Writer’s story about synagogue enjoyed by those of many faiths
Israeli screenwriter Shlomit Nehama wrote her first screenplay for Jews in her home country to enjoy.
But a strange thing happened: During screenings of "The Women's Balcony" in other nations, audiences of many faiths responded positively.
“It’s a movie about the power … in the religion," she said during a Skype interview from Tel Aviv, Israel. "It’s a different location and a different God, but it’s very close. I didn’t see this when I was writing it.”
“The Women’s Balcony” will be screened on Sunday to open the 13th Columbus Jewish Film Festival. Nehama will attend the showing and join a discussion afterward with Lynn Kaye, assistant professor of Hebrew and Jewish studies at Ohio State University. 6:30 p.m. Sunday screenwriter Shlomit Nehama, and Lynn Kaye, Ohio State University assistant professor of Hebrew and Jewish studies $35
Festival coordinator Emily Schuss was thrilled to book the movie to kick off the festival.
“Films like this don’t come along this often for an opening night,” she said. “It’s relevant; it’s uplifting; it’s got comedy in it. Sometimes Jewish movies can be a little bit of a downer, but this is a lovely opening-night (film).”
The comedy-drama, in Hebrew with English subtitles, centers on the congregation at a Jewish synagogue in Jerusalem, where the men sit on the ground floor while women watch services from a balcony. One day, during a bar mitzvah ceremony, the balcony collapses.
Only the rabbi’s wife is seriously injured. The distraught rabbi can no longer perform his duties — so, to oversee the repair work in the synagogue, an ultra-conservative rabbi volunteers his services to the men of the congregation.
His plans, however, call for the balcony to be eliminated and women to be barred from services. The women stage a rebellion.
“The rabbi doesn’t think about the souls of the community,” Nehama said. “He only wanted to build the place.”
But rather than take a strident tone, Nehama employed a human touch, focusing on the interactions among spouses and congregation members.
“It’s the kind of movie I like to watch,” she said. “I don’t like radical movies. ... It was important for me to stay with lovable characters.”
At screenings, Nehama said, the movie draws varying reactions from men and women.
“I had some responses from women that they felt it really made them think; they took the movie more seriously than men. I think men spoke about the hilarious parts, and women took it more seriously.”
Nehama based the characters on people she knew from her childhood synagogue in Jerusalem, in a neighborhood that, like the rabbi in the movie, turned more conservative.
Her father reflected that change in theology, which affected Nehama's faith.
“In Israel, we go into the Army at 18," she said. "If you are a religious woman, you
can say that and they release you from the Army. I didn’t do all the things you need to do to be released. Knowing that, I left religion behind me when I went into the Army.”
Writing the movie, she said, helped her come to terms with her decision.
“It was a closure for me. Through the film, I explained to myself and to my family why I left the religion. It was very emotional to return to this world. It has beautiful sides, which I really missed.
“I guess I wrote this film mainly out of longing.”
“Fanny’s Journey,” McConnell Arts Center, 777 Evening St., Worthington
“Monsieur Mayonnaise,” with cast member Philippe Mora and Ohio State University history professor Robin E. Judd, Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E. Broad St.
1 p.m., “Forever
Seeing audiences enjoy the movie is sufficient reward for Nehama.
“It means so much to me when I see the theater is full of people, and they laugh, and they’re thinking about the movie. It’s unbelievable for me.
“It’s nothing I’m used to. I can’t ask for anything more.”