Movie Club - Nora's Will

Movie also called Five Days Without Nora - a great picture to see.

Arena Theater Film Club
Monday June 23, 7 p.m.
NORA'S WILL (Mexico, 2008)
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A black comedy about a man battling the last request of his ex-wife who has committed suicide; from Mexico's award-winning writer/director Mariana Chenillo. In Spanish with English subtitles.
A comedy like nothing you've seen before, a truly unique tale of lost faith and eternal love from one of Mexico's most talented new filmmakers, writer/director Mariana Chenillo. Nora's Will was named Mexico's Best Picture of the Year, taking home seven Ariel Awards. Chenillo is the first female director ever to win Mexico's Best Picture award.
When his ex-wife Nora dies right before Passover, José (Fernando Luján) is forced to stay with her body until she can be properly put to rest. He soon realizes he is part of Nora's plan to bring her family back together for one last Passover feast, leading José to reexamine their relationship and rediscover their undying love for each other.
Seattle Magazine
Editor's Pick! "The warm comedy won Mexico's Best Picture in 2010-carefully balances melancholy, romance and humor in telling the story of a man battling the last request of his newly deceased ex-wife."
Entertainment Weekly
"Delightful... a fantastic first feature from rising director Mariana Chenillo. Watch for her."

Sol Yitzhak Wilder Calmer

From our son-in-law - the announcement of our grandson's birth and name

Here's the email from our son-in-law to all on the birth and naming of our wonderful grandson.  We did not want to share any pictures until Aviva and Mathew shared it first to family and friends.


From: Mathew Chasan [mailto:aftermathew@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2014 12:16 PM
To: <3 Aviva <3
Subject: Introducing Sol Yitzhak Wilder Calmer

Hello Friends!

Sol Yitzhak Wilder Calmer was born Thursday June 5th, 9:53 AM at home.

10 pounds, 3.5 ounces, 21 inches.  A whole lotta love.

Healthy boy, healthy mama, and a very happy family.

A sweet calm joy.

Lots of love,

Mathew and Aviva

PS - Pronounced like "De La Soul"

Bris and baby naming

We went to San Francisco for the Bris of our new grandson and to learn his name.  For those of you that do not know about the Bris, a brief wiki definition is pasted below:

The brit milah (Hebrew: בְּרִית מִילָה‎ [bʁit miˈla], Ashkenazi pronunciation [bʁis ˈmilə], "covenant of circumcision"; Yiddishpronunciation, bris [bʀɪs]) is a Jewish religious male circumcision ceremony performed on the eighth day of a male infant's life by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal (seudat mitzvah).

Our grandson passed around and then Gary secured him while the mohel preformed the circumcision.   It really was a beautiful event with lots of love.  During the ceremony we learned our grandson's name which is Sol Yitzhak Wilder Calmer.  A baby naming is also a traditional part of the ceremony.  We spent a beautiful and loving day together before returning home to Mendocino in the evening.

Film Club Movie - Dhamma Brothers

The description is below.  We highly recommend this movie.  It's too bad they do not do it in more places.




Donaldson Correctional Facility is situated in the Alabama countryside southwest of Birmingham. 1,500 men, considered the state's most dangerous prisoners, live behind high security towers and a double row of barbed and electrical wire fences.

Within this dark environment, a spark was ignited. A growing network of men had been gathering to meditate on a regular basis. Intrigued by this, Jenny Phillips, cultural anthropologist and psychotherapist, organized a 10-day meditation retreat for 36 of the inmates. But were these ancient ideas, as described in the teachings of the Buddha 2600 years ago, now relevant? Director: Jenny Phillips, 76 minutes

Grannie and Grandpa

Grannies and Grandpa went to Aviva, Mathew, and Saplings for a visit.  Sapling does not have a name yet. - the name will come at the Bris next Thursday.  

Sapling is so beautiful.  Skin so soft.  A great smile.  A great disposition.

Proud grandparents.

If it's Thursday, I'm probably hiking.: STORNETTA LANDS OCEAN VIEWS NORTH

Our Thirsday hiking group went from the lighthouse south along Lighthouse Rd and then into the Stornetta lands.  We ate lunch in a fantastic place with views of the Garcia River before returning to our cars.  The link to the Blog for the Thursday Ramblers is below.

If it's Thursday, I'm probably hiking.: STORNETTA LANDS OCEAN VIEWS NORTH

Grandparents

It has happened.  Our first Grandchild.  No name yet.  It was a home birth.  Labor took 67 hours.  Baby is 10 pounds; 4 oz.  Grannie and Grandpa.  It is so exciting to us.  We packed out bags last week but realized after we drove to Santa Rosa that it was a home birth with just Aviva, Mathew, and the midwife.  So we waited, waited, and waited.....

Movie Club - Smoke Signals

Another wonderful Film Club presentation.  As you can see below, this is a Native American produced and acted movie.  Thought it was very funny and very allegorical.





This dramatic feature was written, directed, and co-produced by Native Americans. Native American writer Sherman Alexie scripted this adaptation of his 1993 short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.

At Idaho's desolate Coeur d'Alene Indian reservation, the overeager Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams) is mostly ignored by others, including stoic, athletic Victor Joseph (Adam Beach), even though it was Victor's father, alcoholic Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), who saved the infant Thomas' life in a fire. When Victor learns of Arnold's death, Thomas offers to pay for a trip to Arizona if he can accompany Victor to pick up his father's ashes.

Great movie, great soundtrack, too, which includes music from Native American artists Ulali, Jim Boyd, Jon Sirois, Andre Picara, Jr., Patrick Watt, and the Eaglebear Singers. B.C. Smith's score incorporates elements of traditional Native American music, placing it alongside Michael Nyman-esque orchestral compositions and snatches of contemporary rock. Just wait until you hear about John Wayne's teeth; a piece of exquisite humor and Victor and Thomas' reaction to being bullied by some white hillbillies! Director: Chris Eyre Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 88 min.

Gemini party tonight

We held our annual Gemini Party and had  forty wonderful friends over.  Great food and company.  Its wonderful to move to a new place and have so many friends.  Can you believe that Susan is 59 and Gary is 64.  How time flies.  We will soon have another Gemini in our clan.  Aviva is expecting our first grand child next week.  

Mendocino Film Festival in Point Arena

Today we saw two shows that a reception in-between

The first were the shorts - the theme was "change".  There were about fifteen shorts - some animation and others not.  Several were the finalists of Oscar shorts.

The second film (after the reception at the 215) was "aka. Doc Pomus"  about the composer of much of Elvis Presley's music and others , many songs we hum and know about but had no idea who wrote them. He was a white Jewish kid that sang blues and changed his name so his parents would not know it was him.  he had polio at a young age and walked with crunches.  Later as an adult he fell and was in a wheel chair after that.  A great story and a movie well worth seeing.  look him up on wiki to learn more and see all he wrote.

Only sorry we were not able to see more films - the festival is really a treasure for the area and oh so many movies.