. Because all together, these individuals create an interactive community displaying the variety of Jewish identity in Maine.

Production Stills! Today I Interviewed Myself.

Or rather, today my camera-clad pal, Zach, interviewed me.

We filmed some preliminary footage, mostly discussing why I'm making the film and what my intentions are. I also talked some about how I relate to Judaism, and what it means to be Jewish specifically in the context of my life. I'm hoping to very soon film my mother to provide more context about my own Jewish identity, in addition to learning more about hers.

After finally filming something, I'm becoming overall more excited, and much less nervous. I'm especially looking forward to speaking with some younger folks about their Jewish identities (!!! kids are so cute!). Having Zach interview me was a positive experience in two ways: firstly, it gave me an idea of what my interviewees are going to be feeling like when I'm talking with them (potentially, a bit nervous, or awkward, or silly, because that is how I felt). Secondly, it helped me to figure out which questions are going to work well in the interviews, and which questions are not. My overall goal is to provide folks with the opportunity to tell stories; I hope very much to ask questions that are going to lead to more in-depth answers.

Here are some production stills from my interview:

(cat!)

I'm looking forward to sifting through the footage of myself over the next couple of days, so as to determine a more finalized list of the questions I will be asking my interviewees! And if you'd like to be one of my interviewees... you know where to find me (here. Or at rwohlpollack@gmail.com).

I hope that everyone had a swell, albeit rainy, Thursday! Until next time, Internet. 

Film Details/Check Out These Talented Folks Who Will be Working With Me!

Hello, everyone! Happy New Year, if applicable, and I hope that everyone has had a swell beginning to the Autumn season thus far.

I wanted to write a quick post about the details for my entry in the Maine Jewish Film Festival.

As it stands, these are them:
1. My film will be no more than ten minutes.
2. I will be interviewing different individuals around the Portland area about what it means - in their experiences and from their particular backgrounds - to be Jewish in Maine (as a side-note, if you or anyone you know would be interested in participating in the interview process, please, please, pretty please contact me by sending an email to rwohlpollack@gmail.com).

Currently, I'm in the process of scheduling interviews with as many folks as possible, and formulating the interview questions regarding identity. It's a bit of an overwhelming process because I am absolutely terrified that this film is going to be sub-par.

Seriously. This is a big deal! I would have to say that, at this point, I am equally absolutely terrified and very, very excited. I have worked on other people's films, but I've never been entirely in charge of one. Luckily, I have some really awesome people who will be helping me out.

Zachary Rohman has agreed to do the filming, which is great, because he is swell in many ways. In addition to his film-making endeavors, he's currently working on a play called "The Hare and the Hedgehog" (based on a story from the Grimm brothers' "Tales for Young and Old") that will be performed in November at the Mayo Street Puppet Slam. He is the lead puppeteer in a puppet production of the German opera "Hänsel und Gretel" which is being put together by Paperbull Puppets, and VOX Maine. More information about  these performances can be found at the following pages:
The Hare and the Hedgehog
Paperbull Puppets
VOX Maine

I will be using some original music in the film, composed by a talented local musician, Will Gattis (check him out right HERE because he's definitely worth a listen). At 9pm on November 1st, Will is releasing an EP at Empire Dine and Dance in Portland. This lovely guy may also make an appearance or two in the film, along with a possible guest appearance by my guinea pig, Tyra Banks.

(Everyone should definitely check out these talented folks, just saying.)

Alright, that's it for now, I'm leaving my computer to finalize some interview questions and to contact more folks. More updates will follow as I move through the interview process!

But before I go, a cute cat can be found here: Fluffiest Cat.

Identity! Introductory First Post

Jonathan Safran Foer, one of my favorite authors, has written many words in a lot of pleasant ways. One such nicely-put-together sentence of his is as follows: "I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live" (from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close).

Although I do not quite share the sorrow expressed, I do love the sentiment: that it takes a lifetime to learn how to live. In particular, I'm quite fond of the concept of identity, and the fluidity of identity, and how even though it probably takes a lifetime to learn who one is, that's likely most of the fun.

My identity has shifted many times throughout my (nearly) twenty-three years thus far. I grew up in Portland, Maine, where through most of elementary school I was likely too shy to concretely identify as anything but just shy. High School was better, but still I was struggling with deciding who I wanted to be, how I wanted to act, and what it was that I most cared about.

In college, at the lovely Clark University (home of the Freud statue), I learned more about myself. I became involved in fun things like student film-making and radio show hosting. And through taking many, many introductory and 100-level courses, I began to sift through topics to determine what I most cared about. And finally, after suffering through things like The History of Math and Quantitative Methods in Geography, I realized that what I love, really, is people.

Psychology was an easy choice to make for a major, but still I struggled with deciding on a minor. Women's Studies? Sociology? Peace Studies?

It was around Sophomore year that I realized I was taking an absurd number of Jewish Studies courses. Not only was I infatuated with course offerings dealing with modern topics like American Jewish Life and Women in Jewish Culture, but I found myself also drawn to courses covering biblical and midrashic topics.

Let me backtrack, because my religious education began long before Clark. In elementary school, I was one of those kids who was "the Jewish one", and so my mom would occasionally come into a class or two to talk about Jewish holidays. And throughout middle school and high school, it remained exciting to be one of very few students at my schools who was missing class for Yom Kippur.

My parents gently urged my siblings and me to include Reform Judaism in our lives. I successfully completed my Bat Mitzvah, my confirmation, and attended Religious School at my synagogue while attending public school, additionally taking part in a Conversational Hebrew course for high school credit. Fairly regularly in my youth I attended Shabbat services, and on Friday evenings my family and I would light Shabbat candles and enjoy a home-cooked meal.

So I grew up Jewish, but I didn't quite feel Jewish. When I arrived at Clark, I attended one or two Hillel Shabbat services, but then gave up entirely. Judaism was a part of who I was, because I had grown up with it. I cared very deeply for it, but not quite in the observant way I'd been raised.

So when Judaism was re-introduced to me as an academic endeavor, it was absolutely wonderful. Here was a topic that I knew loads about, that was interesting to think about, and that could be applied to another topic that I care very deeply about: people.

Through studying with fantastic professors (Everett Fox and Shelly Tenenbaum as wonderful examples) I discovered two topics within Jewish Studies that were very close to my heart: dealing with suffering, and feminist issues. Post-graduation I planned to continue being involved with both of these. And in minor ways, I have pursued one of these endeavors: in the Spring I plan to teach a course at my synagogue (Congregation Bet Ha'am) regarding Midrashic texts, and I plan to use some wonderful feminist texts as examples (shout-out to Judith Plaskow who is a Clark alumni).

Yet the Chaplaincy/Hospice work I initially planned to pursue while learning about coping with suffering with a Jewish lens feels like something I would love to do in a bit more time. It's serious work, and important work, and at times I feel too naive to possibly know what to say to someone who is suffering.

Or, really, to anyone at all. Those who know me will know that I am quiet. Which is why this endeavor, of film-making, of interviewing my community members, of figuring out my Jewish identity through listening to others discuss theirs, feels like such an exciting and terrifying thing to do. I am not sure where this project will lead, or what I will discover about identity, but I am so excited to begin and to see where this journey takes me.

So as I work on this short film for the Maine Jewish Film Festival regarding Jewish identity in Maine, you can follow along! Read my thoughts about this project and see things like stills from film-shoots (oooh, fancy!) and probably I'll include some links to cat videos because cats are just, really, the best thing ever.