Natan

Q&A with David Cairns and Jack Feldstein at both screenings

Bernard Natan, a Romanian Jew who fought for France in World War I and went on to become one of the true giants of early cinema as the head of the innovative and influential Pathé Studios, died forgotten during the Holocaust and has been almost completely erased from the history of French film. Why and how? Investigative documentarians David Cairns and Paul Duane excavate these questions with creative and determined vigor, and the tale they reveal—of silent-era pornography, false accusations, academic collusion, and anti-Semitism that persists to this day—is as unbelievable as it is tragic.

Screening with:

How to Break into Yiddish Vaudeville
Jack Feldstein, USA, 2014, 19m
English and Yiddish with English subtitles
New York-via-Sydney animator Jack Feldstein has developed a trademark style of “neonizing,” whereby he manipulates video into a kaleidoscopic color palette that resembles classic American neon signs. In his latest offering, Feldstein uses a combination of neonized public-domain found footage and live-action video to whimsically document the cutthroat world of NYC burlesque theater. World Premiere