Feudat Club Tag

The writer and director of The Anne Frank Gift Shop on using humour to process horror

Read full article on the magazine: https://hashtaglegend.com/the-writer-and-director-of-the-anne-frank-gift-shop-on-using-humour-to-process-horror BY #legend Dec 27, 2024 Audience Award winner for Best Short at last month’s Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival, The Anne Frank Gift Shop is not your typical take on the Holocaust. Writer and director Mickey Rapkin talks to Jaz Kong about using humour to process horror  “The holocaust” and “humour” are not terms one would expect to find in the same sentence, let alone the description of a popular film. But, as Mickey Rapkin says, “We’re living in strange times. Anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise. The Anne Frank Gift Shop takes aim at a very real problem – a generation with little awareness of the Holocaust – and attempts to solve it with humour by meeting this audience where they live.” The Anne Frank Gift Shop, which won the Audience Award for Best Short after its screening at the 25th Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival in November, is a 15-minute short film that imagines a meeting between The Anne Frank House and the New York design firm they’ve hired to renovate their gift shop to appeal to young people. Its mockumentary style is reminiscent of The Office or Parks and Recreation, as are the dynamics between the characters – including representatives from the museum, creative brains from the ad agency and a young influencer who is mocked early on in the film for her comment after visiting The Anne Frank House that “the attic was big”. Mickey Rapkin Rapkin, who wrote and directed The Anne Frank Gift Shop as well as wrote the book that inspired the film series Pitch Perfect, says the project grew out of a sense of real concern. “A landmark 2020 study – the US Millennial Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Survey interviewing adults aged 18-39, also known as Millennials and Gen Z, across 50 states in the US, and later on, other parts of the world as well – by the Conference on Jewish...

In ‘Single Light’, Shaylee Atary Delivers A Hauntingly Beautiful Portrayal Of Survival

Friday Club. 12/11/2024   Read full article on the magazine: https://fridayclubmag.com/the-subtle-power-of-shaylee-atary-single-light/   Disclaimer: Single Light deals with themes of sexual assault, which may be distressing for some readers. This review discusses these elements in relation to the film’s narrative. Image courtesy of Omer Weiss Some films entertain, and then there are those that linger in your soul long after the credits roll. Shaylee Atary’s ‘Single Light’ firmly belongs to the latter, and we were privileged to view it this month alongside its Hong Kong screening. In a masterstroke of storytelling that is both restrained and profound, Atary explores trauma with rare grace – acknowledging the horror without exploiting it, the pain without exaggeration. This is a film that doesn’t just tell you about trauma; it immerses you in its quiet, stifling presence, making you feel as though you’re experiencing it alongside the protagonist, Lali. The film opens in a Tel Aviv parking lot, where a single streetlight illuminates Lali – played by the remarkable Yael Elkana – in a moment that will change her life forever. This streetlight is no ordinary fixture; it becomes a silent witness to Lali’s anguish, and its presence haunts her journey as both a symbol of torment and, eventually, strength. During the assault, Lali is transfixed by the streetlight, caught in a state of paralysis as the light seems to both expose and isolate her. The recurring motif of this streetlight is layered with meaning, and each time it returns, it serves as a visual reminder of her past while illuminating the path forward. Image courtesy of Omer Weiss Much of the film’s power lies in its subtleties. Atary’s decision to strip away the noise – both literally and figuratively – is a revelation. Here, silence becomes a character of its own, allowing us to feel the oppressive weight of the incident. The quiet...