Unfortunately for me, I’m out of town this weekend. I’ll miss the opening of the 17th annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Taking place this year from April 18 through the 26th, the TJFF will screen 90 films from 23 countries and six continents, covering subjects as diverse as love, dance, music, family, and baseball.
One interesting programme with wide appeal will be Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance, celebrating the Jewish composers and lyricists of Broadway and Hollywood musicals. It will feature both documentaries (including films about Richard Rodgers, Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim, and others) and classic films like the Marx Brothers’ farce Duck Soup and The Band Wagon, featuring the dancing of Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse.
Luckily, the festival runs until next weekend, when I’m planning to catch Every Little Step, a documentary about the classic Broadway show and film A Chorus Line. My wife saw it at TIFF last September and really enjoyed it. It’s showing on Sunday April 26th at 4:30pm at the Al Green Theatre.
Films are being screened at the Bloor Cinema, the Al Green Theatre at the Miles Nadal Jewish Cultural Centre, and the Sheppard Grande Cinema.