News

By Cate Marquis

Julius Rosenwald is not likely to be a name you recognize but this head of Sears, Roebuck was once a man of enormous influence, not just in commerce but in philanthropy. But the most surprising part is the direction Rosenwald’s philanthropy took – funding schools and cultural endeavors for African Americans.

In the documentary Rosenwald, director Aviva Kempner reveals how this wealthy Jewish American merchant partnered with African Americans to fund good works for African Americans, including help for the Tuskegee Institute, building a chain of rural schools for black children across the South, and providing support for artists such as Marian Anderson, W.E.B. DuBois and Maya Angelou.

As the son of German Jewish immigrants, Rosenwald knew well what it was like to come from a persecuted minority. In the early 20th century, Rosenwald saw the parallels between how Jews were treated in Europe and...

I had the pleasure of spending time with Eli Wallach because his daughter Roberta, also a fine actress, is a good friend whose voice has been heard in every documentary I have made. She was the narrator for “Partisans of Vilna” and recreated a gossiping neighbor in “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” and a shop girl in “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg.” Spending time with Wallach was guaranteed to be a good time as he was such a great storyteller. During one summer trip at his home in the Hamptons, I remember him telling a prophetic tale about Clint Eastwood,...

DVD Release Date: April 24, 2013

Price: DVD $30.00

Studio: Ciesla Foundation

The dynamite 1998 documentary film The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg directed by Aviva Kempner (Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg) looks at the Detroit Tigers’ hard-hitting Hall of Fame first baseman whose accomplishments extended beyond the field as American’s first Jewish baseball star.

The movie depicts how during the Golden Age of Baseball, Hank Greenberg’s achievements rivaled those of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Additionally, it shows how Greenberg helped break down the barriers of discrimination in American sports and society and how he was a beacon of hope to American Jews who faced bigotry during the Depression and World War II.

Included in the film are some 47 interviews with Hank Greenberg and his family members; sports figures Ira Berkow, Ernie Harwell, Joe Falls and Dick Schaap; fellow payers Bob Feller, Charlie Gehringer and Ralph Kiner; fans Alan Dershowitz, Congressman Sander Levin...

With Major League Baseball officially starting up this week, Indiewire's latest curation of Hulu's Documentaries page turns to films about the national pastime. Watch these films now for free! One of the most acclaimed baseball documentaries of recent years, Aviva Kempner's "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" offers a love letter to the Detroit Tigers' first baseman and to a different era. Appealing not only to fans of the sport, the film depicts American life in the 1930s and '40s, a country's love for the game, and how a Jewish American player who defied prejudice to become a beloved Hall of Famer.  Greenberg also figures in Peter Miller's "Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story." The film, narrated by Dustin Hoffman, debunks the commonly-held misperception that Jews are non-athletic by examining the rich history of Jewish ballplayers. Looking at the careers of such star players as Greenberg and Sandy Koufax,...

SnagFilms has acquired domestic distribution rights to Eugene Jarecki’s documentary about the war on drugs “The House I Live In” and Jay Bulger’s Ginger Baker documentary “Beware of Mr. Baker.” Jarecki’s film won the grand jury prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and Bulger’s took the grand jury prize at SXSW in March. Abramorama is handling the theatrical release of both films, with "House I Live In" scheduled for an October opening. Read More: SnagFilms Acquires All U.S. Rights to Gotham Chopra's 'Decoding Deepak' In addition, SnagFilms has acquired six other documentaries: Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning films “Harlan County U.S.A.” (1976) and “American Dream” (1990); William Gazecki’s “Waco: The Rules of Engagement” (1997); Aviva Kempner’s “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” (1998) and “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg”...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"$5 a Day" (2008)

Directed by Nigel Cole

Released by Image Entertainment

A refugee of the bankrupt Capitol Films, this dramedy starring Christopher Walken as a raconteur who claims he's able to live a full life on the titular Lincoln bill is finally seeing the light of day after premiering at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. Alessandro Nivola co-stars as his son who drives him to New Mexico when he falls ill. Sharon Stone and Amanda Peet are along for the ride.

"2:22" (2008)

Directed by Phillip Guzman

Released by Inception Media Group

A quartet of thieves scheme to rob a boutique hotel on New Year's Eve, but find out that what's waiting for them on the inside is even colder than the snow-caked streets outside. Just as he did for his 2006 crime thriller "Played," star/co-writer Rossi called upon famous pals Gabriel Byrne and Val Kilmer...

Most of us adults now have some memory of watching family-oriented television sitcoms growing up. For every era, there was a popular family show on TV that many of us gathered around the tube to watch. For me, there was Wonder Years, The Cosby Show and Family Ties. For generations before me, there was Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best. But, where did it all begin?

Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg is a new documentary from Aviva Kempner (The Life And Times Of Hank Greenberg) that tells the story of Gertrude Berg. The tag-line of the film is “the most famous woman in America you’ve never heard of” and this couldn’t be more true. Gertrude Berg was a radio and television pioneer. She created a character by the name of Molly Goldberg and the radio program called The Goldbergs. This radio serial would be incredibly popular in the 20’s and 30’s,...

NEW YORK -- After six years, indie distributor Cowboy Pictures will ride into the sunset, according to the company's president, John Vanco. Vanco will announce his plans in the coming weeks. Cowboy was founded in 1997, under the moniker Cowboy Booking, by Vanco and Noah Cowan. Cowan exited his co-president post last year. The unit released more than 40 films theatrically, including the documentaries The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition and the Oscar-nominated Promises and the rock docus I Am Trying to Break Your Heart and Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. The company also rolled out David Gordon Green's George Washington, James Toback's Harvard Man and Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar.